By Brandon Jones
Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS
â??? In a fitting ending to a perfect 29-0 season and a third consecutive Class 4A
state basketball championship, the top-ranked Lawrence North Wildcats disposed
of the most historical program in Indiana in dominating fashion.
In a
contest that was never in doubt, Lawrence North defeated the eight-time state
champion Muncie Bearcats, 80-56, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,483 March 25
at Conseco Fieldhouse. Ohio State-bound seniors Greg Oden and Michael Conley
did the damage, as usual, and they took turns beating the undermanned Bearcats
in every facet of the game.
Conley
took charge from the beginning as he scored 11 first-quarter points on perfect
5-of-5 shooting. The Wildcats used runs of six and eight consecutive points to
bookend the quarter with a simply magnificent performance.
â??We felt
there was no other way,â? Conley said. â??We’ve (Conley and Oden) been together
too long for this to be our last night together and not win and make history. That
means a lot to both of us.
â??For us to
do it together, we felt there was no other way to do it.â?
The two
seniors combined for 17 first-quarter points, easily outdistancing Muncie
Central by themselves as Lawrence North was well on its way after the first
eight minutes of action. The 24-7 advantage mirrored a big-school football
score more than that of a state championship basketball affair.
If things
looked bleak for Muncie Central after the opening quarter, they only got worse
as the contest wore on. After a Ben Botts jumper opened the second period, LN
once again picked up right where it left off as role player Damian Windham
scored four consecutive points for a 28-9 advantage, including a steal and
coast-to-coast layup.
A LaMarcus
Coatie response at the other end drew Muncie Central back within 17, but that
was as close as the ballgame would get for the rest of the evening. The Wildcats
scored 22 of the final 25 points of the quarter to hold a commanding 50-24
halftime advantage.
â??Mike Conley said before the game that this was going to be our best
game of the season,â? Oden said. â??He put us on his back, and we played a great
first half.â?
The 26 points
scored by LN in the second quarter and the 50 at halftime were the first two of
nine 4A state records to fall in this game. Two others were tied.
Muncie
Central, playing for pride the rest of the way, came out of the locker room and
held its own at the outset of the third period as juniors Brandon Jenkins and
Tom Freeman took charge.
An Oden
layup was answered by a Jenkins jumper. A Brandon McDonald 3-point basket at
one end was surpassed by a Freeman putback and layup at the other, and Muncie
Central began looking like a team that deserved to be playing in the state
finals.
But Lawrence
North, and Oden in particular, took the game over and wowed the crowd once
again.
The 7-foot
center displayed all angles of his game in the quarterâ??s closing minutes. He
scored on a rebound dunk, a floater in the lane, then finally stepped out to
the perimeter to knock down a rare 15-foot jump shot.
After a
media timeout with Lawrence North leading 63-36, the Wildcats ended the quarter
as they often do â??? with a 9-2 spurt spearheaded by Oden and Conley. Lawrence
North held an insurmountable 72-39 advantage entering the final period of play,
which was a sloppy one.
Though the
Wildcats had a 33-point advantage and many of the sellout crowd had now
departed, LN coach Jack Keefer did not like the lethargic way his team was
playing early in the final stanza. Oden and Conley had simply gotten bored, and
it showed in their play as the Wildcats had gone cold from the floor.
Muncie
Central showed signs of life as the Bearcats scored nine of the quarterâ??s first
11 points, and the Bearcats doubled the output of their counterparts in the
final period, 17-8. The final quarter at least gave the purple-clad faithful a
rare cheering opportunity in what would turn out to be another record: most
lopsided victory in state finals history.
But this night
belonged to the other â??Cats. With the win, LN becomes just the third school in Indiana history to win
three straight state championships, joining Franklin and â??The Wonder Fiveâ? in 1920-22
and the Jay Edwards/Lyndon Jones-led Marion Giants in 1985-87.
â??For these guys to be remembered up there with Oscar (Robertson) and all
the other 3-peat teams â?¦ I donâ??t think that was our target,â? Keefer said. â??Our
target was to win the state championship.
