Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
March 22, 2008
BROWNSBURG CAPS IMPROBABLE
RUN WITH FIRST-EVER CLASS 4A TITLE
Gordon
Hayward dropped in a twisting runner from point blank range as time expired to
send unranked Brownsburg to a 40-39 victory over No. 8 Marion in Saturday
night’s IHSAA Class 4A state championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse. It was Brownsburg’s first-ever state
championship and sealed a 22-5 season under fourth-year Head Coach Joshua
Kendrick.
After a
series of four timeouts between the two teams, Brownsburg’s Austin Fish
fired a one-handed pass three-quarters the length of the court, only to see
On the
previous possession,
The late drama
capped a fourth quarter full of heroes.
Fish
seemingly buried
After
taking nearly a minute off the clock, Mays had a potential go-ahead basket
negated when he was whistled for an offensive foul with 1:05 left.
Brownsburg’s J.D. Cosby made it a two-point game at the free throw line
with 24 seconds left, setting up the late heroics.
In a
classic game of nip-and-tuck, neither team led by more than seven points while
the 79 combined points matched the fewest points in a championship game since
2004. Additionally, Brownsburg’s 40 points were the fewest by a winning
team in a state championship game since
Mavunga
led Brownsburg with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots and
Wood led
In the game, Mavunga set a new
Class 4A championship game record with 12 free throw attempts, eclipsing the 10
attempted by North Central’s Jason Gardner in 1999 and equaled by
Pike’s Justin Cage in 2002. Saturday’s evening session was the
fourth straight sellout with an attendance of 18,305 while the entire day’s
attendance was 31,943.
GORDON
Following
the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Gordon Hayward of
Brownsburg High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester
Mental Attitude Award.
The award
is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was
nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental
attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
In addition
to his accomplishments on the hardwood,
“Gordon
indeed has been blessed, but he has also worked very hard to get to this point
in his career,” says Brownsburg Principal Bret Daghe. “His work ethic serves as a fine
example, not just for students, but for all of us to emulate.”
He is the
son of Gordon and Jody Hayward of Brownsburg.
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate
partner, will present a $1,000 scholarship to
The award is named in honor of Arthur L. Trester, the IHSAA’s first commissioner who served the Association from 1929-44.
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s official photographer for all state
championship events and one of the leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE
For t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s 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
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (
CLASS
4A POST-GAME QUOTES
Joshua
Kendrick, Brownsburg Head Coach
“It
was like a heavyweight fight. Every shot
was contested, every rebound there was a fight for
it. I’m just so proud of these
kids. They played so hard.”
“These
kids have not been rated in the polls all year.
I think these kids have huge heart and you have to rate that.”
(in the time out)
“We
drew up several plays because we weren’t sure what they were going to be
in. Someone said you gotta
believe and that’s what happened.”
(on the fans)
“We
have a great community. They support
these young men for what these young men stand for – integrity. We’re just blessed to have that small
town community where everyone is cheering for us.”
(on what this means)
“It
means that everyone that helped me out helped these kids out, hats off. I’m so proud that people took time for
us. These kids wanted to start their own
tradition. This one’s for all
those people who have coached in our feeder system that help young kids
out. We won this one for a lot of
different people not just the 21 or so out here on the floor.”
Joe
Luce, Marion Head Coach
“Great job by Brownsburg on that last shot.
Our kids fought hard, it’s just the way it goes. It was a heck of a finish, just a nice play
at the end by them. It was a super job
by us defensively. I’m just proud
of our guys.”
(on Brownsburg’s winning shot)
“We
just wanted a stop at the end. We just
wanted to get a stop. I thought we had
the ball in our hand, but they made a great play.”
“Offensively
we had trouble getting going. Defensively
we played well all night. At halftime we
just wanted to get the ball more to Julius (Mays) and Scott Woods’ hands.”
(on Scott Woods three-point basket for
“That’s
what he is, a great player and a big time shooter.”