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INDIANAPOLIS – On Saturday night when third-ranked Cathedral and unranked New Haven tip off for the Class 3A basketball state championship inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, don’t blink.

On one side there is tradition-rich Cathedral (24-5), which is eyeing a potential third state title in school history and second in five years.

On the other there is New Haven (22-7), which is making its first-ever trip to downtown Indianapolis with its sights set on history during the 116th annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals.

At face value, both seem like opposites, but when it pertains to on-court identity, they are disruptive mirror images of each other that thrive on pressure defense, up-tempo play, and the chatter of naysayers.

“We knew a lot of people were kind of doubting us this year, not expecting us to win, and I think, it was just something to add some fire,” Cathedral senior guard Julien Smith said. “It really fueled us.”

The same can be said for the New Haven Bulldogs, who beat No. 9 West Lafayette, 64-49, to win the school’s first-ever regional championship before ousting rival No. 6 Columbia City, 59-55, for the second time this year to claim the Logansport Semi-State on a late go-ahead layup by 6-foot-1, junior guard Tarvar Baskerville.

“I feel like we always are the underdog but having that underdog energy kind of makes us hungrier, knowing that everybody kind of doubted us and didn’t think we were going to make it all the way here,” New Haven senior guard Jadrien Ezell said.

Cathedral’s path to state required avenging the past against Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, 81-63, to secure the program’s 12 sectional title all time, followed up by a tug-of-war regional win against No. 10 Brebeuf Jesuit, 69-67.

The Cathedral Irish marched forward with back-to-back victories against No. 2 Princeton Community, 85-64, and No. 1 Silver Creek, 73-68, to win the Seymour Semi-State, marking the program’s fifth title in history.

“There is a standard of excellence at Cathedral, but we know as coaches and administrators that it’s hard to get here,” Cathedral assistant coach Aundrey Wright said. “Everybody wants to get here, and you’re going to be everybody’s Super Bowl when you’re at Cathedral. You’re going to get everybody’s best shot, so you’re got to be prepared for that when you’re walking around with that block C on your jersey.”

The Bulldogs intend to do just that through 32 minutes of high intensity defense against the Irish, who rank as the second-best offense in the state, averaging 77.4 points per game.

“We want to scramble and fly around defensively and really make teams have to work to get what they’re getting and get tired of us,” New Haven coach Brandon Appleton said. “They don’t worry about the time. They don’t worry about the score. It’s just let’s make the next play. Let’s get the ball back.”

The question is, will anyone blink first?

Cathedral has had their eyes wide for what they’ve coined, “365” after suffering a heartbreaking sectional semifinal loss to Attucks, 59-54, last season in its first year in 3A after competing in 4A from 2001-2024.

In the offseason, standout junior guard Cash Daniels transferred to rival Carmel, leaving the Irish empty handed, but instead of regressing, they adapted. Cathedral won their second straight Indianapolis City Tournament title this season and finished unbeaten against 3A competition.

“Last year, losing to Attucks was a big lesson for us. It was the worst feeling I’ve ever felt in all my 18 years, so we asked how can we learn and grow from that game? We used that for sectional against Attucks and then later for Silver Creek,” Cathedral senior guard Keaton Aldridge said. “Now, we’re using some of that experience. That loss was a big moment for us.”

The additions and further integration of 6-foot, senior guard Julien Smith (15.6 points per game) and 6-5 senior forward R’Mani Wells (7.1 ppg), who transferred from Mt. Vernon (Fortville) in 2024-25, kept the Irish moving toward their goal.

“Cash was a big player as our starting point guard. He was a scorer, a passer. Cash had everything, plays hard, a great defender, but I feel like him transferring brought us closer together,” Aldridge said. “Our guard, Ryan Gold (2.4 apg), he had to step up, and our freshman, Jayden (Kennedy), he stepped up, too. I stepped up as a point guard, kicking it out to guys. We just needed to trust and have faith in them.”

Aldridge, a 6-3 Detroit Mercy commit, is averaging 18.1 ppg, 7.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists as a 6-3 versatile threat that’s eclipsed 1,000 career points at Cathedral.

Smith, the team’s second-leading scorer and a Mount St. Mary’s commit, played with Aldridge on the AAU circuit as a grade schooler, while 6-5 junior forward Braylon Pippins (9.3 ppg) has club ball connections with New Haven players.

“(When Cash left) it definitely came out of nowhere, right? No one was expecting it, so when it does happen, it was hard, but after healing from it, we knew it doesn’t change anything for us, right? The goals stay the same,” Smith said. “The standards stay the same. It just meant for me to step up, do more, and I knew I was ready. I was confident and ready to take on a bigger role.”

The road to state wasn’t unexpected but it tested the Irish, who lost two of their final three regular-season games before winning six straight.

Led by head coach Jason Delaney, the only coach in state history to win a title at three different schools (Waldon 2004, Indianapolis Arsenal Tech 2014, Cathedral 2022), the Irish embraced all challenges.

“Coming into the Silver Creek game, nobody expected us to win. They were saying how they were unbeatable, how they can’t lose, and just going in there and seeing all the orange. That gave us a chip on our shoulder to play hard,” Aldridge said. “We kept fighting until the clock said zero, no matter what.”

The Class 3A State Championship featuring Indianapolis Cathedral (24-5) and New Haven (22-7) will stream via PPV on IHSAAtv.org this Saturday at 6 pm ET / 5 pm CT!

New Haven did much the same.

After losing their final two regular-season games at 4A Noblesville, 70-51, and at rival 4A Fort Wayne South Side, 72-59, the Bulldogs went on to win their first sectional title since 2020.

“It was really humbling. Taking those two losses, heading into sectional, we really had a chip on our back after losing those two games,” Baskerville said. “People thought we would go into that third game and lose because they thought we’ll have our heads down after losing two, but we came in with our heads up and a motto that we were going to come to win.”

Their victory against Columbia City at semi-state after rallying to win their regular-season meeting, 70-67, ended four years of losing to the Eagles.

While Ezell, a 6-2 guard, averages 10.8 ppg, Baskerville paces the team with 16.3 along with 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Senior DaMarcus Wright, a 6-3 forward, leads the team with 4.5 rebounds, and 6-3 junior forward Lavell Ledbetter provides 8.2 ppg.

Shane Rogers-Smith, a 6-1 junior guard, added 7.2 ppg.

“We knew semi-state would be a battle. You’re playing a team you’ve got to beat twice. Columbia City is talented,” Appleton said. “I think the best part about it is at halftime, I look over at Lavell Ledbetter, and he’s just smiling. He goes, ‘Coach, I ain’t worried. Superman hasn’t got started yet.’ Everybody just laughed and smiled because they knew Tarvar was gonna to get going eventually like he always does, and thank goodness, he saved the best for last.”

By the final horn this weekend, it might come down to who has the ball last.

“That was a big reason why we wanted to add Noblesville and some of the schools that we did because we need to be able to play at that physicality if we want to play in these big moments,” Appleton said. “If you’re not going to, you’re going to get ran off the court. The more you let Cathedral run, the more dangerous they get. So, we’ll try to make them work for everything they get.”