Coming from polar-opposite ends of the state, the Scottsburg Warriors and South Bend Saint Joseph Huskies met in the middle at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the 3A state championship on March 30.
The Warriors, in their first state championship appearance, went 24-5 in the fourth year of head coach Eric Richardson’s tenure.
“As a player and someone who has grown up in Scott County, there are so many great stories about the team back in the ‘50s and ‘60s,” said Ricahrdson. “We knew we could get to this point, I told Kody Clancy and Caden Richardson [years ago] that this team could be special.”
As for the Huskies, in Eric Gaff’s third year as head coach he has brought them to the state championship for the third time in school’s history.
Spearheaded by 19 points from senior Jack Miller, the Warriors got out to an exciting lead to start the game.
The defeated look from the Huskies would be short lived as the three point shooting from Jerry Barca and Jayce Lee chipped the deficit down with the aid of their intense full-court defense.
The second half was more of the same as the two squads went back and forth, exchanging leads throughout the third quarter.
“We got some stops and rebounds,” coach Richardson said. “We got a couple scores there in a row. Garrett Boling had some big time rebounds and Dare Bowles, the smallest guy on the team, was able to get a huge offensive rebound late.”
Chase Konieczny got up to 15 points for the Huskies as they got out to a 50-49 lead over Scottsburg entering the last quarter.
As the game matured into its final form, an aura arose from the court to fill the Fieldhouse with every emotion Indiana basketball has to offer.
“The crowd was great,” senior guard Kody Clancy said. “Our fans always travel well, when Jack had the dunk late I thought my ear drums broke for a second.”
Down the stretch, it was the reliable duo of Kody Clancy and Jack Miller — who ended the night with an emphatic slam dunk for the Warriors.
Although falling short of Cody Zeller’s 3A record of 14 made field goals, the senior guard will end his career with performance of a lifetime finishing with 32 points and four rebounds on 12-18 shooting and 3-6 from deep.
As for Clancy, the 6’4” back-court mate to Miller finished with 20 points on 6-12 shooting of his own.
“On Thursday, coach Richardson had some motivation to give me at practice, ” Miller said. “I was due for a good game and our whole team — we all played well.”