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?
- 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)
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