Page 22 - 2008-09 Boys Basketball State Finals Program

Last Year’s State Finals in Review

BROWNSBURG CAPS IMPROBABLE RUN WITH FIRST-EVER CLASS 4A TITLE

Gordon Hayward dropped in a twisting runner from point to cut the lead to one with 3:14 to play. Hayward and Mays
blank range as time expired to send unranked Brownsburg traded baskets on each team’s next possessions before a
to a 40-39 victory over No. 8 Marion in Saturday night’s Hayward miss gave Marion the ball down by one.
IHSAA Class 4A state champion- After taking nearly a minute off
ship game at Conseco Fieldhouse. the clock, Mays had a potential go-
It was Brownsburg’s first-ever state ahead basket negated when he was
championship and sealed a 22-5 sea- whistled for an offensive foul with
son under fourth-year Head Coach 1:05 left. Brownsburg’s J.D. Cosby
Joshua Kendrick. made it a two-point game at the free
Hayward’s last second heroics throw line with 24 seconds left, set-
erased an equally clutch jumper by ting up the late heroics.
Marion’s Scott Wood with 2.1 ticks In a classic game of nip-and-
left. tuck, neither team led by more than
After a series of four timeouts be- seven points while the 79 combined
tween the two teams, Brownsburg’s points matched the fewest points in
Austin Fish fired a one-handed pass a championship game since 2004.
three-quarters the length of the court, Additionally, Brownsburg’s 40 points
only to see Marion’s Jay Edwards get were the fewest by a winning team
both hands on the ball. An alert Julian in a state championship game since
Mavunga jarred the ball loose, where Milan beat Muncie Central 32-30 in
it squirted free to Hayward in the 1954. The victory ran the Bulldogs’
middle of the lane. Without hesitation, winning streak to seven games as
Hayward put the ball on the rim they had lost their last two games
where it dropped through after time heading into sectional play.
had expired. Mavunga led Brownsburg with 17 points, 14 rebounds
On the previous possession, Marion’s Julius Mays and three blocked shots and Hayward scored six of his 10
worked methodically against Hayward near midcourt before points in the final quarter. As a team, Brownsburg shot just
driving down the left side of the lane and spotting Wood 30.2 percent from the floor in the win, but committed just
open on the wing. A 45-percent three-point shooter, Wood four turnovers overall. Mays led all scorers with 21 points,
line drived home his only field goal of the game to give the hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field.
Giants a 39-38 lead. Wood led Marion with seven rebounds and Jay Ed-
The late drama capped a fourth quarter full of heroes. wards chipped in six points and five rebounds. The Giants
Fish seemingly buried Marion when he swished an open committed just six turnovers in the slow paced game.
three from the corner, giving Brownsburg a 35-29 lead with Marion finished the 2007-08 season with a 24-5 record
4:18 left. Marion countered with a driving layup from Lamar under fourth-year Head Coach Joe Luce.
Jackson and an old fashioned three-point play from Mays
WASHINGTON CROWNED 3A STATE CHAMPS
Fourth-ranked Washington High School brought home matched the 3A championship game record with four rejec-
its fifth state title in school history on Saturday night, tions.
rolling past No. 6 Harding 84-60 for the Class 3A crown at The Hatchets ran their winning streak to 21 straight
Conseco Fieldhouse. The Hatchets operated at will on the games dating back to early December, closing the year with
interior thanks to 7-foot senior Tyler Zeller and 6-foot-11 a 23-2 record under third-year Head Coach Gene Miiller.
senior Seth Coy in the middle. The duo combined for 63 Harding dropped to 22-4 under Head Coach Al Gooden in
points, 32 rebounds and six blocked shots while helping his 18th season. Harding, which competed in Class 2A the
Washington shoot 57.4 percent from the floor in the victory. past four years, was making its fifth state finals appearance.
Zeller, the younger brother of former Indiana Mr. Bas- Washington flexed its collective interior muscles early
ketball Luke Zeller, scored 43 points on 14-of-22 shooting and often, scoring the game’s first six points on easy layups
from the field and 15-of-18 makes at the foul line. Luke hit before Pryce Underwood got Harding on the board with a
the game-winning basket in 2005 to propel Washington to three 90 seconds in to the game. Thanks to a frenetic early
its fourth state crown, but Tyler was not to be upstaged. pace, the Hatchets built a 25-13 lead with a minute to play
His 43 points were the most ever in a championship game in the first quarter. Harding got back within four early in the
in IHSAA history while he also grabbed 16 rebounds and (continued next page)
20 IHSAA - Pure Spirit. Pure Sport!

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