HIGH SCHOOL

Class 2A: Park Tudor wins 4th title in 5 years

Kyle Neddenriep
kyle.neddenriep@indystar.com
Park Tudor's Bryce Moore carries the 2A Championship trophy off of the court following their 73-46 win over the Frankton Eagles in the IHSAA 2A Boys Basketball State Final Saturday, March 28, 2015, afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

No Yogi. No Trevon. No problem.

Top-ranked Park Tudor captured its fourth Class 2A title in five years with a 73-46 win over Frankton on Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Senior guard Bryce Moore finished with 31 points, six rebounds and six assists as Park Tudor's superior size and strength took over in the second half.

"They have a killer instinct about them," said Park Tudor coach Kyle Cox, owner of two state championships in his two seasons as coach. "They know that one shot, one 3-pointer, one layup, one dunk is going to propel us to get another stop on the defensive end. We get that look in our eye that we're not going to be denied."

Some wondered what would happen to the Park Tudor program after Yogi Ferrell and Trevon Bluiett were gone. Ferrell, the Indiana senior-to-be, led Park Tudor to its first two state titles in 2011 and '12. Bluiett, a freshman and sophomore on those teams, led the Panthers to another title as a senior last season before heading to Xavier.

Both former players were in attendance on Saturday, in the locker room prior to the game and seated near the end of the bench during the game.

"We told them to put their names in history," said Bluiett, who texted Cox after Xavier was eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Thursday night to ask if he could get a ticket. "I've grown up with those seniors and told them there's nothing better than going out with a state championship."

Park Tudor (26-2) appeared to be on its way to a blowout win early, leading 23-8 early in the second quarter. Fourth-ranked Frankton (26-3) utilized its press to cut the deficit to nine points by halftime and trailed just 35-29 early in the third quarter.

The crowd, heavily favoring a Frankton program making its first state finals appearance, roared in approval.

"What I was proud about in that situation is that our kids battled back," Frankton coach Brent Brobston said.

Then, according to Brobson, the Eagles ran out of gas. Or, Park Tudor simply had too much. Probably a combination of the two. The Panthers closed the third quarter on a 15-5 run and Frankton never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

"Once we were able to break that initial wave of pressure, we were able to score layups (against the press)," Cox said.

The 6-3 Moore, a Western Michigan recruit, was too strong and physical for Frankton once he got to the basket. Moore was 10-for-14 from the field and hit 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

After a scoreless first quarter, Moore had 16 points in the second quarter.

"That's an Indiana All-Star stat line," Cox said. "I don't care of you are 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A or 12A. That's a stat line that belongs on the Indiana All-Star team."

Ferrell led Park Tudor to its first state championship game as a sophomore in 2010. The Panthers lost that day, 41-38 to Wheeler. The players have changed and Cox, a former assistant, replaced Ed Schilling when he took an assistant job at UCLA two years ago.

But the Panthers continue to win.

"Right now it's expected for us to win championships," Ferrell said. "We've won a lot recently and that shows what a great program Park Tudor is now. My sophomore year we weren't expected to go to the championship game. We weren't that good that year. But now we have that consistency going."

Evan Frank, a 6-9 senior, had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Park Tudor. Jaren Jackson, a 6-9 sophomore, added 11 points and nine rebounds. The Panthers shot 58 percent from the field (26-for-45) to just 25 percent for Frankton (12-for-49). Park Tudor outrebounded Frankton 46-20.

Austin Compton led Frankton with 22 points and seven rebounds. The 6-1 senior said it took some time to adjust to Park Tudor's size.

"When you are used to attacking and then see 6-9 and 6-10 and athletic at the rim, it took a minute to adjust," Compton said.

Park Tudor will move to Class 3A for the next two-year period under the Indiana High School Athletic Association's tournament success factor. The Panthers will graduate a strong senior class with Moore, Frank and Dwayne Gibson (nine points, five rebounds), but figure to again be very good.

That group would love to join Ferrell and Bluiett next year along the baseline to watch another Park Tudor championship.

"I think it says a lot when you have guys like that who want to be in the locker room before the game and be a part it," Cox said. "We are a big family. A lot of people think we are a private school with no spirit but it's very well connected. I expect these guys to carry it on."

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Follow him on Twitter: @KyleNeddenriep

Park Tudor 73, Frankton 46

Frankton

7

18

9

12

46

Park Tudor

13

21

16

23

73

Frankton (2-3) - Conner Bates 1 2-2 5, Maurice Knight 1 5-7 7, Austin Compton 7 5-7 22, Nick Wright 1 3-3 6, Brady Ashton 1 0-0 3, Cameron Bates 0 1-2 1, Travis McGuire 0 0-0 0, Patrick Spillman 0 0-0 0, Blaine Reed 0 0-0 0, Brayden Ginder 0 0-0 0, Bailey Threet 0 0-0 0, Isaac Stuckey 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 16-21 46.

Park Tudor (26-2) - Bryce Moore 10 9-11 31, Kobe Webster 1 0-1 3, Dwayne Gibson 4 0-0 9, Jaren Jackson 4 3-4 11, Evan Frank 4 3-5 11, Brent Brimmage 3 0-2 6, Sam Dattilo 0 0-2 0, Isaiah Rice 0 0-0 0, Trace Arbuckle 0 0-0 0, Angad Sikand 0 0-0 0, Brandon Tiassum 0 2-3 2, Zach Hale 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 17-28 73.

3-pointers: Frankton (6-29) - Connor Bates 1-4, Maurice Knight 0-3, Austin Compton 3-10, Nick Wright 1-3, Brady Ashton 1-3, Cameron Bates 0-2, Brayden Ginder 0-3, Bailey Threet 0-1; Park Tudor (4-14) - Bryce Moore 2-4, Kobe Webster 1-8, Dwayne Gibson 1-2.