Prep Hoops Indiana IHSAA State Finals Live Blog

In 49 states it is just basketball, but this is Indiana. We had to wait a week longer than usual due to Gainbridge Fieldhouse hosting first and second round NCAA Tournament games, but the 114th Annual Boys Basketball State Tournament comes to an end today. There will be four state champions crowned throughout the day and Prep Hoops Indiana will have court side coverage of each game. This live blog will be your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. For even more coverage, be sure to follow <a href="https://twitter.com/BRamseyKSR">@BRamseyKSR</a> on Twitter/X for live updates.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 1A - Fort Wayne Canterbury 48 Bethesda Christian 41</h2>   Boots are on the ground here at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and we've got a great spot on media row. Excited for a day full of Indiana High School Basketball! This Class 1A battle will feature two teams that have played their best basketball in the back half of the season. There was a time before the calendar turned to 2024 that Bethesda Christian was 3-6. Similarly, Canterbury was 1-5 before the new year and 2-7 as of mid-January.   Canterbury has held the advantage inside through one quarter as 6'8" [player_tooltip player_id='1158215' first='Tucker' last='Day'] and 6'5" John Parent each scored four points and pulled down three rebounds in the opening period. However, the Patriots answered with some perimeter firepower. [player_tooltip player_id='1761698' first='Sam' last='Mlagan'] has been the primary playmaker while junior [player_tooltip player_id='2245732' first='Steven' last='Tierney'] scored five points.   Hot start to the second quarter for Bethesda Christian. Tierney sliced his way to the bucket for a score, Mlagan hit a three, but John Parent continues to answer for Canterbury on the other end. We've got a good, up-tempo pace to this state title game so far. The Patriots continue to have the advantage on the perimeter, but the Cavaliers are scoring it around the basket with their size.   Excellent first half for Parent who leads Canterbury with 10 points and five rebounds. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1761696' first='Devon' last='Lewis'] got going a bit in the second quarter and he now has seven points for the Cavaliers. Tierney continues to lead the Patriots with nine points while Mlagan has added six. Fouls will factor into this second half as well. Mlagan picked up his third on a charge call in the final minutes of the second period. [player_tooltip player_id='1158215' first='Tucker' last='Day'] has two fouls for Canterbury as well. They lead Bethesda 28-25 at the half.   Luke Douglas nailed a corner three and Cooper Jackson scored inside to tie the game at 32-32, but John Parent answered with a three to put Canterbury back on top 35-32 with about 1:30 to play in the third quarter. Douglas added a free throw and we have a 35-33 ball game heading into the fourth quarter. Canterbury advantage.   In fitting fashion, Parent nailed a three-point shot from the left corner to begin the fourth quarter and give Fort Wayne Canterbury a 38-33 advantage. The 6'5" senior forward has been excellent all game long. Luke Douglas countered with two excellent defensive plays that led to layups for himself on the other end making it a 38-37 game with about 5:30 to play. However, [player_tooltip player_id='1761696' first='Devon' last='Lewis'] finished a tough layup, but missed the And-1 free throw, to give the Cavaliers a little bit of breathing room once again. 40-37 Canterbury with 5:15 to play.   Bethesda Christian had some good looks from three-point range in the final couple of minutes but just couldn't get one to fall. Fort Wayne Canterbury finished off a 48-41 victory to capture the 2024 IHSAA Class 1A State Championship.   John Parent finished with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, [player_tooltip player_id='1761696' first='Devon' last='Lewis'] added 12 points, and [player_tooltip player_id='1158215' first='Tucker' last='Day'] chipped in 8 points and 9 rebounds. In the loss for Bethesda Christian, Luke Douglas scored a team-high 13 points while [player_tooltip player_id='2245732' first='Steven' last='Tierney'] and Cooper Jackson each added 9 points.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 2A - Brownstown Central 55 vs. Wapahani 36</h2>   Two of the state's leading scorers will go head-to-head in this one as Purdue signee [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'] averages 25.6 points per game for the Braves while Wapahani's [player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews'] scores 24.6 points per game. This is going to be a heavyweight fight between two of the best teams regardless of class.   [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'] is going to go down as one of the top scorers in the history of Indiana High School Basketball, but it was his passing ability that got the Braves off to a hot start in this one. Three beautiful assists in the first four minutes of the game including two of them that led to three-point shots for [player_tooltip player_id='1296999' first='Chace' last='Coomer']. Brownstown jumped out to a 12-3 lead and forced a Wapahani timeout.   Pretty dominant first quarter for the Braves. [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'] already has 8 points and 3 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='1296999' first='Chace' last='Coomer'] hit two three-point shots for 6 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews'] has 7 for Wapahani as they trail 18-7.   The size difference between these two teams is making a big difference. Brownstown Central is pretty significantly bigger at every spot on the floor. Then, you add in the fact that they have the best player, and you get the kind of start that we've had to this one. Wapahani's strength would come from three-point range, but the length of the Braves is making it very difficult for them to get clean looks.   Benter leads the way at halftime with 16 points and 3 assists for the Braves while Coomer has added 9 points, all coming from beyond the arc. [player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews'] has 10 points to pace the Raiders. Brownstown Central leads 31-14.   Wapahani with a nice run to begin the second half. [player_tooltip player_id='2046168' first='Eli' last='Andrews'] capped off a 9-2 run with a corner three-point shot to force a Brownstown Central timeout. The Raiders still trail 34-23, but they've at least regained a little bit of hope here to begin the third quarter.   [player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews'] cut the Raiders deficit to six points with a deep three, but that ended Wapahani's run. [player_tooltip player_id='2399383' first='Micah' last='Sheffer'] put one back in off of a Benter missed shot, and then Benter got two free throws himself to get it back up to a 10-point advantage. Brownstown Central leads 38-28 after three quarters.   With just under five minutes to play in the game, sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2399383' first='Micah' last='Sheffer'] nailed what would prove to be a dagger three-point shot for Brownstown Central. That put them up 46-31 and they would never really look back from there. [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'] and company maintained the lead and eventually capped off a 55-36 victory to win the Class 2A State Championship.   [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'] finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while [player_tooltip player_id='1296999' first='Chace' last='Coomer'] added 13 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2399383' first='Micah' last='Sheffer'] chipped in 11 points and 6 rebounds. For Wapahani, senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1158181' first='Isaac' last='Andrews'] led the way with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 3A - Scottsburg 67 vs. South Bend St. Joseph 57</h2>   The entire town of Scottsburg is here for this game. Absolutely electric atmosphere on their side of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This is going to be a fun one!   Both teams came out of the gate a little too hot turning the ball over and missing shots for the first couple of minutes. However, a nice turnaround jumper from [player_tooltip player_id='1276470' first='Jack' last='Miller'] followed by a pair of buckets, including a tough And-1, by [player_tooltip player_id='1401893' first='Kody' last='Clancy'] put Scottsburg on top 7-0. Their 1-3-1 Zone was causing some problems for South Bend St. Joseph as well.   Miller and Clancy. Clancy and Miller. They've been excellent to start this one. Miller nailed his second three-point shot from the corner and the Warriors crowd absolutely exploded. Then, he followed his own miss as time expired. The 6'6" Hanover College commit is feeling it. Scottsburg leads 19-13 after the first quarter. Miller has 12 points and Clancy has 7 points. Joey Barca has 6 points on a pair of triples for the Huskies of South Bend St. Joseph.   [player_tooltip player_id='1276470' first='Jack' last='Miller'] remains on fire. He finally missed one, but he is 7-10 from the field and 3-4 from deep for a game-high 19 points. Scottsburg leads South Bend St. Joseph 33-27 with 3:40 to play in the first half.   Here come the Huskies. Another three-point shot from Barca. [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] with a putback. Then another. It's still 34-33 South Bend St. Joseph and the momentum has completely shifted.   