BEN DAVIS BECOMES FIRST UNRANKED STATE CHAMPION SINCE 1977
IHSAA Boys Basketball
1996-97 State Finals in Review
TOP-RANKED BLOOMINGTON NORTH CROWNED 1997 BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONBloomington North completed an impressive tournament run by defeating Delta 75-54 to win the 87th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament March 22, 1997 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
Coached by Tom McKinney, top-ranked Bloomington North posted its 18th consecutive victory and finished 28-1 overall. The Cougars were the first Bloomington to reach the state finals in 37 years and became the 47th different school to claim the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship since the tournament began in 1911.
Delta, which had never reached the tournament's Sweet Sixteen level before in the school's 30-year history, completed its season 24-5. The Eagles were coached by Paul Keller.
Bloomington North had survived an overtime battle with Bloomington South in the finals of the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional, while Delta began its long tournament road with a one-point triumph over Wapahani in the Jay County Sectional finals.
In the state championship game, Bloomington North jumped to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and never trailed. The Cougars led 30-17 at halftime and 50-35 after three quarters. Kueth Duany and Ryan Reed shared scoring honors for the champions with 17 points each, while Patrick Jackson and Rob Robbins paced Delta with 13 points apiece. In a well-played game, Bloomington North shot .574 from the field and committed only four turnovers.
Bloomington North had advanced to the championship game with a 50-43 triumph over Kokomo in the semifinals. Delta earned its spot in the final game with a down-to-the-wire 57-56 victory over LaPorte. Kokomo's Herman Fowler recorded the highest individual scoring total in the 1997 state finals with 27 points in a losing effort. Bloomington North put three players in double figures, led by Jeremy Sinsabaugh with 15 points. Kokomo (23-5) led 10-7 after one quarter and 20-16 at halftime. Bloomington North took the lead the for good on its final possession of the third quarter for a 31-29 advantage and stretched the gap to as much as 10 in the final period.
Down 18-4 after just four minutes of play in the second state semifinals game, Delta came all the way back in a stirring effort to nip LaPorte (22-5) in a battle of unranked teams. The winning score came with four seconds left when Patrick Jackson dribbled the length of the floor before passing to Tyce Shideler for a lay-up basket. Shideler led Delta with 21 points, while Ben Tonagel paced LaPorte with 21 points.
Jeremy Sinsabaugh of Bloomington North was named the tournament's most valuable player by the Associated Press. Other members of the all-tourney team were Ryan Reed and Mario Wuysang of Bloomington North, Patrick Jackson of Delta, Ben Tonagel of LaPorte and Herman Fowler of Kokomo.
The IHSAA Executive Committee selected Billy Lynch of Delta as the 1997 recipient of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award in Boys Basketball. Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate sponsor of all IHSAA tournaments, presented a $1,000 scholarship in Lynch's name to Delta High School.
A total of 382 schools and 4,584 athletes began competition at the sectional level.
Kyle Funkhouser, a senior from Mount Vernon, won the Fifth Annual IHSAA-Farm Bureau Insurance 3-Point Shootout by hitting 18 of 25 shots in the final round of competition.
Funkhouser, who represented the Evansville Central Sectional and the Evansville Semi-State, outdistanced senior Kevin Schaller of Griffith, who hit 14 shots. Junior Marcus Louden of Woodlan was third with nine, followed by senior Matt Brewer of Franklin Central with eight.
In the semifinals competition, Funkhouser had survived a shootoff with sophomore Bryan Bullington of Madison to win the Evansville Semi-State competition and qualify for a spot in the finals. Schaller and Brewer set the pace in the semifinals by hitting 18 shots each to represent their semi-states in the finals.
CHARLESTOWN'S ROUTH PERFECT IN SLAM DUNK COMPETITIONKenny Routh of Charlestown won the Fifth Annual IHSAA-Farm Bureau Insurance Slam Dunk Shootout with a score of 60 points to edge junior Rodney Smith of Pike who compiled a score of 55.5.
A senior representing the Jeffersonville Sectional and Evansville Semi-State, Routh registered perfect scores of 30 on each of his first two dunks in the finals. The other finalists were senior DeWayne Krom of Northfield and junior Sean Lewis of Lebanon. Krom recorded a score of 28.5, while Lewis tallied a 26.5.
