IHSAA basketball: Matt Roth leads Blackhawk Christian to state title in first season
Top-ranked Linton-Stockton went ice-cold in the second half allowing third-ranked Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian to warm up to a third state championship.
Blackhawk Christian overcame an 11-point, second-half deficit to pull out a 52-45 victory over the Miners in the Class 2A title game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Behind sharp-shooter Joey Hart’s 18-point first half, the Miners took a 29-18 lead into the break and still led, 33-23, after two Logan Webb free throws with 3:46 left in the third quarter.
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The Braves' defense, however, was already starting to take its toll by that point as Hart and Webb — who combined for 40 points per game this season — were off the mark.
“They have tremendous players,” Braves coach Matt Roth said, “and we threw (6-8 sophomore) Kellen Pickett at (Hart) in the second half and forced him to make tough shots.”
Most of those tough shots Hart didn’t make. He hit only 1-of-14 from the floor in the second half, scoring only five points in the final two quarters. In the meantime, Pickett and senior Gage Sefton began to click on the offensive end allowing the Braves to rally.
The win gives Blackhawk Christian (27-3) a third state title after claiming championships in 2019 (Class A) and 2021 (2A). This championship is the first under Roth, who took over for Marc Davidson who died of cancer last spring at age 49.
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The victory also denied Linton-Stockton its first title after two previous runner-up appearances in 2013 and 2019. The Miners (29-2) had won 25 straight games and were seeking to become the first 2A champion to win 30 games in a season. The loss was also the only one this season to an Indiana school.
“They were able to take away what we’re good at,” said L-S interim coach Noah Hawkins. “We don’t see a 6-8 guy guarding (Hart).”
Hart came in averaging 23.7 points per game and looked the part during the first two quarters, but never got in gear in the second half and finished with his average. Webb, who had a 17-point average, struggled all game and finished with 11 points on 2-of-12 shooting.
All told, Linton-Stockton shot 4-of-27 from the floor in the second half (15%).
“There’s nobody else you can put this on,” Webb lamented, referring to the shooting numbers. “I missed a lot of shots, Joey missed shots … we shot it decent enough to lead at half, but (Pickett’s) length made it tough.”
The Miners held on for a 35-33 lead after three quarters, but a free throw and subsequent lay-up by Pickett to open the fourth quarter gave the Braves a lead they never relinquished.
“The game represented our season,” Roth said. “It was a grind and it wasn’t easy. When it came time to make plays, we made them and knocked down our free throws down the stretch.”
Pickett finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Sefton had 16 points and eight boards. Linton-Stockton held Blackhawk senior Josh Furst to just two points — which came on a dunk as the clock expired. Furst averaged 19 points a game this year and scored 30 in the team’s semistate semifinal win over Gary 21st Century last week.
Linton-Stockton’s Nathan Frady, the Ray Craft Mental Attitude Award winner, led all rebounders with 12.
FW Blackhawk Christian 52, Linton-Stockton 45
Blackhawk Christian | 11 | 7 | 15 | 19 | — | 52 |
Linton-Stockton | 14 | 15 | 6 | 10 | — | 45 |
Blackhawk Christian — Kellen Pickett 6-11 5-7 19, Isaac Smith 1-8 0-0 3, Josh Furst 1-2 0-0 2, Jimmy Davidson 3-7 2-4 9, Gage Sefton 5-10 5-8 16, Aiden Muldoon 1-2 0-0 3. Team: 17-40 12-19 52.
Linton-Stockton — Braden Walters 1-2 0-0 2, Logan Webb 2-12 6-6 11, Paul Oliver 2-5 0-0 4, Joey Hart 7-26 4-5 23, Nathan Frady 1-6 1-2 3, Jackson Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Wrigley Franklin 1-2 0-0 2, Hunter Gennicks 0-0 0-0 0. Team: 14-53 11-13 45.
3-pointers: Blackhawk Christian 6-20 (Pickett 2, Smith, Davidson, Sefton, Muldoon); Linton-Stockton 6-22 (Hart 5, Webb).
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball state final: Blackhawk Christian tops Linton-Stockton
