It took Gary West Side 30 years to get back to a state championship game and the Cougars made up for lost time holding on for a thrilling 58-55 victory over defending 4A champion Pike on Saturday, March 23, 2002 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. West Side made the state championship game in 1972 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington but fell to Connersville, 80-63, but the 2002 edition of the Cougars would not be denied this time. It was the seventh IHSAA state championship for Gary West Side, but the first in a sport other than track and field. It also was the first basketball state title for a Gary school since Roosevelt won the state title in 1991. Despite holding a sizeable lead most of the game, the unranked Cougars had to hold off (Class 4A) second-ranked Pike in the late going. Gary West Side held its biggest lead of 19 points on two occasions in the third period before Pike made its move in the fourth. Down 48-33 with 6:57 to go in the game, Pike turned up the defensive pressure forcing turnovers which spurred a 14-0 run that got the Red Devils back in the game. West Side led 50-49 with 2:44 to go before senior guard Dennis Gates hit both free throws on two consecutive trips down the court for a 54-49 cushion. After Pike junior Justin Cage hit the second of two free throws, classmate David Barlow nailed a three-pointer to pull within one at 54-53 with :38 seconds left. The Cougars then got a tip in by senior Chris Hunter after two consecutive offensive rebounds for a 56-53 advantage with :23 seconds remaining. Following a timeout with :10.9 left, junior center Parnell Smith rebounded and put back a missed three pointer by junior guard Darren Yates to cut the lead to one, but Brandon Cameron, one of West Side’s four senior guards, sealed the game by hitting both free throws with :0.7 left for the final margin. Cameron led all scorers with 17 points. Hunter scored 14 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. As a team, West Side pulled down a Class 4A game record 43 rebounds. Cage led Pike with 13 points, followed by Smith with 12 and Barlow with 10. The Cougars (23-4) were coached by third-year leader John Boyd. The Red Devils of first year coach Larry Bullington finished 24-4 after losing their first game in 14 outings. Christopher Hunter of West Side High School in Gary was selected as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Boys Basketball by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee. The award, named in honor of the IHSAA’s first commissioner, who served the association from 1929 to 1944, is presented to a senior in each classification who best displays mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. The student also must be nominated by his principal and coach. Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to West Side High School in Gary in the name of Chris Hunter.
2002 IHSAA Class 4A State Championship: Gary West Side 58, Pike 55 - YouTube |
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