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After a very imperfect first two and a half quarters, Warren Central overcame Carmel to post a 54-48 victory in the Class 4A championship game to finish a perfect season, 32-0.

Carmel used a 20-0 run in the first half to build an eight-point, 22-14 lead at halftime and still led, 28-17, midway through the third quarter. The Warriors hit only 32 percent from the floor and didn’t attempt a free throw in the first half.

Warren Central’s defensive pressure, however, began to take its toll as Carmel hit only 2-of-10 from 3-point range and committed 20 turnovers in the game (13 in the second half). That keyed Warren Central’s rally that helped it claim victory in a game that had all the drama of the first meeting between the two clubs -- won by the Warriors, 66-65, on Feb. 16.

As a result, coach Criss Beyers’ Warriors claimed their first state title and helped Warren Central become the second school (and first in 4A) to win both the girls and boys state titles in the same school year. Oregon-Davis was the only previous school to have done so in 2007.

Dean Tate led Warren Central with 22 points, including 16 in the second half, while Antwaan Cushingberry added 10.

The Greyhounds of coach Ryan Osborn were led by John Michael Mulloy’s 21 points. Carmel finished 21-8.

Class 4A State Championship Records

Highest Free Throw Percentage (min. 10 attempts): .929 (13-14) by Dean Tate of Warren Central

Jalen Whack of Carmel wins the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award for 4A
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Jalen Whack of Carmel High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Tester Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Boys Basketball.

The award is annually presented to a senior participant in the state finals who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability and is nominated by his principal and coach.

Whack, who averages 5.7 PPG, has been a part of Carmel’s four sectional championships during his time as a Greyhound. He is a two-year letter winner and two-year varsity starter. He has also earned the title as team captain.

Whack offers his time to Gleaner’s Food Drive, assists as a counselor at Carmel youth basketball camps and has helped with the Do Something Environmental Project.

Academically, Whack is a Carmel Scholar Athlete and IBCA Academic All-State Honorable mention. He holds a 3.61 GPA at Carmel.
He is the son of Franklin Whack and Sheila Stewart of Carmel. He is undecided on his college plans but would like to study Physical Therapy or Exercise Science.

The 4A, 3A and 2A awards are named in honor of the late Arthur L. Trester, who served as first commissioner of the Association from 1929 to 1944. Trester helped Indiana high school sports and the IHSAA emerge from the Great Depression in a position of preeminence unmatched by perhaps any other state in the nation.

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, the presenting sponsor of the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Carmel High School in the name of Jalen Whack. Since 1989, more than $840,000 in college scholarships have been presented to deserving high school athletes in Indiana.