By Rich Torres, Special to IHSAA.org
INDIANAPOLIS – One way or another a first-time state champion was going to be crowned on Saturday morning inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
By the final horn, that honor went to the fourth-ranked Orleans Bulldogs, who defeated the third-ranked Clinton Prairie Gophers, 64-55, for the Class 1A state title during the 115th annual Indiana High School Athletic Association’s boys’ basketball State Finals.
A first-time state finalist in the state tournament’s modern era, just like Clinton Prairie, Orleans’ boys’ basketball championship marks the first in program, school and Orange County history.
Springs Valley was a state finalist in 1958, and Paoli finished Class 2A state runner-up in 1999, but Orleans holds the distinction of earning the first-ever team state championship in the county, at the school and after three straight boys’ basketball state finals appearances in 1912, 1913 and 1914.
“Our community is just so good about supporting anything that goes on here. Two thousand people that were here. They just support us so much, and I think more than anything else, it’s kind of a gift to them,” Orleans coach Tom Bradley remarked after winning his first state title in 26 years with the Bulldogs. “It’s kind of a thing of showing them how much we appreciate their support. I’m happy for everybody. Not just our team but for our community as a whole.”
A sectional champion for the first time since 2015, Orleans won only its second regional and first-ever semi-state title to reach the state finals. The Bulldogs (25-4) knocked off second-ranked Hauser, 69-67, and top-ranked Clay City, 50-47, before defeating their third-straight top five opponent.
“They’re a complete team, no doubt. You don’t get here unless you’re a complete team, and that’s definitely who they are,” Clinton Prairie coach Chad Peckinpaugh said.
Against Clinton Prairie (26-3), the Bulldogs were resilient, battling through six ties and four lead changes, including a 46-46 deadlock within the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The teams tied 14-14 after the first quarter, and a 7-0 run in the second by Orleans put the Bulldogs ahead 28-25 by halftime.
A 12-4 run by Orleans spearheaded by junior Alex DeWitt in the third quarter put the Bulldogs in front, 44-33, but Clinton Prairie responded with an 11-2 run to make it 46-44 to start the fourth quarter.
DeWitt finished with a game-high 24 points, while senior Jake McGraw had a team-high 23 points and seven rebounds for Clinton Prairie.
“Teams like that are going to have a run, obviously. Every time, a good team is going to have a run somewhere along the line, and we had a couple of things go bad for us,” Bradley said. “Next thing you know, it’s back to even. These guys have been through that and in the semi-state both games were down to the wire. We were ahead and behind a little bit both games, and I think that’s the experience we gained from those. It really helped us understand, this game’s not over.”
Orleans lost the turnover battle 17-8 and surrendered 18 points off turnovers, but the Bulldogs made up for their setbacks with rebounding (24-17) and record-setting shooting efficiency.
The Bulldogs shot 23-for-36 from the field at 63.9 percent, which set a new Class 1A State Finals record previously held by Loogootee (.563 in 2012). Orleans also set a state record for 3-point shooting percentage by finishing 6-for-10 (.600), which bested Borden’s previous mark of .571 (8 of 14) set in 2013.
Both Clinton Prairie and Orleans combined for the best field goal shooting percentage in Class 1A State Finals history. Clinton Prairie converted 21 of 47 shots at 44.7 percent.
McGraw tied the game one last time in the fourth quarter, 46-46, behind 18 second-half points. He was averaging 23.2 points per game. Senior Alex Farley had 16 points followed by Nick Curtain with 10 points and seven rebounds.
“In the second half, the shots started falling. When I see one go in, it’s a lot different for my motivation. I know I can score once I get one to go in. That first half was pretty rough. I couldn’t even get a layup to go in, so to see one go in at the start of the half felt pretty good,” McGraw said.
A 7-2 Orleans run broke the final stalemate and a 9-3 rally in the final 2 minutes locked down the Bulldogs’ first state championship.
Senior Rylan Crocker had 16 points. Senior Bryce Jones had 17 points with five rebounds, and DeWitt grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while shooting 10 of 14 from the field.
“We knew it was going to be a really tough one because Clinton Prairie has a very good team. They have size. They play that 3-2 defense at half court, and we spent a lot of time working on that,” Bradley said. “It took us a while in the first half to get to what we wanted to do, but after that it seemed like we got the shots we wanted. We just kind of regrouped and got stops when we needed to, and we knocked down free throws.”
Clinton Prairie cut the deficit 53-50 with 2:36 remaining, but Orleans went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line the rest of the way along with key buckets by Crocker and DeWitt to seal it.
Bradley has coached at Orleans for 26 years, served as an assistant boys coach at Paoli for 14 years and a girls head coach at Paoli for two years. At Orleans, the Bulldogs have won 11 sectionals and two regionals, and now a state title under coach Bradley’s guidance.
“Class guy, class act. He has a history of doing things, obviously, the right way,” Peckinpaugh said. “He did a great job, and his team did a great job today. You hate to lose, but at least you’re losing to a class act and a class program.”
Class 1A State Championship Records
Highest FG Percentage: .639 (23-36) by Orleans
Highest Combined FG Percentage: .530 (44-83) by Orleans (23-36) and Clinton Prairie (21-47)
Highest 3FG Percentage (Minimum 10 Attempts): .600 (6-10) by Orleans
Orleans High School’s Bryce Jones named Mental Attitude Award recipient
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Bryce Jones of Orleans High School as the winner of the Ray Craft Mental Attitude Award in Class 1A Boys Basketball.
The award is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
Bryce, the first recipient of an IHSAA mental attitude award in any sport in school history, is a member of the National Honor Society and works with “Bullpups” through the athletic department where he helps younger children. In basketball, Bryce is a four-year varsity letterwinner. He is the senior captain and is third in Orleans school history in assists. Bryce also competes in Cross Country and Track & Field at Orleans. He was a state finalist in Cross Country and a regional qualifier in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m in Track & Field.
He is the son of Brian and Shelly Jones of Mitchell, Indiana and plans to attend Indiana University to study Business, Marketing, or Real Estate.
The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, the presenting sponsors of the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament, presented a $1,000 scholarship to the general scholarship fund at Orleans High School in the name of Bryce Jones.
The award is named in honor of the former IHSAA Associate Commissioner Ray Craft, who served at nearly every level of Indiana secondary education and interscholastic athletics during his career from 1983 to 2008.