2002 IHSAA Class A
Hot-Shooting
Rossville Crowned In Class A
Surviving
a big second half rally, Rossville claimed its first state championship in boys
basketball with a 79-68 victory over Barr-Reeve in the Class A state
championship game on Saturday (March 23) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
It was the
second state championship in school history after the baseball team captured
the Class A title in 1999-00.
Rossville
senior Brock Graves shared game honors with Barr-Reeve junior Zane Bowman with
37 points each, a Class A record which bettered the 35 point output by Union’s
(Dugger) Brody Boyd in 2000.
(Class A)
Second-ranked Rossville (23-4) finished the game shooting .556 (25-54) but were
scorching the nets in the first half. The Hornets connected on their first
three shots and led 10-3 early on. They finished the half connecting on 18 of
their 29 field goal attempts, including five of seven from three-point range,
to take a 45-26 lead. The 45 points scored set the Class A record for most points
in a half.
But what
looked like a possible blowout, took a 180-degree turn in the third period when
Barr-Reeve scored the first 13 points of the second half. The Vikings, making
their first appearance in the state finals, cut the lead to three with
Barr-Reeve
shot near 50 percent in the second half on 12-for-25 field goals and hit all
nine free throws to get back in it.
Senior Justin
Chittick added 24 points for Rossville and senior Darren
Wilcher hit for 15 points in support of Barr-Reeve,
which had its 12-game winning streak snapped.
Rossville,
coached by Jeff Henley, finished the year 23-4. Barr-Reeve, third-ranked in
Class A and coached by Bryan Hughes, ended a 24-5 season.
Click for Final Box Score and
Play-By-Play
Game Notes
Rossville’s
Troy
Roberson of Rossville High School was selected as the recipient of the Arthur
L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude for Class A Boys Basketball by members of the IHSAA Executive
Committee.
Roberson
is an Academic All-State selection by the Indiana Basketball Coaches
Association and, besides basketball, also participates in golf and track for
the Hornets.
Ranking
third in his senior class of 80 students, Roberson serves as Vice President for
his school’s National Honor Society. He also is Treasurer for the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes and a member of the Spanish Club.
The son
of Ted and Cheryl Roberson,
The
award, named in honor of the IHSAA’s first
commissioner, who served the association from 1929 to 1944, is presented to a
senior in each classification who best displays mental attitude, scholarship,
leadership and athletic ability. The student also must be nominated by his
principal and coach.
Farm
Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000
scholarship to
First in Basketball,
Second in School History
It was
the first state championship in boys basketball and
second overall in Rossville school history. The Hornets’ 1999-00 baseball team
won the Class A title with a 4-3 victory over
Tri-County at Victory Field that year. Interestingly, that team became the
first state champion in IHSAA history with a sub-.500 record on the year. The
Hornets finished with a 16-17 record that year following a 10-17 regular
season.
Class A Records
Individual
Most Points – 37 by Brock
Most Assists – 8 by Justin Chittick,
Rossville.
Field
Goals Made – 16 by Brock
Field Goal Percentage -- .800 by Brock
Team
Field Goal Percentage -- .556 (30-54) by Rossville.
Field
Goals Made – 30 by Rossville.
Points In a Half – 45 by Rossville (1st Half).
Free Throw Percentage -- .867 (13-15) by Rossville.
Most Team
Assists – 21 by Rossville.
Combined Field Goal Percentage -- .509 by Rossville (30-54) and
Barr-Reeve (25-54).
Combined Assists – 33 by Rossville (21) and Barr-Reeve (12).
(Tied)
Most Combined Field Goals Made – 55 by Rossville (30) and Barr-Reeve (25).
(Tied)
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted – 20 by Barr-Reeve.
State Finals
Photographs and Team Posters
Visit the
website of 20-20 Photographic at http://www.20-20photo.com,
the IHSAA’s official photographer for its state
championship events. The company will display action photographs from this
year’s Boys Basketball State Finals during the week following the event that
you may purchase. Also for sale will be team posters commemorating your
school’s path to the state finals.
State Finals
Programs Available
Couldn’t
be there for the Boys Basketball State Finals? You can still purchase a copy of
the official state finals program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if
you purchase in person at the IHSAA Office (
Quotes
Rossville Head Coach
Jeff Henley
“I
thought Barr-Reeve could really run with us and I also felt they could hold the
ball and reduce possessions. We felt it
was incredibly important to get off to a good start and take those options away
from them. I don’t think, under the
circumstances (pressure and crowd), we could have played any better in the
first half. Everybody talks about our
offense, but it was our defense that really got our offense going.“
“I fully
expected Barr-Reeve to comeback in the second half. They showed tremendous heart in the third quarter. We were not getting stops like we should and
we were not running like we should have been running in the third quarter. We concentrated on doing those again in the
fourth quarter.”
“I just
told these kids in the locker room that good things happen to those who work
hard, and today we got to where we wanted to be through that hard work.”
(On Troy
Roberson winning the Trester Award) “
Rossville Guard
Justin Chittick
“We came
out and played hard, we knew Barr-Reeve was going to make a run in the third
quarter and luckily we held on and now we have a blue ribbon around our neck.”
“Our
guards did a great job tonight of getting me the ball down low. I had good position and just took it up
strong. I use my quickness and ability
to get around guys who are taller than I am (referring to Barr-Reeve center #52
Bryan Cole).”
(On
scoring a Class A record 37 points) – “It’s a great feeling for myself and my team.”
“I
definitely think our tough regular season schedule helped prepare us for the
tournament. There are a lot of good
Rossville Guard
(On
winning the Trester Mental Attitude Award) “It means
as much, if not more to me than winning the championship. It seems weird, but I guess that says a lot
about the kind of person you are. It
means a lot to me that people see those qualities in me.
Barr-Reeve Head
Coach Bryan Hughes
“At
halftime we had given up 45 points and that is what we average on defense all
year. I knew we couldn’t hold them scoreless, but we just had to cut into their
lead.”
“Last
week against
“We just
wanted to cut it to 10 points going into the fourth quarter. Going into the fourth quarter we had more
than that. But we had to spend so much energy to come back that they were able
to get a couple possessions and get it back up to eight points.”
“Rossville
shot well in the first half and we didn’t make our free-throws. They are the best team in single A.”
“We were
able to play hard and overcome some adversities. We had a couple of ACL injuries (this year)
and an ankle injury to Wilcher.”