IHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship

Aaron Stainbrook | Sports Reporter & Staff Writer

4 days ago

8 min read

Orleans Bulldogs vs Clinton Prairie Gophers

The 115th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals took place on Saturday, March 29. The Orleans Bulldogs and the Clinton Prairie Gophers would start off the day as they would play for the Class 1A State Championship Game with a 10:30a.m. tip off. The two teams would be playing in the schools first ever State Championship. Alex Dewitt would start off the game red hot as he would score the first six points for Orleans before the under four timeout as Orleans would lead the game 6-5 with 3:34 left to play in the first quarter. The Bulldogs would go on a quick 5-0 run after the timeout and would lead the game 11-5 with three minutes to play in the first quarter. However, the Gophers would respond with a 9-0 run of their own and would lead the game 14-11 with 30 seconds to play in the first quarter. Rylan Crocker would get fouled on a last second three and would hit all of his free throws and would tie the game at 14 to end the first quarter. The second quarter would be even more exciting than the first as neither team could run away with it. The Bulldogs would end the quarter on a 7-2 run and would lead the game 28-25 to end the first half. Dewitt would start the second half just like he did in the first as he would score four quick points and the Bulldogs would lead the game 32-27 with 6:40 left in the third quarter. The Gophers would go on a 6-0 run, but the Bulldogs would counteract it with a 7-0 run and would lead the game 39-31 with 4:31 left in the third. The Bulldogs would continue their run and it would lead to a 44-33 lead with 2:45 left in the third. The Gophers would go on a 9-0 run to cut the Bulldogs lead to just two points with a minute left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs would hold a 46-44 lead to start the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs would start off the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run and would lead the game 53-46 with 4:01 left in the fourth quarter. The Gophers would cut the lead back to just four points, but could not get over the hump and the Bulldogs would win the game 64-55. Here is what Clinton Prairie Head Coach Chad Peckinpaugh said about the game, “it was a hard fought game and I think our guys battled very well. We just couldn't get things to go our way and we had some shots that just didn't go down and you are gonna have games that are like that. Overall, I am very proud of our guys and I know they fought until that last buzzer.” Here is what Orleans Head Coach Tom Bradley said, “We knew coming into this game that it was going to be a fight. Clinton Prairie has a very good team and defense was something that we worked on a lot. It was hard for us to get going in the first quarter but I think after that we finally started getting the shots we wanted. Clinton Prairie is very tough, but obviously we are tough as well.” Coach Bradley ended the press conference by saying this, “I want to thank God for everything that he has blessed us with.” Here is the scoring for both teams:

Clinton Prairie:

Jake McGraw 23

Alex Farley 16

Nick Curtin 10

Evan Smock 6

Orleans:

Rylan Crocker 16

Bryce Jones 17

Nate Brown 3

Alex DeWitt 24

Mason Freed 4

The Bulldogs ended the season with a 25-4 record and the Gophers finished the season 26-3 Congratulations to both teams on a great season.

Manchester Squires vs University Trailblazers

The second game of the day would be the Class 2A State Championship and it would feature Manchester and University. The two teams would both be competing for their first ever State Championship. Both teams would come out hot as University was shooting 67% from beyond the three point line and Manchester was shooting 50%. The game would be tied at eight with 2:19 left to play in the first quarter. The two teams would cool off as the quarter continued but it would be University claiming an 11-10 lead as the quarter ended. The second quarter would be a slow one for both teams as University would still hold on to a one point lead as they would lead the game 15-24 with 2:45 left to play in the first half. Manchester would go on a 5-0 run, but University would hit two big three pointers as the half came to a close and the game would be tied at 21 to end the first half. Manchester would start off the third quarter very strong as they would score nine points in just three minutes and would hold a 30-26 lead with 4:30 left to play in the third quarter. Manchester would outscore University 18-13 in the third quarter and would lead the game 39-34. University would start the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run and the game would be tied at 39 with 6:25 left to play in the fourth quarter. Max McComb for University would hit two big three pointers to tie the game at 46 with 4:10 left in the fourth quarter. Despite University having a great fourth quarter offensively, they would struggle defensively as they would score 20 points in the quarter but would also give up 20 points. Manchester would win the game 59-54. University would only shoot 35% from the field compared to 56% by Manchester. University would also shoot 25 three pointers in the game and would hit 11 of them. Here is what University Head Coach Justin Blanding said after the game, “I want to first say thank you to the seniors on this team for all of their blood, sweat, and tears. The effort that they bring everyday to our program and their leadership really means a lot.” Here is what Manchester Head Coach Eli Henson said after the game, “We played outstanding in the second half offensively. I think we did struggle a bit defensively just because they were 11 of 25 from three and it made our lives a little difficult. Our guys really stepped up in the last two minutes of the game because there was a time they went up by three and then we came down and tied it and picked up some big stops. We did a really good job taking care of the ball. Now, we had some mistakes, but you are gonna make mistakes in the championship game against a really good team. I am just very proud of how we ended the game in those final two minutes”. Here is the scoring for both teams.

