Page 21 - 2016-17 Boys Basketball State Finals Program

Last Year’s State Finals in Review

Lapel Rolls to Second Boys Basketball Crown, First in Class 2A
Lapel had to gut out four wins of six points or less shots and three assists from junior guard JonRoss Richardson, while
during the Class 2A boys basketball state tourna- senior forward Triston Carpenter added 12 points, nine rebounds
ment. But there was no such drama when the and four assists. Senior guard Kamron Herrington added 10 points,
Bulldogs got to the final game. four rebounds and four assists.
The second-ranked Bulldogs scored the first six The Hornets, who were making their first state finals appearance,
points of the game, led by 18 at halftime and rolled finished 23-8 under Coach Mosi Barnes. Senior guard Brian “Kipp’
past No. 7 Indianapolis Howe 59-37. It was the Warren led Howe with 11 points, while junior forward Tyler Pannell
second state title for Lapel – both coming under pulled down 10 rebounds.
Coach Jimmie Howell, a 1972 Lapel graduate. The
title was the 565th win of Howell’s coaching career.
Lapel (26-4) shot 45 percent from the floor,
outrebounded the Hornets 38-34, outscored Howe
36-16 in the paint and had 14 assists on 22 bas-
kets. The Bulldogs also limited Howe to 29-percent
shooting.
Lapel led just 10-7 with two minutes left in the first
quarter before going on a 14-0 run that pushed the
margin to 24-7 with 5:25 left in the first half. The
lead was 33-15 at halftime and quickly grew to 22
points a minute into the third quarter. The Bulldogs
would lead by as many as 26 points and never let
the margin get below 18 points the rest of the way.
Lapel got 21 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked

Liberty Christian Earns First State Title in School History

With its back against the wall in the Class A final, Liberty Leading 44-43 with 7:22 left in the game, the Lions held the
Christian didn’t flinch. Cardinals scoreless for nearly seven minutes in stretching
their advantage to 62-43. Greg Dixon and Franklin Nunn
Having watched almost all of a 12-point lead over No. 3 combined for 12 points during the surge, which saw Liberty
Bloomfield evaporate, the top-ranked Lions went on an 18-0 Christian force five turnovers and force the Cardinals into six
fourth-quarter run to pull away from the Cardinals 64-45. It straight misses.
was the school’s first state championship and first basketball
title for an Anderson school since 1946. Up 32-28 at halftime, Liberty Christian opened the third quar-
ter with an 8-0 run to extend the advantage to 40-28. But the
Cardinals chipped away at the lead, eventually getting within
a point on Eli Combs’ rebound basket 38 seconds into the
fourth quarter. But the Lions took control from there, shooting
8-11 from the floor over the final seven minutes to pull away.
Nunn finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four
steals for the Lions, who ended up 26-4 under Coach Jason
Chappell. Caleb Hardy added 14 points and five rebounds,
while Dixon chipped in 12 points and two steals, and Ronny
Williams 10 points, five assists and five steals. The Lions’ 17
steals were one shy of tying the Class A championship-game
record set by Bowman Academy in 2010.
Bloomfield, making its first state-finals appearance since
1998, finished 26-4 under Coach Matt Britton. The Cardinals
got 19 points and six rebounds from Brandon Van Sant, 10
points from Eli Combs, and nine points and six rebounds
from Zach Skinner.

IHSAA State Basketball Tournament presented by the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever 21