IHSAA Boys Basketball

1996-97 State Finals in Review

TOP-RANKED BLOOMINGTON NORTH CROWNED 1997 BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPION

Bloomington North completed an impressive tournament run by defeating Delta 75-54 to win the 87th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament March 22, 1997 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Coached by Tom McKinney, top-ranked Bloomington North posted its 18th consecutive victory and finished 28-1 overall. The Cougars were the first Bloomington to reach the state finals in 37 years and became the 47th different school to claim the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship since the tournament began in 1911.

Delta, which had never reached the tournament's Sweet Sixteen level before in the school's 30-year history, completed its season 24-5. The Eagles were coached by Paul Keller.

Bloomington North had survived an overtime battle with Bloomington South in the finals of the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional, while Delta began its long tournament road with a one-point triumph over Wapahani in the Jay County Sectional finals.

In the state championship game, Bloomington North jumped to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and never trailed. The Cougars led 30-17 at halftime and 50-35 after three quarters. Kueth Duany and Ryan Reed shared scoring honors for the champions with 17 points each, while Patrick Jackson and Rob Robbins paced Delta with 13 points apiece. In a well-played game, Bloomington North shot .574 from the field and committed only four turnovers.

Bloomington North had advanced to the championship game with a 50-43 triumph over Kokomo in the semifinals. Delta earned its spot in the final game with a down-to-the-wire 57-56 victory over LaPorte. Kokomo's Herman Fowler recorded the highest individual scoring total in the 1997 state finals with 27 points in a losing effort. Bloomington North put three players in double figures, led by Jeremy Sinsabaugh with 15 points. Kokomo (23-5) led 10-7 after one quarter and 20-16 at halftime. Bloomington North took the lead the for good on its final possession of the third quarter for a 31-29 advantage and stretched the gap to as much as 10 in the final period.

Down 18-4 after just four minutes of play in the second state semifinals game, Delta came all the way back in a stirring effort to nip LaPorte (22-5) in a battle of unranked teams. The winning score came with four seconds left when Patrick Jackson dribbled the length of the floor before passing to Tyce Shideler for a lay-up basket. Shideler led Delta with 21 points, while Ben Tonagel paced LaPorte with 21 points.

Jeremy Sinsabaugh of Bloomington North was named the tournament's most valuable player by the Associated Press. Other members of the all-tourney team were Ryan Reed and Mario Wuysang of Bloomington North, Patrick Jackson of Delta, Ben Tonagel of LaPorte and Herman Fowler of Kokomo.

The IHSAA Executive Committee selected Billy Lynch of Delta as the 1997 recipient of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award in Boys Basketball. Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate sponsor of all IHSAA tournaments, presented a $1,000 scholarship in Lynch's name to Delta High School.

A total of 382 schools and 4,584 athletes began competition at the sectional level.

MOUNT VERNON'S FUNKHOUSER WINS 3-POINT SHOOTOUT

Kyle Funkhouser, a senior from Mount Vernon, won the Fifth Annual IHSAA-Farm Bureau Insurance 3-Point Shootout by hitting 18 of 25 shots in the final round of competition.

Funkhouser, who represented the Evansville Central Sectional and the Evansville Semi-State, outdistanced senior Kevin Schaller of Griffith, who hit 14 shots. Junior Marcus Louden of Woodlan was third with nine, followed by senior Matt Brewer of Franklin Central with eight.

In the semifinals competition, Funkhouser had survived a shootoff with sophomore Bryan Bullington of Madison to win the Evansville Semi-State competition and qualify for a spot in the finals. Schaller and Brewer set the pace in the semifinals by hitting 18 shots each to represent their semi-states in the finals.


CHARLESTOWN'S ROUTH PERFECT IN SLAM DUNK COMPETITION

Kenny Routh of Charlestown won the Fifth Annual IHSAA-Farm Bureau Insurance Slam Dunk Shootout with a score of 60 points to edge junior Rodney Smith of Pike who compiled a score of 55.5.

A senior representing the Jeffersonville Sectional and Evansville Semi-State, Routh registered perfect scores of 30 on each of his first two dunks in the finals. The other finalists were senior DeWayne Krom of Northfield and junior Sean Lewis of Lebanon. Krom recorded a score of 28.5, while Lewis tallied a 26.5.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE

Kokomo (43)
PlayerMIN FG3FGFT RAPF STOTP
Aaron Alexander301-3 0-00-210 110 32
Herman Fowler2710-17 4-83-33 240 127
Matthew Brady101-2 0-00-01 050 22
Michael Gaines311-8 0-20-03 423 22
Joseph Sanders302-4 1-10-04 501 55
Joseph Bennett70-1 0-10-01 110 30
Travis Taflinger10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Joseph Thatcher10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Bryan Snyder72-2 1-10-01 020 25
Eric Ferrell140-0 0-00-02 040 10
Nick Brown10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Lucas Cummings1 0-00-00-0 000 000
Totals16017-37 6-133-525 13194 1943

