Hunter White’s Drive Delivers Tindley’s First State Championship
Hampered by foul trouble the entire game, Tindley’s Hunter White still managed to be on the court at the exact time he needed to be. The result was the first boys basketball state title for the Tigers.
White’s bank shot in the lane with just five seconds left gave Tindley a 51-49 win against Lafayette Central Catholic in the Class A title game. White picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and played just 15 minutes total. He scored five points – 12.4 below his season average – but his final bucket made the Tigers’ first appearance in the state finals a memorable one.
Tindley, which finished 24-5 under Coach Bob Wonnell, led by as many as five points in the third quarter. But behind forward/center Carson Barrett, who scored his team’s final seven points, the Knights rallied to tie the game early in the fourth quarter and again with 28.7 seconds left on Barrett’s free throw. That set the stage for White’s game-winning shot after the Tigers worked the clocked down.
The Knights (22-7), coached by David Barrett, were making their first appearance in the state finals since winning a Class A title in 2003. They led by as many as six points in the first quarter and again at 26-20 late in the first half.
But the Tigers went on an 18-6 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the third quarter, opening up a 38-32 lead on Sincere McMahon’s 3-pointer with 5:31 left in the quarter. The Knights would chip away at the lead, closing to 44-42 on 3-pointer from Tyler Powers just before the end of the third.
Chris Murff led the Tigers with 13 points – nearly triple his season average – while McMahon added 10. Avery Denhart led the Knights with 17 points, while Barrett added 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Class A State Championship Records
None.
Jacob Page of Lafayette Central Catholic Wins Ray Craft Mental Attitude Award
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Jacob Page of Lafayette Central Catholic High School as the winner of the Ray Craft Mental Attitude Award in Class A Boys Basketball.
The award is annually presented to a senior participant in the state finals who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability and is nominated by his principal and coach.
A starting guard who averaged 6.0 ppg, Jacob is exceptional off the court. Currently ranked fourth in his class, Jacob carries a 3.9 GPA. He is also a member of the National Honor Society, Interact Youth Service Organization, and participated in the IHSAA Student Leadership Conference.
Jacob is the son of Mark and Jennifer Page of West Lafayette, Indiana. He is deciding between Wabash College and Butler University, where he plans to study Economics or Business.
Beginning in 2016, the Class A award was re-named in honor of Ray Craft, the long-time associate commissioner who served from 1983 to 2008. Craft was involved at nearly every level of Indiana secondary education and interscholastic athletics during his career including administering the boys’ basketball state tournament for many years. He was also a starting senior guard on Milan High School’s 1954 state championship basketball team.
The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, the presenting sponsor of the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Lafayette Central Catholic in the name of Jacob Page. Since 1989, more than $840,000 in college scholarships have been presented to deserving high school athletes in Indiana.