Phone:
317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
The fourth-ranked
Jimtown Jimmies (25-2) were without one of their
starters but got a big game from a trio of players and upset top-ranked
Brownstown Central, 63-59, in the championship game of the Class 2A state
finals at Conseco Fieldhouse
in
With
starting point guard Chris Trobaugh and his 11 points
per game out due to a bout with the flu, Kyle Johnson, Tyler Leighton and
Derrick DeShone picked up the slack in what was a
very physical contest. Johnson scored 21 points, rebounded 11 and blocked three
shots, while Leighton poured in 19 points and DeShone
12 to lead Jimtown to its first state basketball
championship in as many appearances in the finals.
It was the
21st consecutive victory for the school of 490 students, which has a
rich football tradition with three state titles to its credit over the years, but
basketball is king for this year at the
After a low
scoring first half that saw Jimtown take a 22-16 lead
into the lockerroom, including 8-4 at the end of one
period, the teams lit up the scoreboard in the fourth. Jimtown,
directed by 13th year coach Randy DeShone,
scored a Class 2A finals record 31 points in the fourth quarter alone including
a combined 59 in the final eight minutes by the two points.
With the
game tied at 45-45, Jimtown took the lead for good on
DeShone’s pass to Johnson who scored from under the
basket for a two point lead with
A Class 2A
record 46 fouls were committed by the two teams and they also combined for a 2A
record 60 attempts from the free throw line.
Brownstown Central
(27-2) forced 20 Jimtown turnovers for the game but the
team struggled to put the ball in the bucket when it needed to. The Braves shot
32 percent for the game, but canned only three of its 18 attempts from
three-point range.
Brownstown was
led by Marty Young’s 19 points and Chandler Lambring’s
18. Clint Parker, the Braves’ leading scorer at nearly 23 per game, was held to
just six points. Sixth-year coach Dave Benter guided Brownstown to its first appearance in the finals since 1931.
Kyle
Johnson of Jimtown Named Winner of the Arthur L. Trester Award For Mental Attitude
Kyle
Johnson of
Members
of the IHSAA Executive Committee present the award to the outstanding senior
participant in each classification of the boys
basketball state finals. The recipients
of this award, who were nominated by their principals and coaches, must excel
in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in basketball.
Kyle
ranks twelfth in his senior class of 116 and is a member of the National Honor
Society. His college choice is yet to be
determined, but his plans call for a major in Elementary Education. He has served as President of his class all
four years, as well as being a member of the Student Council and active in
school musicals and theatre productions.
He
volunteers as a Cadet Teacher for the Third Grade at Jimtown
South Elementary and is a four-year volunteer coach for the March Madness Youth
Basketball Program, as well as for the Peer-Tutor/Mentor Program for at-risk
students in the Middle School.
Athletically,
Kyle was a two-time nominee for the All-Northern States Conference team and
three-time team MVP and team captain. He
was voted the 2004 Comeback Player of the Year.
He was also a four-year letter winner in Football for the Jimmies.
Kyle
is the son of Kim and Gene Johnson of
Farm
Bureau Insurance, IHSAA corporate partner, presented a scholarship check for
$1,000.00 to
New IHSAA Book, Play
On, Recaps 100 Years Of High School Sports in
The
exciting new book, Play On, celebrating 100 years of
high school sports in
Team Posters And Individual Action Photographs Available
Visit 20-20 Photographic, the IHSAA’s photographer and the
Own This Game On VHS Or DVD
If you’d
like a copy of this state championship game, the IHSAA will have it as well as
each of the other three contests (one game per video) available in VHS or DVD
formats as part of the IHSAA
Video Library collection. Phone in your order beginning Monday, March 29 to
317-846-6601 (M-F, 8-4 EST) and pay by credit card (Visa or MasterCard
accepted). VHS copies are $35 each by mail, while DVD copies are $55 each by
mail. Please allow up to four weeks delivery.
For
t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s state finals tournament
or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
State Finals Programs
Available
Couldn’t be
there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at
the IHSAA Office (
Class 2A Championship
Game Quotes
Jimtown Coach Randy DeShone
“When Chris
(Trobaugh) got sick and didn’t get up this morning
because of the flu, you could just see it on the rest of the kids faces, ‘Oh no,
not again.’ Because it has happened to us for two straight years, someone is
either getting sick or hurt. This team
has stepped up all year when someone was out and made plays. And, that’s what they did today.”
“They did a
lot of trapping and that made us shoot a little quicker than we would have
liked to. That was a good coaching move
by Brownstown Central.”
“It was a loosely-called
game, but I felt as the game went on we adjusted and made some strong
moves. That was the most physical game
that we played in all year.”
“Defense
today was huge. Anthony Moore (#32) and Doug Polston
(#22) really stepped up today and held Clint Parker to just 6 points. That’s just an awesome job by them. We just have kids who step up and make
plays.”
“They did a
nice job of trapping us and forcing some mental mistakes with the
basketball. But defense wins
championships and they kept getting closer and closer but we didn’t break. They would make a run and our kids would
bounce back with a big play.”
On Trester
Award winner Kyle Johnson
“He injured
his knee a year ago and missed 26 games.
Then, this season, he had a rare cist develop as a result of the
surgery. Just unlucky. He has most definitely overcome
adversity. He is such a great kid and
most deserving of the award.”
Brownstown Central Coach Dave Benter
“We came
out way too impatient on offense in the first half. We took bad shots and
turned the ball over. That left us scrambling the whole second half. How we got
back into the game in the second half was we tried spreading them out more. It
worked a little bit better, but that used up all of our energy. I thought we
showed a lot of character in the second half. We used every ounce of our
energy.”
“We
scrambled defensively and we went to a full court and half court trap after the
first half. I’m proud of our kids. They worked extremely hard. We didn’t play
very smart in the first half and dug ourselves into a hole. You can’t do that
against a real quality team like Jimtown.”
“Give Jimtown credit. We came back and had them on their heels.
They made some big plays and we missed some shots and free throws. If we make
our free throws in the second half it may have been a different story.”