Crawfordsville Athenians | Archive | November, 2009

Crawfordsville's defense saved the Athenians from a near last-minute road collapse Wednesday night.

When the game tightened up in the final 10 seconds, they forced a key turnover.

Then, junior Trent Crabtree finished Greencastle off from the foul line in the closing seconds.

Crabtree
scored a game-high 31 points, including two free throws with one second
left, which iced Crawfordsville's 58-54 season-opening victory at
Greencastle.

Crabtree missed his first four free throws to start the game.

But he finished 13-of-17 from the foul line - hitting 13 straight free-throw attempts from the second quarter on.

"It
was a great team win, a great team win," Crabtree said, grinning from
ear-to-ear. "The coaches helped me out with my free throws. They told
me to forget about my misses and keep shooting."

Crawfordsville's (1-0) defense came up with the key plays and stops in the second half.

They showed that size can be combated with energy and better execution.

Seniors
Kyle Blankenbeckler (6-feet, 5-inches) and James Miller (6-2) came out
more aggressive and stood tall against 6-7 Greencastle sophomore
forward Nick Hutcheson.

Hutcheson finished with a team-high 16
points and a game-high 21 rebounds. He went 4-of-8 from the field in
the first half but was held to just 2-of-7 shooting in the second half.

Crawfordsville also forced Greencastle 27 turnovers, including in the 16 second half.

"Our
defense was just real aggressive [in the second half]. We disrupted
their flow," Blackwell said. "We did a better job of finding
[Hutcheson] earlier in the second half. He had to work harder to catch
the ball."

Crabtree credited senior Luke Wren for helping the team amp up their defensive intensity.

He
helped them rally from a 13-4 deficit in the first four and a half
minutes, and get the team back on track. That's a comeback Blackwell
and Crabtree were particularly proud of.

"Luke Wren brought the whole defensive effort up," Crabtree said. "He comes in and he brings a whole bunch of energy."

Offensively,
the Athenians worked the ball to their go-to guy, especially against
Greencastle (0-1). After torching the Tiger Cubs for 36 points in last
year's season opener, Crabtree put another 30-plus point total on them
again.

He and sophomore Caleb Rasmussen (11 points) were the
Athenians' only two double-digit scorers. Senior Nolan Harris added
eight points.

Senior Jordan Hickam and junior Tyler Lewis each added 13 points apiece for Greencastle.

Without that defense, the Athenians might not have hung on.

Crawfordsville won despite nearly losing an eight-point lead in the final two minutes.

With
2:05 left, the Athenians led 56-48 and looked like they had this one
wrapped up. Instead, the Tiger Cubs capitalized off their mental lapses
and gave them one furious rally.

Hutcheson scored five points in the final two minutes to cut Crawfordsville's lead to 56-54 with 6.8 seconds to play.

After Wren missed two free throws with 5.9 seconds left, Greencastle called a timeout to set up an inbounds play.

The Tiger Cubs moved the ball to halfcourt but got caught in the Athenians' defensive trap, where Harris forced a travel.

Crabtree was fouled on Crawfordsville's ensuing possession and sank the two free throws to close out the win.

Crawfordsville next plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in its home opener against Benton Central.

But despite illness, nerves and a lack of comfort with the new scheme, the Athenians keep finding ways to win.

Senior
Alex Gasaway and junior Courtney Hamilton each scored 10 points apiece,
as the visiting Class 3A No. 7 Athenians pulled out a 41-33 victory
over Class A No. 9 Turkey Run.

Ninth-year Crawfordsville coach
Darren Haas acknowledged players still aren't comfortable with the
whole plan yet. But in the fourth quarter, they started to show a few
flashes of what they can do once they follow the plan.

"We were
out of position so much . . . We're still trying to put people in
places. Maybe it's my fault," Haas said. "We've got to get the ball
inside. It's similar to [our problems] last year. We have a new offense
out there and in two games we haven't shown our fans what it is."

By getting back to its inside game in the fourth quarter, Crawfordsville (2-0) held on to pull this win out.

They
went inside to their big three - Gasaway (5-feet, 10-inches), Hamilton
(5-11) and senior Betty Elliott (6-1) - and tried to get at least one
of them to touch the ball on every play.

With Turkey Run junior center Adrienne Francis (6-0) out with a boxer's fracture, the Athenians took advantage down low.

Elliott
only scored five points the entire game. But it was her hustle on the
boards and passing skills that really gave the Athenians a boost.

