Chasing history: Ben Davis close to joining these undefeated champs in IHSAA record book
Ben Davis could become the 14th boys basketball team in the history of the Indiana High School Athletic Association tournament to finish as an undefeated state champion. The 32-0 Giants face a literal tall task against 6-10 shot-blocking, dunking junior sensation Flory Bidunga and Kokomo in the Class 4A state finals Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Here is a look back at the 13 previous undefeated state champions:
1956 Crispus Attucks
It seems fitting this famous championship team was the first to accomplish the undefeated feat. The Flying Tigers (31-0) won the title the previous year and brought back Oscar Robertson as a senior, along with stars like Albert Maxey, Stan Patton, Bill Brown and Edgar Searcy. Coach Ray Crowe’s team, which became the first all-Black school in the country to win an open state tournament, defeated Terre Haute Gerstmeyer 68-59 in the afternoon game of the state finals, leading comfortably even after Robertson fouled out late in the third quarter. In the championship, Attucks pulled away methodically for a 79-57 win over Lafayette Jeff as Robertson scored a finals record 39 points.
Closest call: Tech slowed down Attucks in its two lowest-scoring games in a pair of seven-point wins (46-39 and 44-37), but the sectional semifinal, a 57-49 win over Cathedral, and a 53-48 win over its biggest rival of the time, Shortridge, in the sectional championship were Attucks’ toughest games. Shortridge, led by Herschell Turner and coached by Cleon Reynolds, finished 16-8 with three of those losses coming to Attucks.
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1957 South Bend Central
A year after Attucks became the first program to accomplish the feat, South Bend Central went 30-0 behind Mr. Basketball John Coalmon and Indiana All-Star Herbie Lee. The Bears rolled through Lafayette Jeff, 54-36, in the first game of the state finals and took down defending state champion Crispus Attucks, 67-55, in the championship game at night as Coalmon scored 24 points. South Bend Central had also won the 1953 state championship for coach Elmer McCall and kept Attucks from claiming a third straight title and matching the feat of the Franklin teams of 1920, ’21 and ’22.
Closest call: In the first game of the season the Bears were pushed to overtime by Gary Roosevelt, winning 81-72. South Bend Central blew a big lead, then needed two free throws in the final minute from Coalmon to send the game to overtime. The closest tournament game was a 77-72 win over Mishawaka in the second game of the sectional.
1969 Indianapolis Washington
It took 12 more years for another team to make it through the end of the season with a spotless record. This Washington team (31-0) is often considered one of the best in the history of the state, led by Mr. Basketball George McGinnis and Steve Downing, a formidable front line. The Continentals had to get through a final four that included Marion, Vincennes and Gary Tolleston. The four teams came in with an aggregate record of 110-1. Washington trailed Marion by 10 points going into the fourth quarter before rallying for a 61-60 win on a jumper by Downing. McGinnis scored 35 points in the night game as the Continentals held off Gary Tolleston, 79-76.
Closest call: It was certainly the Marion game. Washington struggled and was helped by a malfunctioning clock at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the final minute. Marion coach Jack Colescott offered to buy the Indiana High School Athletic Association a new one after the game. Otherwise, the toughest games came against Shortridge — an 82-77 win the second game of the season and a 46-38 win in the regional in a game that was tied going into the fourth quarter. Shortridge had defeated Washington in the 1968 regional.
1970 East Chicago Roosevelt
A year after Washington went unbeaten, Jim Bradley led the Rough Riders to a 28-0 season, finishing with a 76-62 win over Carmel in the state championship despite a record 40 points from Dave Shepherd for the underdog Greyhounds. Roosevelt was a physically dominant team with the 6-7 Bradley and 6-7 center John Davis patrolling the middle for coach Bill Holzbach. Roosevelt won the afternoon game of the state finals 90-75 over Muncie Central.
Closest call: Roosevelt had a 57-55 win over Huntington in the holiday tournament at Huntington, nearly letting a 17-point lead slip away. Gary West Side pushed Roosevelt in the season finale before falling, 71-67. Top-ranked Roosevelt held off rival East Chicago Washington 58-55 in the sectional championship and barely survived the semistate at Lafayette with wins over Lafayette Jeff (56-54) on a jump shot by Bradley with 16 seconds left and an 82-78 win over Michigan City.
1971 East Chicago Washington
This team, No. 1 in the state all season, is also often discussed as the best in state history and became the third consecutive undefeated state champion with state finals wins over Floyd Central (102-88) and Elkhart (70-60). The 29-0 Senators, led by Pete Trgovich, Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, Tim Stoddard and Darnell Adell, led Elkhart by 20 points in the championship before holding off a late rally. The Senators were high octane, scoring more than 100 points eight times and averaging 91.1 points per game.
Closest call: Gary West Side had the misfortune of going up against the ’70 Roosevelt and ’71 Washington teams. Led by 6-9 Indiana All-Star Kessem Grimes, West Side played Washington to a 94-89 game in the regional final.
