He threw a punch at the sky, when the buzzer finally sounded. Then he shouted. Then he leaped – no, bounded was more like it – into the arms of one his coaches, Paul Gunsett.INDIANAPOLIS – Snider’s valiant effort against the state’s top-ranked Class 4A team came up short 69-62 Saturday in the state championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Bloomington South (26-0) is No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in USA Today’s national poll, while Snider (25-2) is ranked No. 6 in state and No. 22 by USA Today.
“I am not mad about anything, we just didn’t have shots fall today,” Snider senior Jonathan Sims said.
“We are happy with the way we played, but we are upset with the way the game came out. It has been a great season, even though we just lost this final game.”
Bloomington South became the 12th team in state history to finish the season unbeaten.
Brad Sneary led Snider with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Reggie Hearn added 15, and Sims 11.
Bloomington South won its first state title in 90 years, while Snider failed in a bid for its first state championship.
“I thought we were good enough to win, but we lost,” Snider coach Ray Sims said. “We missed some free throws and layups down the stretch.
“It’s no surprise that our kids never gave up. The thing that I’m proud of is that we took on all comers and didn’t back down from anyone.”
Bloomington South won its 26th straight game, while Snider had its 20-game winning streak end.
Darwin Davis Jr. had 17 points for Bloomington South and Mr. Basketball favorite Jordan Hulls had 14.
Davis made two free throws with 14 seconds left, and South also got a late basket for the seven-point margin.
Down three, Carl Miller misfired on three straight three-pointers with less than 35 seconds left for Snider, and Sims also missed on a three attempt.
“This was a game of runs,” said Snider senior Reggie Hearn, who won the 4A mental attitude award and hit a state-finals record 11 of 15 free throws.
“They just ended the game on one of those runs.”
Snider, with its five-senior starting lineup, won its first regional and semistate titles this season.
“It was a great run with a bunch of guys who have been playing together for a long time,” Hearn said.
Sneary’s layup gave Snider a 58-57 lead with 2:35 left.
On a key out of bounds play, Bloomington South tipped the ball into the backcourt, and at first the officials ruled it Snider’s ball. The call was reversed and Bloomington South kept the ball.
Bloomington South pushed a one-point margin to 63-58 with less than two minutes remaining.
Hearn cut the lead to 63-60 with two free throws with 1:21 remaining.
Bloomington South took an early 15-9 lead but settled for an 18-13 lead after the first quarter.
Sneary had 10 points and seven rebounds at halftime and Hulls and Davis each had nine points.
“It was a big crowd out there, and we got the jitters out of the way early,” Sims said.
A 9-0 run between the second and third quarters helped put Bloomington South in front 36-28 early in the third quarter.
Snider battled back and tied the score at 40 with 3:49 left in the third on a three-point play by Hearn.