Team Rebounds: 6

Bloomington North (50)
PlayerMIN FG3FGFT RAPF STTOTP
Djibril Kante202-3 0-02-44 121 26
Kueth Duany161-10 0-50-23 340 22
Ryan Reed275-9 0-03-73 240 013
Jeremy Sinsabaugh285-10 4-91-24 220 215
David McKinney310-1 0-10-04 503 10
Aaron Ryan10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Mario Wuysang182-6 1-45-61 113 010
Jay Robles10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Andy Jeffers10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Seth Debro10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Adam Hawley10-0 0-00-00 000 00
Matt Reed152-4 0-00-0 201 004
Totals16017-43 5-1911-2121 14147 750

Team Rebounds: 6

Score by Quarters:
Kokomo1010 914- 43
Bloomington North79 1519- 50

Officials: Tom Urban, Mike Waisnora

Attendance: 27,843 (Two-game session)

GAME TWO BOX SCORE

Delta (57)
PlayerMIN FG3FGFT RAPF STOTP
Rob Robbins237-18 1-71-37 130 016
Tyce Shideler318-13 0-05-65 221 121
Roosevelt Jackson191-2 0-00-25 010 22
Patrick Jackson326-16 2-72-25 522 216
Billy Lynch210-1 0-00-03 332 00
Jared Conatser00-0 0-00-00 000 00
Lucas Manor30-0 0-00-00 010 00
Adam Shrunk00-0 0-00-00 000 00
Nathan Calvert30-0 0-00-00 010 00
Chad Oakley170-0 0-00-01 100 00
Aaron Parris11 1-30-00-0 500 002
Totals16023-53 3-148-1331 12135 557

Team Rebounds: 5

LaPorte (56)
PlayerMIN FG3FGFT RAPF STTOTP
Gregory Tonagel314-11 2-80-05 621 410
Jeff Ballard274-7 0-01-21 120 19
Benjamin Tonagel328-15 3-72-312 120 021
Christopher Bootcheck32 4-60-10-1 4430 18
Nicholas Bernel214-5 0-00-04 130 08
Jeremy Hoehne00-0 0-00-00 000 00
Stephen Drabyn00-0 0-00-00 000 00
Aaron Meyer00-0 0-00-00 000 00
William Spence60-2 0-20-20 101 10
Stephen Elkins00-0 0-00-00 000 00
Ryan Knoll00-0 0-00-00 000 00
Bradley Mumma11 0-10-00-0 021 000
Totals16024-47 5-183-826 16132 756

Team Rebounds: 1

Score by Quarters:
Delta915 1914- 57
LaPorte2012 1113- 56

Officials: Gary Leistner, Larry Nixon

Attendance: 27,843 (Two-game session)

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOX SCORE

Delta (54)
PlayerMIN FG3FGFT RAPF STOTP
Rob Robbins245-12 1-52-22 120 313
Tyce Shideler274-6 0-00-04 050 38
Roosevelt Jackson211-2 0-00-24 012 12
Patrick Jackson294-13 1-44-40 430 213
Billy Lynch180-0 0-00-01 120 00
Jared Conatser20-0 0-00-00 100 10
Lucas Manor113-4 2-30-00 020 18
Adam Shrunk20-0 0-02-20 000 02
Nathan Calvert60-1 0-10-01 010 00
Chad Oakley91-2 0-10-01 010 12
Aaron Parris11 3-30-00-1 612 006
Totals16021-43 4-148-1119 8192 1254

Team Rebounds: 4

Bloomington North (75)
PlayerMIN FG3FGFT RAPF STTOTP
Djibril Kante211-6 0-06-69 301 08
Kueth Duany256-9 1-34-45 230 317
Ryan Reed317-10 0-03-43 321 017
Jeremy Sinsabaugh315-8 2-32-23 112 114
David McKinney212-5 0-10-02 120 04
Aaron Ryan10-1 0-10-00 000 00
Mario Wuysang163-4 2-30-00 431 08
Jay Robles10-0 0-00-20 100 00
Andy Jeffers10-0 0-00-01 000 00
Seth Debro10-0 0-00-00 010 00
Adam Hawley12-2 0-00-00 000 04
Matt Reed101-2 0-01-2 111 003
Totals16027-47 5-1116-2024 16135 475

Team Rebounds: 2

Score by Quarters:
Delta017 1819- 54
Bloomington North723 2025- 75

Officials: Jay C. Smith, Ray Tebbe

Attendance: 26,187