1999 IHSAA Boys Basketball

Class A State Finals

 

TECUMSEH CLAIMS CLASS A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

 

First-time state finalist Tecumseh put four different scorers in double figures and pulled away from Lafayette Central Catholic in the second half to post a 55-43 victory in the IHSAA Class A state championship game on Saturday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

 

Coached by Kevin Oxley, Tecumseh finished 23-4 in winning the school's first state title in any team sport and it came just three weeks after the school won its first sectional title in boys basketball. The victory also denied Lafayette Central Catholic its second consecutive Class A state championship.

 

Tecumseh's Jake Holder, a 6-3 forward, led all scorers with 15 points followed by teammates Jimmy Funkhouser and Jeremy Broshears with 12 each and Matt Potter with 11. The Braves forced Lafayette Central Catholic into 18 turnovers and converted 18 of 26 from the free throw line compared to the Knights six of eight at the stripe.

 

Tecumseh got off to a 11-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Central Catholic evened the score by halftime at 22-22. The Braves took control in the early going of the third quarter and held a 35-29 lead at the stop and outscored the Knights 20-14 the rest of the way.

 

Freshman Tyler Best scored 11 points to lead Lafayette Central Catholic, which was ranked eighth in the final Associated Press Class A rankings. Tecumseh came into the game ranked seventh in the same poll.

 

As a team, Lafayette Central Catholic blocked a Class A championship record eight shots during the ballgame doubling its output from last year's title game. In comparison, the most ever recorded in a single class state finals was nine by Concord (all by Shawn Kemp) in the 1988 semifinals against Hammond Noll.

 

Coached by Chad Dunwoody, Lafayette Central Catholic finished its season at 19-7.

 

 

CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP BOX SCORE

Lafayette Central Catholic (19-7)

Name

Min.

FG

3FG

FT

R

A

F

S

TO

TP

Richard Gilman

14

0-6

0-5

0-0

0

0

2

2

4

0

Ryan Gilman

26

3-4

1-1

0-0

3

0

1

1

1

7

Josh McCarty

24

4-9

0-0

0-0

8

0

3

1

2

8

Tyler Best

28

4-11

0-1

3-4

7

0

3

1

3

11

Eric Washington

14

2-4

0-0

2-2

6

0

4

1

5

6

Patrick Fogerty

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Eric Anthrop

18

3-6

0-0

1-2

1

1

2

0

2

7

Joseph Buikema

10

1-2

0-0

0-0

2

0

0

0

0

2

Adam Pechin

12

104

0-2

0-0

2

2

2

0

0

2

Nathan Smith

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Burke Richeson

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Nick Weiss

11

0-3

0-0

0-0

3

1

2

0

1

0

Team Total

160

18-49

1-9

6-8

32

4

19

6

18

43

Percentages

 

.367

.111

.750

           

Team Rebounds: 6

 

Tecumseh (23-4)

Name

Min.

FG

3FG

FT

R

A

F

S

TO

TP

Jimmy Funkhouser

25

3-8

1-2

5-5

2

1

1

2

3

12

Jeremy Brosherars

31

4-13

0-0

4-5

3

2

1

0

3

12

Chris King

31

1-4

0-0

3-4

4

1

1

2

1

5

Matt Potter

31

4-8

0-0

3-6

9

2

2

2

1

11

Jake Holder

25

6-12

0-1

3-6

5

2

3

2

2

15

Adam Lubbenhusen

13

0-2

0-1

0-0

2

0

1

0

0

0

David Lindenschmidt

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Andy Johnson

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Josh Powell

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Jon Crooks

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Team Totals

160

18-47

1-4

18-26

25

8

9

8

10

55

Percentages

 

.383

.250

.692

           

Team Rebounds: 7

 

Score by Quarters:

Lafayette Central Catholic

7

15

7

14

-

43

Tecumseh

11

11

13

20

-

55

 

Officials: Mark Baltz, Mike Bohan

 

 

TECUMSEH'S JAKE HOLDER WINS CLASS A TRESTER AWARD

 

Jake Holder of Tecumseh High School was selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the recipient of the Arthur L. Trester Award for Class A Boys Basketball.

 

Holder, a 6-3 forward for the Braves contributed 15 points to help Tecumseh to the school's first state championship in any team sport.

 

Besides being a four-year varsity starter and two-year captain in basketball, Holder also has participated in football, cross country and track while wearing a Tecumseh uniform. Holder has served as a class officer all four years of high school and currently serves as vice-president and has been involved in numerous school and community activities.

 

He plans to pursue a career in elementary education while studying at Franklin College beginning next fall.

 

Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Tecumseh High School in the name of Holder.

 

 

POST-GAME QUOTES

 

Tecumseh Coach Kevin Oxley

"We executed our game plan, but we let some opportunities slip away in the first half. At half time, we said if we just finish the opportunities, we could be state champions.

"The class A champioship is just as important as the class 4A champioship. We are educators and our goal is to make the players better. Class basketball gave us that opportunity to make them better. This is not about Tecumseh or class basketball. This is about kids being successful.

"We had no pressure all tounament. They just let us play basketball. The 32 minutes on the dome floor today, we were better. We've thrived all year being able to adjust. We only play six players. Mental toughness was on the blackboard in the lockerroom. In the tournament, you need luck and skill, but you need mental toughness.

"We focused on them all week.

"It was a confidence builder when we made them call that time out in the third quarter after we regained the lead."

 

Tecumseh's Jimmy Funkhouser

"We just ran our offense and played our game."

Lafayette Central Catholic Coach Chad Dunwoody

"Their coaching staff had them prepared and they took us out of about everything we wanted to do.

"They did a real good job of taking away our defense. Southern teams have quickness and that extended our defense. So we had no help side on defense.

"It really baffled me why we weren't ready to play. What could be better to play in a state championship? "Even though our players weren't ready to play, I'll take full credit as coach.

"They really spread us offensively. And Eric Washington took himself out of the game early with the foul. Eric Washington is a Division I talent, and was a non-factor in the game.

"Tecumseh had every right to be nervous. We knew how it was to play in a state championship because we were her last year. But we let them dictate the flow of the game, especially early.

"I felt the first three minutes of the second half would determine the winner. They jumped out to a 29-22 lead and that was a big difference. The first quarter they dominated the first three minutes and we didn't.

"We had good perimiter play and we like to get the ball inside early, and we didn't do that. Obviously, that hurt us."

 

Lafayette Central Catholic's Eric Anthrop

"We used a lot of energy in the second quarter to catch up. They jumped on us in the third quarter and that hurt us."

 

Lafayette Central Catholic's Josh McCarty

"The early foul (on Washington) hurt us and they made their shots and we didn't when we needed to."