Cathedral’s first Class 4A boys basketball state championship came in emphatic fashion.
The Irish dominated No. 1 ranked and previously unbeaten Chesterton in Saturday night’s final state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, 65-31.
With the win, Cathedral became the first private school to win the 4A boys basketball state championship.
Head coach Jason Delaney made history becoming the first boys basketball coach to win state titles with three different schools. He led Waldron to a Class A state title in 2004 and directed Indianapolis Arsenal Tech to the 4A state title 10 years later.
for more on Jason Delaney's coaching career, go to https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/625911
Cathedral (26-6) jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back against Chesterton (29-1). Jaron Tibbs led the Irish with 15 points. Jaxon Edwards had 14. Xavier Booker finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. And Tayshawn Comer added 11.
Cathedral set 4A state championship records for largest margin of victory (34 points), most blocked shots (14) and the two teams set a record for most combined blocks (16).
Tyler Parrish and Carson Parrish each scored seven points to lead Chesterton.
Chesterton’s Chris Mullen was named the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award winner. The award is presented annually to a senior, who is nominated by his principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability during his four years of high school.
Mullen has a 4.1 grade point average and is involved in many different activities and volunteers for numerous organizations at the school. He also is a key contributor to basketball, football and baseball teams at Chesterton.
Mullen will attend the University of Indianapolis in the fall to study Exercise Science while playing football for the Greyhounds.
Class A championship game
North Daviess needed double overtime to secure a 48-46 victory over Lafayette Central Catholic in the first championship game Saturday morning.
With North Daviess leading 48-45, Lafayette Central Catholic’s Clark Barrett was fouled on a 3-point attempt as the clock expired. Barrett converted the first free throw and, after a North Daviess timeout, missed the second attempt to give the Cougars (27-3) their first-ever state championship in any sport.
Devin Collins led North Daviess with 15 points and Jaylen Mullen finished with 11.
North Daviess coach Brent Dalrymple is a former assistant coach at Shelbyville High School.
For more on Brent Dalrymple's time at Shelbyville, go to https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/626084
Barrett and Clark Obermiller led the Knights (20-10) with 13 points each.
Obermiller was named the Ray Craft Mental Attitude Award Winner. He will graduate with academic honors and attend Purdue University.
Class 2A championship game
In a battle between two schools making their first state finals appearance, Providence rolled to a 62-49 victory over Central Noble.
Providence (21-6) raced out to a 25-9 lead after one quarter and grew the lead as large as 21 points in the final quarter.
Casey Kaelin led Providence with 21 points.
Conner Essegian, a Wisconsin recruit, scored 18 points in his final game for the Cougars (28-3). Essegian closed out his career at No. 10 on the state’s career scoring list.
Cade Carver of Providence was selected the Arthur Trester Mental Attitude Award winner. He is a National Honor Society member and ranks No. 12 in his class with a 4.4 GPA.
Carver will attend Indiana University and study Intelligent Systems Engineering.
Class 3A championship game
Beech Grove overcame an 8-point second-quarter deficit to defeat Mishawaka Marian, 53-43, to claim the school’s first state title.
The Hornets scored 12 straight points in the third quarter to take the lead for good. The Knights recovered to tie the game in the fourth quarter but Beech Grove finished the game on a 17-6 run.
Anthony Ball led Beech Grove (22-6) with 17 points and 20 rebounds. Cameron Brown added 13 points and Jeremiah Tate finished with 12. Tate’s nine steals were the most in any state championship game since the category has been tracked since 1977.
Richard Brooks topped Mishawaka Marian (24-4) with 13 points. Deaglan Sullivan had 10.
Brooks was named the Arthur Trester Mental Attitude Award winner. He is a member of National Honor Society and will graduate with more than a semester’s worth of college credits.
Brooks has yet to select a college or university to study Pre-Dentistry.