Scottsburg leads South Bend St. Joseph 35-34 at the half. Miller has 19 points. Clancy has 12 points. Barca leads the Huskies with 9 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] has added 8 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='1675493' first='Braylen' last='White'] laid one in with five seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Huskies a 50-49 lead going into the final period. South Bend St. Joseph hasn't led much, but here they are. [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] has 15 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1276470' first='Jack' last='Miller'] leads Scottsburg with 27 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='1295314' first='Caden' last='Richardson'] drives it, [player_tooltip player_id='1547386' first='Wyatt' last='Zellers'] cuts along the baseline, two-hand slam. Scottsburg leads South Bend St. Joseph 62-57 with 1:47 seconds to play.   Scottsburg 67 South Bend St. Joseph 57. Absolutely INCREDIBLE Indiana High School Basketball game. [player_tooltip player_id='1276470' first='Jack' last='Miller'] led all scorers with 32 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1401893' first='Kody' last='Clancy'] added 20 points and Wyatt Zelelrs finished with 10 points for the Warriors. [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] scored 15 points in the loss for the Huskies.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 4A - Ben Davis (23-5) vs. Fishers (28-1)</h2>   It's time for the final game of the day! Fishers began the season by beating Ben Davis 74-61. Last season, the Giants went 33-0 and won the state championship. They will be looking to repeat, with a side of revenge, this evening.   Two of the best multi-sport athletes in the state are trading buckets to start this one. Both [player_tooltip player_id='1525664' first='JonAnthony' last='Hall'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] are off to a hot start. Hall has 7 point. Zackery has 5 points. Fishers leads Ben Davis 12-9 with 4:01 to play in the first quarter.   Fishers leads the way 19-16 after one quarter after 14 points from [player_tooltip player_id='1525664' first='JonAnthony' last='Hall']. The junior guard has been absolutely excellent. [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] leads Ben Davis with 8 points.   These two teams traded blows late in the second quarter with Ben Davis cutting their deficit down to three points, Fishers getting it back up to eight, and then [player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham'] making a jump shot in the final seconds to settle in at 36-30 in favor of the Tigers at the half. [player_tooltip player_id='1525664' first='JonAnthony' last='Hall'] has 16 points and 5 rebounds to lead Fishers while [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] has 10 points for the Giants.   Ben Davis opens the second half on an 11-5 run and has tied the game at 41-41 after a [player_tooltip player_id='1761731' first='Ramone' last='Enis'] layup. However, [player_tooltip player_id='2079500' first='Keenan' last='Garner'] quickly put Fishers back on top with a three at the top of the key. 44-41 Fishers. Enis finished a putback, 44-43. A lot is happening in a hurry here in this one.   We are headed to the fourth quarter and it is Ben Davis' advantage 48-47. Going to be a great final eight minutes of play.   Excellent start to the fourth quarter for Fishers. Immediate 6-0 run with a [player_tooltip player_id='2079500' first='Keenan' last='Garner'] dunk, [player_tooltip player_id='1525664' first='JonAnthony' last='Hall'] dunk, and another layup by Hall. [player_tooltip player_id='1277591' first='Mark' last='White'] stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws, but Fishers is back on top 53-49 with 5:55 to play.   [player_tooltip player_id='1525664' first='JonAnthony' last='Hall'] finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead Fishers as they defeated Ben Davis 65-56. [player_tooltip player_id='2079500' first='Keenan' last='Garner'] added 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Tigers. [player_tooltip player_id='1158191' first='Taden' last='Metzger'] chipped in 10 points. In the loss for Ben Davis, [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] scored 14 points and dished out 5 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1761731' first='Ramone' last='Enis'] each finished with 11 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1277591' first='Mark' last='White'] added 10 points.

In 49 states it is just basketball, but this is Indiana. We had to wait a week longer than usual due to Gainbridge Fieldhouse hosting first and second round NCAA Tournament games, but the 114th Annual Boys Basketball State Tournament comes to an end today. There will be four state champions crowned throughout the day and Prep Hoops Indiana will have court side coverage of each game. This live blog will be your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. For even more coverage, be sure to follow @BRamseyKSR on Twitter/X for live updates.