1985 Marion
It was another 14 years for another undefeated state champion. Marion, ranked No. 1 the entire season, went 29-0 and coach Bill Green, the coach of the 1969 Washington team that nearly lost to Marion, became the first coach to lead two unbeaten state champions. Marion overpowered upstart Southridge, 76-52, in the afternoon game of the state finals before taking out North Central Conference rival Richmond, 74-67, in the championship. The Giants were led by 6-5 senior Lefon Bowens and 6-10 senior Jay Teagle, but also had a couple of sophomores in Jay Edwards and Lyndon Jones who would keep Indiana under a “Purple Reign” for two more years.
Closest call: The Giants did not overwhelm opponents like some others on this list, playing several close regular-season games. In a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in January, Marion forced a Fort Wayne Northrop turnover with nine seconds remaining and Daric Keys made a free throw with no time remaining for a 64-63 win. In the final game of the regular season, Edwards hit an 18-footer with six seconds left for a 59-57 win over Fort Wayne Snider. Marion knocked out Rick Fox and defending state champion Warsaw, 70-65, in the Fort Wayne semistate championship.
2003 Pike
Coach Larry Bullington’s Red Devils became the first undefeated state champion in 18 years and first of the class basketball era with a 65-52 win over DeKalb in the Class 4A title game. Justin Cage was named Mr. Basketball for Pike, which also had standouts like Robert Vaden, Courtney Lee and David Barlow. This was nearly a three-year run of state championships for Pike, which won in 2001 and lost the 4A final 58-55 to Gary West Side in 2002.
Closest call: Lawrence North was the toughest challenger, pushing Pike to a 75-67 overtime game in the regular season and a 55-47 score in the regional semifinal. Lawrence North would go on to win the next three 4A championships.
2003 Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass went 26-0 and won the Class 2A title for coach Basil Mawbey. The Kings defeated Forest Park 57-48 to win the state championship.
Closest call: A 60-56 win at Western in late February was the closest game of the season.
2004 Waldron
Waldon won the Class A state championship with a 27-0 record led by senior twin brothers Justin and Jordan Barnard. Jason Delaney, who went on to coach state championship teams at Tech and Cathedral, was hired at Waldron a month before the season.
Closest call: There were several. Waldron won 60-58 at New Palestine in January, 81-79 at Hauser later that month and defeated Heritage Christian, 62-56, at the end of January. Waldron won a couple of tight games in the regional against Orleans (44-40) and Henryville (61-55) and knocked off White River Valley, 82-76, in the semistate before beating Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian by 15 points in the state championship.
2006 Lawrence North
This was the third of three state championships for Lawrence North, which was led by Mr. Basketball Greg Oden and standout Mike Conley. The Wildcats finished off a 29-0 season with an 80-56 win over Muncie Central for the Class 4A state championship for coach Jack Keefer.
Closest call: This is about as dominant of a 4A team as you will find in the class basketball era. Against a tough schedule, the Wildcats won by 21 points per game. Lawrence North had to defeat Pike three times, winning 74-67 in the regular season and 63-57 in the regional championship. Every other game was decided by 10 points or more.
2009 Bloomington South
The Panthers went wire to wire in a 26-0 season led by Mr. Basketball Jordan Hulls and a balanced roster with Spencer Turner, Erik Fromm and Dee Davis. The Panthers held off a challenge from Fort Wayne Snider 69-62 to win the state championship for coach J.R. Holmes.
Closest call: There weren’t many in the regular season other than an impressive 73-67 win over Detroit County Day near the end of the season. The toughest test in the tournament came from Franklin Central in the 4A semistate at Southport, a 58-55 win. Fort Wayne Snider was also up for the challenge in the state finals.
2009 Princeton
The same year Bloomington South went undefeated, Princeton did the same in Class 3A. It took an 81-79 double-overtime win over Rochester and Bruce Grimm Jr. in the state championship. Dontray Chavis hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Closest call: The state championship was about as close as it gets. There was also a 71-68 win over Evansville Bosse early in the season and three-point wins over Evansville Harrison, Southridge and Jasper. In the second-to-last game of the regular season, Princeton defeated Evansville Central 67-65.
2018 Warren Central
Warren Central ended a nine-year drought of undefeated state champions and is the most recent team to accomplish the feat. The Warriors went 32-0 under coach Criss Beyers with a balanced, tough defensive team led by Dean Tate, David Bell, Antwaan Cushingberry, Jesse Bingham and Jakobie Robinson. Warren Central trailed Carmel in the Class 4A state championship game before rallying for a 54-48 win.
Closest call: So many. So, so many. Bell’s shot to beat Romeo Langford and New Albany, 64-62, in the semistate at Seymour capped a 10-point fourth-quarter rally and one of many close games in the tournament and regular season. A 48-46 overtime win over Ben Davis in the regional semifinal was another especially close call. There were also a pair of five-point wins in the sectional over North Central and Lawrence Central. Warren Central won a three-overtime game over Zionsville, a one-point game over Carmel and an overtime game vs. Cathedral during the season. There have been more dominant undefeated teams, but maybe none as mentally tough.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school basketball: List of undefeated state champions
