After a daunting regular season East Chicago seems unfazed and determined for a playoff run, defeating Highland 63-43 in the first round of the Boy’s Sectional playoff at Crown Point on Tuesday night.
“It felt good, I felt like we played hard,” said Louis Williams, point guard for the Cardinals. “We have a few things we need to tighten up but for the most part we came out here and did what we wanted to do.”
The Cardinals dominated in nearly every category of the bout starting with the tip-off.
Though they would miss their first attempt, they quickly regained their composure and capitalized on the next four offensive possessions. Highland answered with a big three-pointer to keep them within 10 points as they approached the end of the first quarter.
In the second-quarter Highland came out with a lot more energy and were able to take advantage of the Cardinal’s early missed shots, eventually chopping their lead to six before the half.
The third-quarter would be the deciding one as EC flexed their muscle with Rodney Cleamons throwing down two huge dunks in back-to-back possessions. With momentum on their side they tightened up the defense, forcing Highland to make several bad passes causing multiple turnovers, leading to a 38-25 lead going into the fourth.
Highland would make a late push, but in an attempt to save the clock, ran themselves out of timeouts and were forced to take intentional fouls to try and stop the clock, putting EC on the free-throw line numerous times as time expired at 63-43 East Chicago.
Despite a shaky start to the season, losing four of their first, five matchups, EC strutted into tonight’s game winning six of their last eight games and are looking forward to their next matchup.
“It’s been tough, hard work recovering from that start,” said Marcus Jefferson, coach of the Cardinals. “We’ve found our identity, and the guys are buying-in, and showing up and working hard in practice.”
The East Chicago Cardinals move onto face the Lowell Red Devils, March 1 for the second round of the Crown Point Boy’s Section playoff basketball tournament. Hope to see you there!