Class 2A State Championship Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've made it, folks. The 113th annual IHSAA State Finals are set to tip-off on Saturday morning with the Class 1A championship all the way through to the Class 4A title game in the evening. As always our staff at Prep Hoops Indiana will be bringing you wall-to-wall content leading up to the event as well as boots on the ground coverage from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. We begin our preview series with an in-depth look at the Class 2A state championship matchup between Blackhawk Christian and Linton-Stockton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>The Matchup: #3 Blackhawk Christian (26-3) vs. #1 Linton-Stockton (29-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Players to Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blackhawk Christian: [player_tooltip player_id='1042496' first='Gage' last='Sefton'] (Senior - Grace), [player_tooltip player_id='1042499' first='Josh' last='Furst'] (Senior), [player_tooltip player_id='1364589' first='Kellen' last='Pickett'] (Sophomore)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Linton-Stockton: [player_tooltip player_id='868240' first='Joey' last='Hart'] (Senior - Central Florida), [player_tooltip player_id='935736' first='Logan' last='Webb'] (Senior), [player_tooltip player_id='1158180' first='Braden' last='Walters'] (Junior)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game Notes</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Blackhawk Christian won a Class 1A state championship in 2019 and the 2A title in 2021. They also were state runner-up at the 1A level in 2004.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Linton-Stockton has a pair of state runner-up finishes in 2013 and 2019.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>The Miners had the third highest margin of victory in the state this season winning by an average of 23 points per game.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Linton-Stockton's lone loss this season came to Cooper (KY) High School all the way back on December 10th. They've won 25 straight games since then.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>The Braves have not lost to a Class 2A opponent this season. Their losses were to North Daviess, Bishop Dwenger, and Fort Wayne Wayne who all reached the Semi-State of either Class 3A or 4A.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game Analysis</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aside from the highly anticipated Class 4A matchup, this will be the most interesting game of the day on Saturday. These two programs have a lot of recent success and were projected by many to end up facing off for the state title at Gainbridge Fieldhouse even before the season began. Blackhawk Christian has two state championships to their name and will look to add another as they honor their late head coach Marc Davidson. As for Linton-Stockton, the #1 ranked team in Class 2A is looking to cut down the nets for the first time. Both of these groups feature a plethora of talent. The Braves are led by senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1042499' first='Josh' last='Furst'] who averages 19.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game alongside Grace College signee [player_tooltip player_id='1042496' first='Gage' last='Sefton'] who adds 16.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. 6'8" sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1364589' first='Kellen' last='Pickett'] is another to watch for Blackhawk averaging 13.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game. Their size and athleticism is really tough to match at the 2A level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, if any team can matchup with Blackhawk it is the Miners of Linton-Stockton. Central Florida bound [player_tooltip player_id='868240' first='Joey' last='Hart'] leads the way averaging 23.7 points per game while shooting 40% from beyond the arc. His classmate and fellow sharp-shooter [player_tooltip player_id='935736' first='Logan' last='Webb'] adds 16.7 points per game including scoring 24 and 28 points in their two Semi-State victories. Senior Nathan Frady, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1158180' first='Braden' last='Walters'], and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1560992' first='Paul' last='Oliver'] round out a big, strong starting five that will match the physicality of Blackhawk Christian. Looking at this matchup, the Braves probably have a little bit better depth of talent, but Hart will likely be the best player on the floor at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. That, along with the Miners patented 1-3-1 Zone, should be enough to allow them to cut down the nets for the first time in school history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Prediction</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Linton-Stockton 73 Blackhawk Christian 69</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->