Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
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March 28, 2009
BISHOP LUERS CAPTURES
SECOND STRAIGHT STATE TITLE
Fort Wayne
Bishop Luers claimed its second consecutive 2A IHSAA
state title at Conseco Fieldhouse with a convincing
67-49 victory over Brownstown Central. The win capped a 23-4 season for Bishop Luers and fifth year head coach James Blackmon.
Second-ranked
Luers (23-4) led by only three points at halftime,
but a 15-4 run to end the third quarter helped seal the Knights’ title.
Top scorer Deshaun Thomas contributed nine points in
the streak and led all scorers with 34 points.
He led the state in scoring this season with a 30.3 average and now sits
in 11th place on the state’s all-time scoring list with 2,254
points.
Ranked
second in the state in rebounding, Thomas pulled in 15 to finish the game with
a double-double. Teammate Lawrence
Barnett had 12 points and five rebounds, Ken Mullen added 10 points and four
rebounds, and Evan Blackmon chipped in nine points and six rebounds. Mullen
also broke the 2A championship game record with four blocked shots.
Brownstown
Central’s Blaze Ayers led his team with 18 points, 12 from the free throw
line, and five rebounds, and Ryan Shoemaker added 10 points. The unranked
Braves, coached by 11th year leader Dave Benter, finished their season 20-7.
Luers
which advanced to the final with a 30-point win over North Judson last
Saturday, held its biggest advantage of 25 points at 58-33 with 3:51 remaining.
Brownstown
Central, the 2004 2A state runner-up, was playing in its third-ever state
finals (1931).
BROWNSTOWN’S BLAZE AYERS NAMED MENTAL
ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Following
the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Blaze Ayers of
Brownstown Central High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award.
The award
is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was
nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental
attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
At school,
he ranks 32nd in his class of 156 and has been a four year member of
the Booster, Letterman’s and Sportsman’s Clubs. He plans to attend
either Hanover College or Indiana State University and major in business.
Ayers is
a 4-H vice-president and a reserve grand champion in construction. He is also heavily involved with St.
Peter’s Lutheran Church where he has worked food stands, bake sales and is active with youth groups.
Selected as
All Mid-Southern Conference, Ayers will also participate in the HBCA All-Star
game and is a three year letter winner in the sport.
He is the
son of Earl and Arlene Ayers of Brownstown.
Indiana Farm
Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate
partner, will present a $1,000 scholarship to Brownstown Central High School in
the name of Ayers.
The award
is named in honor of Arthur L. Trester, the IHSAA’s first commissioner who served the Association
from 1929-44.
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CLASS
2A POST-GAME QUOTES
Brownstown Central Head Coach David
Benter
(General
comments) “In the first half, I thought we played at the pace we needed
to. We controlled the tempo, and I thought we had them
a little frustrated at halftime. But I’ve seen them on film be frustrated
and all it takes is for them to turn it up and hit a couple of shots. …
It’s not a team you can play from behind. … Thomas is the best high
school player I’ve seen. There’s not really anybody in the state
that can control him. He’s incredible.”
(On what
happened in the second half) “You get down 9 or 10, if you want a chance
to win the game, you have to start speeding up a
little. We’re just not capable of playing that pace, especially against a
team like that. … Their quickness, you can’t simulate that in
practice. I haven’t coached a kid in 11 years as quick as their slowest
starter, probably. … You have to
make shots. We missed a lot of shots that we’ve been making in the
tournament. But some of that credit goes
to Luers. They sometimes get you playing at a pace
with their quickness that you’re not used to.”
Brownstown Central center Blaze
Ayers
(On winning
the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award)
“Winning an award that is that prestigious, it’s a humbling
experience.”
(On the
inside battle against Luers) “They were pretty rough and physical
inside. I just tried to take it at them.”
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Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Head Coach James Blackmon
(General
comments) “Brownstown came in and played a solid game. They came out with
the box-and-one, and I thought that was a good defensive strategy. Our thing was
to come out and try to control the tempo. In that first quarter, they
controlled the tempo. But our guys did a great job of adjusting. Then we did a
better job of getting in the passing lanes, created some easy steals and were
able to uptempo the ballgame.”
(On the
slow start offensively) “I talked to the guys about things we could
control and can’t control. I told them we couldn’t control whether
the ball may or may not go in for us. But we could control our effort and
composure. Even though the shots didn’t drop early, I thought they were
really hustling and doing things for us to win that ballgame.”
(On Deshaun Thomas’ season) “Spectacular. There are
records breaking on a daily basis. Each game we talk about another milestone as
far as a record.” (Can he break Damon Bailey’s state scoring
record?) “This is reachable. If we continue to play like this next year,
it’s something I think he can accomplish.”
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers guard Deshaun Thomas
(On the
physical play he faced) “It’s an everyday thing. … Coach
Blackmon just tells me to stay focused and keep my composure. (On to the key to
his second-half success in the game) “It was staying active. I wanted to
keep my teammates involved and just keep playing hard. Then I was able to hit
some big shots after I got on a roll.”