Phone:
317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
HOT-SHOOTING
DELIVERS FIRST TITLE FOR MATER DEI
Evansville
Mater Dei got a balanced effort scorching the nets throughout the game and walked
away with the Class 3A state championship after its 63-45 victory over Bellmont at Conseco Fieldhouse in
The two
schools are very familiar with one another on the wrestling mat sharing 13
state championships between them, but it was the first time they’ve faced off in
the state hardwood tournament with Mater Dei claiming its first title in boys basketball.
The
unranked Wildcats (21-6) got 17 points from Wacey
Hall, who finished six-for-seven from the field, 12 points from Matt Halbig and 10 from Craig Maier. Mater Dei finished the game
shooting nearly 53 percent from the field, including a second half effort where
they connected on eight of their 13 shots. They also hit six of 13 from
three-point territory.
On the
other hand, seventh-ranked Bellmont (22-5) struggled
from the field, particularly in a 5-for-21 first half, which resulted in a
33-16 deficit at halftime. The Braves
found the range in the second half scoring on 12 of their 25 attempts but could
never get closer than 14 points at 56-42 with
Mater Dei
finished as the state runner-up in Class 3A in 2001, dropped to 2A for the 2002
and 2003 seasons before the latest reclassification bumped them back up to 3A
once again this year. The Wildcats were coached by John Goebel, in his second
year with the team, while Bellmont was directed by
sixth year coach Shaun Busick.
With four
starters returning for each squad next year, both teams should have the
ammunition for another tournament run a year from now.
Bellmont’s Jon Zeser Named Winner of the
Arthur L. Trester Award For
Mental Attitude
Jon Zeser of
From 1917 to 1943, this award was known as The Gimbel Medal for Mental Attitude, in honor of Jake Gimbel of
Members of the IHSAA Executive Committee present
the award to the outstanding senior participant in each classification of the boys basketball state finals. The recipients of this award, who were
nominated by their principals and coaches, must excel in mental attitude,
scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in basketball.
Jon ranks 37th in his Senior class of 196 and is a member of the National Honor
Society. He is also a member of the
Student Council, Class Representative,
Athletically, he will conclude his career with
the Braves having earned nine varsity letters, including three each in
basketball, baseball and soccer. As a Senior, he was named first team All-Northeast Hoosier
Conference in basketball and All-NHC in Soccer and Baseball. He was the 2003-04 soccer MVP and Best
Defensive Player and was a four-year Academic Award winner.
Jon is the son of Diane and Tim Zeser of
Farm Bureau Insurance, IHSAA corporate partner,
presented a scholarship check for $1,000.00
New IHSAA Book, Play
On, Recaps 100 Years Of High School Sports in
The
exciting new book, Play On, celebrating 100 years of
high school sports in
Team Posters And Individual Action Photographs Available
Visit 20-20 Photographic, the IHSAA’s photographer and the
Own This Game On VHS Or DVD
If you’d
like a copy of this state championship game, the IHSAA will have it as well as
each of the other three contests (one game per video) available in VHS or DVD
formats as part of the IHSAA
Video Library collection. Phone in your order beginning Monday, March 29 to
317-846-6601 (M-F, 8-4 EST) and pay by credit card (Visa or MasterCard
accepted). VHS copies are $35 each by mail, while DVD copies are $55 each by
mail. Please allow up to four weeks delivery.
For
t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s state finals
tournament or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
State Finals Programs
Available
Couldn’t be
there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at
the IHSAA Office (
Class 3A Championship
Game Quotes
Evansville Mater Dei Coach John
Goebel
“I’m proud
of these guys. Just a few weeks ago, I’m not sure anyone, including ourselves,
would have dreamed the Mater Dei basketball team would have been the 3A state
champs. It was a true compliment to our team and our program. It was a total
team effort. We rotated 10 guys. Whether everyone got in for five minutes or
just 30 seconds, they contributed.”
“We did
what we wanted to do in the first quarter. We pounded the ball inside and got
them into a little bit of foul trouble. One of the things we learned this year
is how to play with a lead and be patient and to work for the right shot.”
“We had
good defensive intensity most of the game. Bellmont
helped us out because they weren’t hitting the shots we’ve seen them hit on
tape all year long. It wasn’t their night and that helped us. Defensively we
came out and got on their perimeter shooters but we also were able to recover
and helped out inside. We played as an aggressive half court defense as we have
played all year long.”
“We
finished 21-6 and that’s a testament to the quality of basketball in southern
Bellmont Coach Shaun Busick
“First of
all, let’s give credit where credit is due.
Mater Dei is a tremendous basketball team with a lot of weapons. They hit almost 50% of their 3’s, they
out-rebounded us 31-23, and they shot 53% from the field…that’s your ballgame.”
“They were
a little less in awe of the place (Conseco Fieldhouse) than we were.
I think our kids battled the whole night. I don’t think they beat us in any effort
areas, but they did beat us in the areas that count and that would be defensive
rebounding and contesting shots. We
didn’t recover defensively like I thought we should have.”
(On the play
of Mater Dei’s Wacey Hall)
“We tried
to go right at him (Wacey Hall), inside,
unfortunately we just could not get a call.
We wanted to go right at him when they put him back in with two fouls to
try to get a third foul on him. But, give
him credit, he played intelligently. He didn’t swat anymore and went straight
up to contest shots.”
“We had to
take (Brian) Shultz out in the first quarter and that hurt a little bit because
he helps our inside-outside game. Even
though Brian is our biggest kid, he’s more of a guard. When we took him out I thought they went on a
little bit of a run. We made some bad
decisions with the ball, particularly right at the end of the first quarter
when we had the ball down 12-10 with a chance to either tie or take the lead.
That was kind of a turning point.”
“We wanted
to start off in a zone because all they had seen us play was a man-to-man. They handled it very well. Unfortunately, we didn’t adjust as well to
what they were doing.”