2013 IHSAA State Basketball Finals
Borden Claims First State Championship
Borden led the entire way as they beat Triton 55-50 to win the Class A state championship. The Braves never trailed and controlled the tempo until late in the game as they held off a late run by Triton. Keeping the game at a slow, methodical pace Borden took an 18-9 lead into halftime. The third quarter was more of the same as the Braves kept the nine point advantage. Then came the fourth quarter offensive explosion. The two teams combined for 58 points in the quarter, but Borden made the big plays when they needed to.
Jalen McCoy lead the way for Borden with fifteen points. McCoy made big shots down the stretch as the Braves tried to hold on. Triton scored 31 points in the fourth quarter as senior Clay Yeo finally got on track. Yeo, the Valparaiso recruit, scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half. Borden had an answer for every Triton push as they never allowed the Trojans to take the lead.
The Braves secured their first state championship with a balanced offensive attack. They had three players score double figures with Michael Lynch (13) and Cody Bachman (10) chipping in with McCoy. Those three seniors also played the complete 32 minutes. Along with his effort on the court Borden’s Michael Lynch was named the Trester Award Mental Attitude Award winner. Triton got a good effort from Tanner Shepherd who put in ten points and grabbed three boards.
Bowman Academy’s Eagles Soar to State Title
Dictating the style of play that they prefer, Bowman Academy dispatched Linton-Stockton 86-73 to win the state championship. This is the second state championship for Bowman Academy and they become the first school to win championships in two classes. The Eagles won the state title in 2010 when they were still in Class A.
Bowman’s full court pressing style of defense forced Linton into 23 turnovers and allowed the Eagles to play the uptempo game they prefer. Bowman never trailed and lead by as many as sixteen points. Sophomore Davon Dillard led four Eagles in double figures with 24 points. Dillard and Justin King’s athleticism was the difference for Bowman. King finished with sixteen points on 7-10 shooting from the floor. Antonio Pipkin (16) and Arthur Haggard III (15) were also big offensive contributors.
Although the final score may not indicate it, Linton pushed Bowman late in the game. The Miners’ Austin Karazsia and Dess Fougerousse put together a run that got Linton within five points midway through the fourth quarter. Linton’s Jackson Bohnert made two free throws making the score 70-65 with just 3:36 left to play. Bowman was too much down the stretch out scoring Linton 16-8 making their free throws to secure the win.
Karazsia and Fougerousse put together one of the great games by teammates in recent years at the state finals. The 6’8″ Karazsia had a double-double 29 points and ten rebounds. Fougerousse, who stands at 6’5″, was given the duties of running the point for Linton. He did that admirably well and finished with 25 points and six rebounds. Along with Karazsia’s double-double he was also named the Trester Mental Attitude Award winner.
Greensburg Survives Overtime Thriller for State Title
In the most exciting game of the day, the Greensburg Pirates came from behind to beat Ft. Wayne Concordia 73-70 in overtime. Greensburg did not hold their first lead until 2:20 remaining in overtime but hung on in the final moments to win the schools first state championship. Bryant McIntosh made the big shots in crunch time leading the Pirates with 25 points.
Concordia executed the game plan they wanted with physical defense and a balanced scoring attack. They controlled the game and kept the big three for Greensburg (McIntosh, Sellers, and Welage) in check until the fourth quarter. Welage kept the Pirates close in the first half scoring ten of the teams 21 points. Concordia led by ten at the break and by five after three. Then came the Greensburg run. McIntosh scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and Sellers put in eight fourth quarter points before fouling out with 19 total.
The Cadets of Concordia withstood the run however with big plays by Ryan Gross and D.J. McCall. McCall was able to get to the foul line late to score keeping the lead. He finished with 17 points and four rebounds before fouling out with :42 seconds left in OT.
Greensburg continued to trail until McIntosh sank a three with :28 secs remaining to tie the game at 61. After turnovers by both teams, Concordia had the final possession. Gross drove and kicked the ball out to Marq Rogers who missed a three attempt at the buzzer. In OT, McIntosh was the focal point for Greensburg as the ball was in his hands every trip. He made play and shot over and over including setting up Welage with 2:20 to play. Welage was fouled and made one free throw to give Greensburg their first lead. Concordia responded when D.J. McCall drove the lane and finished with a two handed slam putting them back up two. Welage scored on the next possession to put Greensburg up for good.
Carmel Completes Back-to-Back Run
The Carmel Greyhounds won their second consecutive Class 4A state championship beating Indianapolis Cathedral 57-53. Head Coach Scott Heady is in just his third season at Carmel but now has back-to-back state titles. With the win, Carmel took their third state championship in school history while breaking Cathedral’s 18-game winning streak.
The Greyhounds were led by All-State candidate Michael Volovic’s 19 points and 7 assists. The 5’9″ point guard, who will attend Butler next season, made the winning plays down the stretch as Cathedral made a valiant run to get back into the game. Carmel never trailed and led by as many as 18 in the second quarter, but the Fighting Irish found their shooting stroke in the fourth quarter. Cathedral stars Collin Hartman and Jalen Coleman got things going and Garrett Hall had some shots go down.
In the end though the hole was just to deep to dig out of and Carmel prevailed. Michael Volovic did have some help as James Crowley added 14 points and Ryan Cline had 11 as the only Greyhounds in double figures. Cathedral was led by Jalen Coleman’s fifteen points but that came on 5 of 14 shooting. Hall chipped in 14 points for the Irish.
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