After
letting an eight-point lead slip away and tied at 27-27 after three
quarters, Crawfordsville opened the first three minutes of the fourth
quarter on an 8-0 run.

Senior Haley Grundy scored the first two
baskets, while Hamilton scored the final two. Elliott had a hand in two
of the baskets, with an assist on the first one (to Grundy) and the
last one (to Hamilton).

She also pulled down a rebound and tipped away a pass for a steal during the run.

Crawfordsville
took a 35-27 lead with less than five minutes remaining and Gasaway
sealed things up with two baskets in the final two minutes.

Gasaway
had missed most of the past week will a fever and Haas wasn't even sure
if she'd play. She didn't start but managed to go 5-of-11 from the
field.

Although Hamilton played well offensively, Haas said he
was disappointed with her defense. With her long arms, he'd hoped she'd
finish with a couple more steals. But he said she looked lost Tuesday
night.

"This was the first day [Alex] didn't have a fever," Haas
said. "We need to get comfortable back in our offense. Courtney and
Alex are not comfortable yet."

Meanwhile, a banged-up Turkey Run (1-3) team struggled with free-throw shooting and lack of legs in the fourth quarter.

The
Warriors made just 4 of 15 free-throw attempts (26.7 percent) and went
just 12 of 45 from the field (26.7 percent) in the game.

Junior Chelsea Newnum led Turkey Run with 10 points. Junior Jordan Hunt came off the bench to score nine.

"After
my official visit, I came home that Sunday and I had a feeling that I
missed it," she said. "I got home and was like 'man, I wish I was back
there.'"

Next fall, Crawfordsville High School's senior swimmer
will return to Purdue after signing her official letter of intent
Friday afternoon. She'll receive a partial athletic scholarship to swim
for the Boilermakers next season.

Robinson will join Purdue
freshman and 2009 North Montgomery high school graduate Emily McIlrath
as the second Montgomery County swimmer on the team.

Robinson
finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke in last year's Indiana High
School Athletic Association (IHSAA) State finals at the IU Natatorium
at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

She's finished in the top 10 in that
event each of the last two seasons, placing ninth and winning the
consolation finals in 2008. She said Purdue will use her as a
breaststroker next year.

But Athenians' coach Mark Hesse hopes she shows them more.

"I want to prepare her to go to Purdue and offer to be more than just a breaststroker," he said.

Purdue
coaches watched Robinson practice with Sugar Creek Swim Club over the
summer and her visit only made her feel more comfortable there.

So far this year, Purdue is 4-0 overall and 3-0 in dual meets with wins over Miami of Ohio, Notre Dame and Northwestern.

Robinson
and McIlrath each made the IHSAA State finals last year and McIlrath
served as Robinson's host during her visit. Robinson said the two Sugar
Creek Swim Club teammates had a blast.

Back in August, the left-handed pitcher gave a verbal commitment to NCAA Division I Vanderbilt University.

Nearly three months later, he officially signed to pitch for the Commodores in 2010.

"It
went by quick. It feels like I gave my verbal commitment not too long
ago and now I'm signing," said Rice, who went 14-0 last season, had a
0.74 E.R.A. and finished with the eighth-highest total of strikeouts in
state history (198). "I always wanted to play Division I baseball. It
was just a matter of how much time to put into it and how much effort."

Rice
becomes the second Crawfordsville pitcher in the last two years to sign
with an NCAA Division I team. Cameron Hobson, a 2008 graduate, is in
his sophomore season with the University of Dayton this year. Rice will
receive a partial athletic scholarship.

Rice led
Crawfordsville to a 29-3 record last season and helped them earn their
fourth-consecutive Indiana High School Athletic Association sectional
title and reach the IHSAA Mount Vernon (Fortville) Regional
championship game. Class 3A No. 8 Brebeuf Jesuit defeated the Athenians
2-1 in the title game.

Rice still hasn't lost a start (he's 24-0
during his three years) in his career and has a 0.92 E.R.A. in 175 1/3
total innings pitched.

Vanderbilt went 37-27 (12-17 in the SEC Eastern Division) last year and reached the NCAA Regionals, losing to Louisville.

Rice
visited Vanderbilt earlier this fall in September. He went up there the
weekend of Sept. 19, watched the Commodores lose to Mississippi State
and stayed with players overnight.

He said baseball coaches have
told him they'll start him out as a left-handed specialist and they'll
decide on his role as he develops.

After playing soccer this fall, Rice won't play a sport in the winter. Instead, he'll focus on improving his pitches.

Rice said he still needs to work on a few fundamentals before spring comes.