With yet another Zeller brother leading the way, Washington defeated Gary Wallace 65-62 in overtime in the Class 3A final and captured its third state championship in six years.
Cody Zeller, a 6-10 junior center, powered the sixth-ranked Hatchets with 20 points and a record-tying 26 rebounds. Zeller's older brothers Luke and Tyler led Washington to 3A state titles in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Overall, the Hatchets are now 6-0 in state championship games.
After regulation time included 10 ties and eight lead changes, coach Renaldo Thomas' Wallace team and coach Gene Miiller's Hatchets were tied at 56. Latroy Taylor's 3-pointer from the corner for Wallace with 33 seconds left knotted it.
Kurtis Anthony scored the first five points of overtime for Washington, and when Dylan Ervin added a fast-break bucket, the Hatchets led 63-56. It was a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Anthony contributed 17 points for Washington, which finished 23-3. Zeller's 26 rebounds tied a Class 3A record set by Gerry Hall of Muncie Southside against Plainfield in 1999. Washington hit 32-of-45 from the line, breaking records for free throws made and attempted for all classes.
Wallace used withering pressure to force 20 Washington turnovers, including four in the final 1:08 of overtime. The Hornets sliced Washington's lead to 65-62 with a free throw by Branden Dawson with 42.1 seconds left. However, the Hornets failed to score on their final three possessions.
Dawson and Taylor each scored 22 for the fifth-ranked Hornets, who were making their first State Finals appearance. Wallace finished 19-5.
The evening session games (3A and 4A) drew a sold out crowd of 18,366 fans, the largest gathering since 1998 and the fifth sellout in the last six years. This year's four games drew 30,741.
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Ethan Hunsinger of Washington High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award in Class 3A Boys Basketball.
Негізгі бет Спорт 2010 IHSAA Class 3A State Championship: Washington 65, Gary Wallace 62 (OT)
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