15 YEARS AGO (1995): Ben Davis 58, Merrillville 57

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The state polls ranked Ben Davis #1 and Merrillville #2 at the end of the season, so the final game brought the two top teams in a showdown. Before an excited coowd of 17,102 fans, Ben Davis coach Steve Witty and his Giants stood tall throughout the tourney and finished with a 32-1 record, most wins since the 1923 Vincennes champions (34-1).

Ben Davis and Merrillville fought hard for 32 minutes. Courtney James hit both shots of a one-and-one free throw to establish the winning total. The Ben Davis triumph gave the school and Coach Steve Witty their first state championship.

(Information excerpted and adapted from Hoosier Hysteria: A History of Indiana High School Boys Single Class Basketball by Herb Schwomeyer)