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Jamal Harris' put-back with .9 seconds remaining gave Crispus Attucks their first state championship since 1959 with a victory over Twin Lakes in Class 3A.
Timeout. :.9 left on the clock!!! Tigers up 73-71 @Attucks_Sports pic.twitter.com/jFMneU29PV
— IPS (@IPSSchools) March 25, 2017
The win came during a year when Crispus Attucks High School and alumni celebrated their dramatic history and being a beacon for integration in Indianapolis.
In 1955 Crispus Attucks became the first all-black school in the nation to win a state title. They won again in 1956 and 1959.
Earlier in the week Senior Alex Cooley said that history, documented in the 2016 film Attucks: The School That Opened a City, helped propel the team throughout the season.
“It gave us the motivation to keep pushing -- to star in our role and just play basketball,” he said. “To be at a historical school like this, where all of our state championship teams broke a racial barrier in the city. That is huge. We just want to be next in the same conversation.”
Trailing by one with less than a minute to play during Saturday’s evening game, Twin Lakes' Bryce Bennington made one of his two free throw attempts to tie the game at 71.
On the ensuing Tigers possession, Cooley held the ball until eight seconds on the clock and dribbled right, attempting a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining. Cooley's shot bounced off the iron to the left of the rim where Harris outmuscled a Twin Lakes defender for the game-winning put-back.
Tindley wins 1st Class A title with shot in final seconds
Chris Murff scored 13 points, Eric Hunter added eight and the Tindley Tigers won their first ever state championship with a thrilling 51-49 win over the Lafayette Central Catholic Knights in the Class A title game.
Hunter White scored only five points for Tindley but he made the most important bucket of Saturday's game as his runner in the lane with 4 seconds left proved to be the game's winning shot.
The Tigers led by as many as six and trailed by the same amount in a game that was back-and-forth until the final buzzer. Tindley trailed 46-44 with just a little more than three minutes left in the game when Sincere McMahon's 3-pointer gave the Tigers a one-point lead.
Trailing by one, the Knights had a chance to take the lead at the free throw line with 32 seconds remaining. Carson Barrett missed the back end of the one-and-one, leaving the game tied, setting up Hunter's winning shot.
Avery Denhart scored 17 points for Central Catholic and Barrett finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Ben Davis tops Fort Wayne North Side to win 3rd state title
Ben Davis defeated Fort Wayne North 55-52 in the Indiana School Athletic Association for their third 4A state championship in program history.
Senior Jalen Windham led the Giants in scoring with 15 including a huge 3-pointer with just over 2 minutes left that broke a 46-46 tie. The Legends were led by 11-points from both Jaylen Butz and Juan Quarles.
The win was the first state championship for the Giants since 1996. They won back-to-back 4A state championships in 1995 and 1996. For the Legends it was their first trip to the title game since 1965.
In what was a defensive struggle from the get-go, the Giants took advantage of the Legends struggles at the free throw line. Hitting only seven of their 20 attempts, the Giants took advantage by sinking six straight field goals to pull ahead in the closing minutes.
WFYI News staff contributed to this report.
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