Manchester:

Aaron Reid 5

Ethan Hendrix 21

Gavin Betten 21

Kaleb Kine 5

Tallon Torpy 4

Wyatt Prater 3

University:

Zien Bland 7

Max McComb 16

Blake Gray 20

Faisal Mohamud 4

Josh Henderson 7

Manchester finished the season with a 26-2 record and University finished the season 20-10. Congratulations to both teams on a great season.

South Bend Saint Joseph vs Indianapolis Crispus Attucks

The second session would begin at 6p.m. and the first game would be the Class 3A State Championship game between South Bend Saint Joseph takin on Indianapolis Crispus Attucks. The game would start off as a very fast paced game as both teams would combine to shoot 24 field goals in the first six minutes of the game. South Bend Saint Joseph would lead the game 11-9 with two minutes to play in the first quarter. Indianapolis Attucks would end the quarter on a small 4-0 run and would tie the game at 13 to end the first quarter. South Bend Saint Joseph started off the game 0-8 beyond the three point line until Elijah King hit one with 3:50 left to play in the second quarter. South Bend would lead the game 24-18 with 3:40 left in the second quarter. South Bend would outscore Indianapolis Attucks 17-11 in the second quarter and would lead the game 30-24 to end the first half. South Bend would start off the third quarter with a 5-0 run and would lead the game 35-24 with six minutes left in the quarter. Indianapolis Attucks would not let the slow start get to them as they would go on a quick 4-0 run to cut the lead to seven points. South Bend would lead the game 37-28 with 3:56 left to play in the third quarter. Neither team would gain much in the third quarter as both teams would score 11 points in the quarter. South Bend would lead the game 41-35 to start the fourth quarter. Indianapolis Attucks would start the fourth quarter on a quick 4-0 run and would trail the game 41-39 with seven minutes left to play. The fourth quarter would keep everyone on the edge of their seats as South Bend would lead the game 50-48 with 1:41 left to play. The game would be tied at 50 with under a minute to play in the fourth quarter. South Bend would drive to the rim and miss a layup but Konieczny would have a huge put back dunk and would help lead them to their first ever State Championship Win. South Bend won with a score of 56-52. Here is the scoring for both teams:

South Bend Saint Joseph:

Elijah King 16

Nick Shrewsberry 16

Chase Konieczny 10

Ethan Roseman 6

Brashuan Woods 8

Indianapolis Crispus Attucks:

Chris Hurt 8

Kayden English 15

Dezmon Briscoe 17

Che Brownlow 5

Ronsione Thomas 2

AJ Jones 7

South Bend Saint Joseph finished the season 27-3 and Indianapolis Crispus Attucks finished 22-7. Congratulations to both teams on a great season.

Fishers vs Jeffersonville

The final game of the day would be the Class 4A State Championship game between the Jeffersonville Red Devils and the Fishers Tigers. Both teams would get off to a fast start as Jeffersonville would be shooting 60% from the field and Fishers would be shooting 57% and would lead the game 8-6 with 3:47 left to play in the first quarter. The Red Devils would cool off after the media timeout as they would only score two points in the final three minutes of the quarter and would trail the game 11-8 to start the second quarter. The game would pick up again in the second quarter, but Fishers would still lead the game 20-17 with 3:33 left to play in the first half. The Red Devils would find their rhythm late in the second quarter as they ended it with a 13-4 run and would lead the game 30-24 to end the first half. The Red Devils would get outscored 18-15 in the third quarter after Fishers ended the quarter on a 6-0 run. Jeffersonville would still lead the game 45-42 to start the fourth quarter. Both teams would pick up the tempo in the fourth quarter as Jeffersonville would go on a 7-0 run but Fishers would not let that hurt them. Jeffersonville would lead the game 52-47 with 5:36 left in regulation. Fishers would go on a big 5-0 run to cut the lead to just two points as Jeffersonville would lead the game 54-52 with 3:30 left to play in regulation. Both teams had a chance to win it in the fourth but the team were tied at 60 after the fourth quarter which means extra basketball was used to decide the winner of this one. Jeffersonville would lead the game 67-66 with 25 seconds left in overtime. Fishers would have multiple chances at hitting a game winning shot but could not capitalize and Jeffersonville would hang on to win the Class 4A Championship game. Here is what Jeffersonville Head Coach Sherron Wilkerson said after the game, “I just want to thank God for this amazing opportunity.” Here is the scoring for both teams:

Jeffersonville:

Tre Singleton 26

Terrence Nord 3

Michael Cooper 15

Elijah Cheeks 4

P.J. Douglas 8

Shawn Boyd 11

Fishers:

Cooper Zachary 8

Jason Gardner Jr. 15

Justin Kirby 15

Jon Anthony Hall 9