GAME ONE BOX SCOREKokomo (43)
| Player | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | R | A | PF | S | TO | TP |
| Aaron Alexander | 30 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Herman Fowler | 27 | 10-17 | 4-8 | 3-3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 27 |
| Matthew Brady | 10 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Michael Gaines | 31 | 1-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Joseph Sanders | 30 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Joseph Bennett | 7 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Travis Taflinger | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph Thatcher | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Snyder | 7 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Eric Ferrell | 14 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nick Brown | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Cummings | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 160 | 17-37 | 6-13 | 3-5 | 25 | 13 | 19 | 4 | 19 | 43 |
Team Rebounds: 6
Bloomington North (50)| Player | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | R | A | PF | ST | TO | TP |
| Djibril Kante | 20 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Kueth Duany | 16 | 1-10 | 0-5 | 0-2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ryan Reed | 27 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 3-7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Jeremy Sinsabaugh | 28 | 5-10 | 4-9 | 1-2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| David McKinney | 31 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron Ryan | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Wuysang | 18 | 2-6 | 1-4 | 5-6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Jay Robles | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Jeffers | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seth Debro | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Hawley | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Reed | 15 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals | 160 | 17-43 | 5-19 | 11-21 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50 |
Team Rebounds: 6
Score by Quarters:
| Kokomo | 10 | 10 | 9 | 14 | - | 43 |
| Bloomington North | 7 | 9 | 15 | 19 | - | 50 |
Officials: Tom Urban, Mike Waisnora
Attendance: 27,843 (Two-game session)
GAME TWO BOX SCOREDelta (57)
| Player | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | R | A | PF | S | TO | TP |
| Rob Robbins | 23 | 7-18 | 1-7 | 1-3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Tyce Shideler | 31 | 8-13 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| Roosevelt Jackson | 19 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Patrick Jackson | 32 | 6-16 | 2-7 | 2-2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| Billy Lynch | 21 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared Conatser | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Manor | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Shrunk | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Calvert | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Oakley | 17 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Parris | 11 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 160 | 23-53 | 3-14 | 8-13 | 31 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 57 |
Team Rebounds: 5
LaPorte (56)| Player | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | R | A | PF | ST | TO | TP |
| Gregory Tonagel | 31 | 4-11 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Jeff Ballard | 27 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Benjamin Tonagel | 32 | 8-15 | 3-7 | 2-3 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Christopher Bootcheck | 32 | 4-6 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Nicholas Bernel | 21 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Jeremy Hoehne | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Drabyn | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Meyer | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Spence | 6 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Stephen Elkins | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Knoll | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bradley Mumma | 11 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 160 | 24-47 | 5-18 | 3-8 | 26 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 56 |
Team Rebounds: 1
Score by Quarters:
| Delta | 9 | 15 | 19 | 14 | - | 57 |
| LaPorte | 20 | 12 | 11 | 13 | - | 56 |
Officials: Gary Leistner, Larry Nixon
Attendance: 27,843 (Two-game session)
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOX SCOREDelta (54)
| Player | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | R | A | PF | S | TO | TP |
| Rob Robbins | 24 | 5-12 | 1-5 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Tyce Shideler | 27 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Roosevelt Jackson | 21 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Patrick Jackson | 29 | 4-13 | 1-4 | 4-4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Billy Lynch | 18 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared Conatser | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lucas Manor | 11 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Adam Shrunk | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nathan Calvert | 6 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Oakley | 9 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Aaron Parris | 11 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Totals | 160 | 21-43 | 4-14 | 8-11 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 2 | 12 | 54 |
Team Rebounds: 4
Bloomington North (75)| Player | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | R | A | PF | ST | TO | TP |
| Djibril Kante | 21 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 6-6 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Kueth Duany | 25 | 6-9 | 1-3 | 4-4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Ryan Reed | 31 | 7-10 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Jeremy Sinsabaugh | 31 | 5-8 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| David McKinney | 21 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Aaron Ryan | 1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Wuysang | 16 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Jay Robles | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Jeffers | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seth Debro | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Hawley | 1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Matt Reed | 10 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 160 | 27-47 | 5-11 | 16-20 | 24 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 75 |
Team Rebounds: 2
Score by Quarters:
| Delta | 0 | 17 | 18 | 19 | - | 54 |
| Bloomington North | 7 | 23 | 20 | 25 | - | 75 |
Officials: Jay C. Smith, Ray Tebbe
Attendance: 26,187
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