Fittingly,
Oden and Conley filled up the stat sheet. The big man finished his final high
school career with 26 points and 11 rebounds in just 28 minutes of action. The
point guard, on the other hand, totaled 21 points to go with seven rebounds. Windham and Qadr Owen also
scored in double digits with 10 points apiece.
Icing on
the cake? Oden was awarded the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award, which
goes to the senior player that most exhibits top performance in the areas of
mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability.
A dream
ending to an illustrious high school career indeed.
â??It has been a great journey with all the seniors,â? Oden said. â??We just
had a lot of fun this year. I really think it is going to take some time before
we get put in the â??greatâ?? category.
â??Right now, we are just going to enjoy a state championship.â?
Keefer, meanwhile,
was busy dodging questions of what he will do next year without his two senior
leaders.
“It’s
just wonderful â??? they have worked for that,â? Keefer said. â??I know people are
going to say he’s 7-foot and Mike’s this and Mike’s that. But I’m telling you,
there a lot of 7-footers that aren’t very good. Greg has worked and worked and
worked.
â??He’s done
a wonderful job of getting himself in a position to be successful, and Mike’s
done the same thing.”
Botts
paced Muncie Central (20-6) with 20 points, while Freeman added 12 and Terry
Jenkins had 11. The Bearcats shot just 38 percent (21 of 55) and were hamstrung
by a combined 5-for-23 effort from their backcourt duo of the Jenkinses.
â??Youâ??ve got to give Lawrence North credit â??? they came
out ready to play and on a mission,â? Fine said. â??I donâ??t think if we played our
best game of the century, we couldâ??ve beaten them tonight.
â??Our players never gave up. Thatâ??s the type of kids that we
have here. I am proud of them.â?
Keefer,
reflecting upon the first undefeated season by a 4A champ since Pike in 2003, felt the
Wildcats was be unable to run the table in 2006.
â??I thought we would kind of stumble somewhere along the way,â? Keefer
said. â??I canâ??t say we have played a bad game this year.
â??I think every game we have played we have had moments where we didnâ??t
compete, but as a group this team has competed every night out for 29 in a
row.â?
look at the 11 4A finals records either set or tied in the game, all of them
but one a team record:
- Most
points: LN, 80 (79, North Central (Indianapolis)
vs. Elkhart Central, 1999) - Most
points in a half: LN, 50 (45, Elkhart Central (2nd half) vs. North
Central, 1999) - Most
points in a quarter: LN (2nd quarter), 26 (24, Elkhart Central (4th
quarter) vs. North Central, 1999) - Largest
margin of victory: LN, 24 (21, LN vs. Columbia City
(21), 2004) - Most field
goals made: LN, 33 (28, Elkhart Central vs. North Central, 1999) - Most
combined field goals made: 54 (53, Elkhart Central vs. North Central, 1999) - Highest
combined field goal percentage: .474 (.473, LN (24-39) vs. Muncie Central
(19-52), 2005) - Most
combined 3-point field goals made: 15 (13, Bloomington North (10) vs. Marion (3), 2000) - Most
3-point field goal attempts: Muncie Central, 22 (22, Bloomington North vs. Marion, 2000) - Most
assists: LN, 16 (15, LN vs. Muncie Central, 2005, and Pike vs. DeKalb, 2003) - Most
assists (individual): 7, Qadr Owen, LN (7, Adam Liddell, DeKalb, vs. Pike,
2003)
Class 4A recipient of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award as selected
by members of the IHSAA Board of Directors.
the nation after leading coach Jack Keeferâ??s team to its third consecutive
state championship and 45 straight wins. The two-time National Player of the
Year helped the Wildcats to a perfect 29-0 season, and they should become the
first team from the state to be ranked first nationally.
Lawrence North Principal Lynn L. Lupold. â??The commitment to excellence that
Greg demonstrates on the court is mirrored in the classroom. Greg is
consistently an ambassador for our school, our state, and our country.â?
who served from 1929-44. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, IHSAAâ??s corporate
partner, presented a $1,000 check to Lawrence
North High
School in the name of Greg Oden.
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