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Bowman Academy ratcheted up the full-court pressure, made a record 18 steals and forced 24 turnovers in its 74-52 victory over Barr-Reeve in the Class A state championship game.

Coach Marvin Rea's top-ranked Eagles broke open a close game by outscoring coach Bryan Hughes' No. 2-rated Vikings 44-26 in the final 17-plus minutes. A pair of Barr-Reeve turnovers helped the Eagles build a 6-0 run to end the half and take a 36-26 lead. Bowman surged to a 20-point edge, 65-45, when DeJuan Marrero scored on a fast break with 5 ½ minutes left in the game.

Marrero led the Eagles with a game-high 17 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Christopher Bond contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, and Tyrae Robinson had 11 points.

Christian Duncheon scored 14 points for Barr-Reeve while Trey Hughes added 10.

Bowman's 18 steals were a record for all classes in the State Finals. The previous high was 17 by Harding against Forest Park in the 2006 Class 2A title game.

Bowman won the school's first state title in any sport, finishing at 24-1. Barr-Reeve, which also was runnerup in Class A in 2002 and 2007, was 24-4 on the year.

Rea also distinguished himself by becoming just the second individual in state tournament history to win the Trester Award as a player (1987) and go on to coach a team to a state championship. Jim Myers won the mental attitude award in 1939 as an Evansville Bosse player and then coached the Bulldogs to the 1962 state championship.

CHRISTIAN DUNCHEON NAMED TRESTER AWARD WINNER
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Christian Duncheon of Barr-Reeve High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award in Class A Boys Basketball.

He is a two-year starter for the Vikings and has been an All-Conference and All-Area selection on the hardwood. He’s also earned four letters with the Barr-Reeve tennis team and one with the golf team.

Academically, Duncheon ranks first in his senior class of 44 students and plans to study Pre-Medicine at the University of Notre Dame. He’s been a member of the school’s Student Council all four years and served as its President as a junior and senior.

He is the son of Tony and Lisa Duncheon of Montgomery.

The award is named after the IHSAA’s first commissioner who served the Association from 1929 to 1944. The award is annually presented to a senior participant in the state finals who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Barr-Reeve High School in the name of Duncheon.

CLASS A POST-GAME QUOTES

Bowman Academy coach Marvin Rea
“It was a great ballgame. They played hard. We played hard. They hit big shots early and I told our guys to stay patient.”

“I’m not a scoreboard watcher, I’m a player watcher. Our guys were hitting their free throws, which was good. And in the fourth quarter, I’m watching the other team’s legs to see whether we need to fall back or go after them. I told my guys I think we got ‘em at that point.”

“That was our game plan…first one to 100 wins. Whoever controls the tempo will win the ballgame. We’re deep, unlike some other teams and we’re only as good as our last man off the bench.”

(On what this means to Bowman Academy) “It’s not only huge for our team, it’s huge for the school and huge for the Region. It’s pretty cool now to wear Bowman shirts around Gary."

(On defensive effort) “Our offense is our defense. We score a lot of points off fast breaks and steals but these guys like to run and love to play defense. Our defense generates a lot of offense.”

(On how Culver beat them) “The loss at Culver-I always tell our guys they have to expect the unexpected and at Culver the ball didn’t exactly bounce our way. But it was a loss at a good time. It helped us refocus and play harder after that."

(What this team means to him) “I’m not surprised how fast we got here (the the finals). Nick Moore, Christopher Bond and Tyrae Robinson have been playing together since third grade. For me, as the coach, this is bittersweet seeing these guys graduate. Winning the state championship means we’ve done it the right way and it also means we have bust our butts, ‘cause now people know we’re there.”

Barr-Reeve coach Bryan Hughes
“We had a good start to the game and we rebounded well and showed some toughness. But the pressure of Bowman is something we haven’t seen and we couldn’t withstand it.”

“The first minute in each quarter in the first half really killed us. We couldn’t prepare for their quickness in practice. In the beginning of the second half, they knocked down some tough shots and made it tough for us to keep up with them.”

“We had to pick our spots when we went to the rim. But we knew we would have some shots blocked. We knew we would turn the ball over some, as well. We just didn’t have our guys in spots to come back to the ball in handling their pressure. We don’t play anybody like Bowman and we can’t practice against their quickness.”

“It was tough coming up here for the third time and not coming away with a win.”

(On his son, Trey Hughes’ play) “It was unfortunate for Trey. It was like a NASCAR driver with a bad tire-you are not going to be running up front. He had a bad ankle all week and all day but he toughed it through.”