CROWN POINT — With one significant goal already in the rearview mirror and the next major challenge still on the horizon, Friday’s game against Lowell would have been easy for Crown Point senior Nick Jeffirs to overlook.
Then again, Jeffirs wasn’t about to mail it in, particularly not his final home game in a Crown Point uniform.
The 6-foot-6 forward posted a game-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lift the Bulldogs to a 61-45 victory over the Red Devils.
“Playing here for the last time was really sentimental,” Jeffirs said. “I’m an emotional guy; I’m sure everybody that watches me knows that. It’s great to be taking big strides right before sectionals (starting Tuesday against Valparaiso). We know how far we can go, so I like our chances.”
In his previous game, Jeffirs etched his name into Crown Point’s history book by becoming the program’s fifth player to reach 1,000 points. He became the first to join Crown Point’s 1,000-point club since Spike Albrecht in 2011
Although Lowell’s defense held Jeffirs below his scoring average, he was his typical, effective self.
“Same old, same old,” Crown Point coach Clint Swan said. “He’s Mr. Reliable. When they try to take him away, it frees our other guys up. When they try to take our other guys out, it frees him up inside, and he’s a load down there.”
Jeffirs was backed by fellow senior Josh Berquist, who totaled 11 points, while Grant Gelon finished with 13 and drained three 3-pointers.
“We were really patient on offense,” Berquist said. “We waited for the best shot, didn’t try to force a three right away and got it to Jeffirs. Once you get it inside to him, everything works out well.”
The Bulldogs (15-8) started the game on a 10-0 run, and then repeated their early-half success by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter. Swan preaches the concept that the first four minutes of each half are “make or break.”
“We can’t spot teams early points, especially good teams,” Lowell coach Joe Delgado said. “Our kids are tough, and they fought back after going down 10 at the beginning. We told them that we couldn’t go down to start the second half, and we go down another eight points.”
The Red Devils (10-13) went 2-for-15 from beyond the 3-point arc, including 0-for-6 in the first half. They also struggled at the free-throw line, shooting 37 percent.
Jordan Jusevich notched 12 points off the bench to lead Lowell in scoring, while Brandon Cory chipped in nine.
“It’s a great game to have going into sectionals,” Delgado said. “That’s a good team and they’re doing really well this year. If you’re going to play in a tough sectional, it’s good to play in a tough game before it.”
Now, Crown Point can finally turn its attention to Tuesday’s first-round sectional game.
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“This wasn’t a throw-away game for either one of us,” Swan said. “Both teams wanted to play well. They have good players, and they came in hungry and played hard. This is a healthy rivalry.”
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance writer.