IHSAA Crowns State Champions For Boys Hoops
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2015-16 high school boys basketball season in the Hoosier State came to a close Saturday with the crowning of four state champions.
The quartet of New Albany, Marion, Lapel and Liberty Christian all claimed state titles in action at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to wrap up the IHSAA state tournament series.
No. 1 New Albany used a big fourth-quarter performance from star Romeo Langford to edge No. 4 McCutcheon 62-59 in the Class 4-A finale. Sophomore Langford, one of the nation’s top prospects in his class, scored 12 of his game-high 28 points in the final period.
McCutcheon, which defeated Warsaw in the semistate last Saturday, led 33-28 at halftime.
Langford, who was averaging 30.4 points-per-game, led New Albany to its second state title in program history.
Haden Deaton and Eddy Collins each scored 14 points and Robert Phinisee had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead McCutcheon.
New Albany finishes its season at 27-1. McCutcheon is done at 28-4.
Marion used a late rally to top Evansville Bosse 75-68 in the Class 3-A title game. The Giants, who were down 35-25 at halftime, closed the contest with a 10-2 run.
Marion wins its eighth state championship, which ties Muncie Central for the most in state history. Marion coach James Blackmon, a 1983 Marion grad who played at Kentucky, also guided Fort Wayne Luers to state titles in 2008 and 2009.
Reggie Jones led Marion with 25 points. The Giants finish at 23-7, while Bosse finishes at 19-11.
Lapel easily defeated Indianapolis Howe 59-37 in the Class 2-A title contest. Lapel, which won a Class 1-A state title in 2005, used a 14-0 run to end the first half to take control of the game.
JonRoss Richardson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Lapel. The win was the 565th for Lapel coach Jimmie Howell, a 1972 Lapel graduate.
Lapel finishes its season with a 26-4 record, while Howe closes at 23-8.
Liberty Christian pulled away in the final period to top Bloomfield 64-45 in the Class 1-A game. Liberty Christian, which is located in Anderson, had an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Franklin Nunn had 19 points and eight rebounds for Liberty, which claimed the first state title in any sport in school history. The champions had 17 steals in the win.
Liberty Christian finishes with a mark of 26-4, while Bloomfield was 26-4.