Crispus Attucks advances to 3A state title, defeats New Palestine 67-49
Crispus Attucks advances to 3A state title by defeating New Palestine 67-49.
- Class 3A state final: Crispus Attucks vs. South Bend St. Joseph, 6 p.m., Saturday
- Game is streaming live via pay-per-view for $15 on IHSAAtv.org
- Radio: 93.1 WIBC
Admittance to the Class 3A state finals should come with a neck brace.
The pace Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, especially if South Bend St. Joseph has its way, could be furious.
“They are going to try to press us and speed us up,” Crispus Attucks coach Chris Hawkins said.
Not that sixth-ranked Crispus Attucks (22-6) despises a fast pace. But second-ranked South Bend St. Joseph (26-3) takes it to another level, leading the state at 77.1 points per game. Last week in the semistate, the Huskies turned heads with a 115-81 victory over Maconaquah in the semistate semifinal.
South Bend St. Joseph coach Eric Gaff said he does see some similarities between the teams. But the biggest difference is the presence of 6-9 senior Dezmon Briscoe for the sixth-ranked Tigers (22-6). The Huskies do not have a player on the roster taller than 6-4.
“I think our pace of play is similar,” Gaff said. “Obviously, with the talented big guy they have, they play more inside than we do. Their ability to get in transition and to cause turnovers is really similar to us. It should make for a pretty exciting game.”
One advantage in St. Joseph’s favor is the Huskies were here last year, losing 67-57 to Scottsburg in the 3A game. Chase Konieczny, a 6-3 senior and St. Joseph’s leading scorer (22.6 ppg) and rebounder (9.1), is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his sister Nicole, who was an Indiana All-Star and won a state championship for St. Joseph in 2017.
His brother, J.R., was an Indiana All-Star in 2021 after leading the team to the Class 3A semistate. Chase, with 2,128 points, topped both his brother (1,996) and sister (1,459) in career points.
“It means everything to me,” Chase said of following in his siblings’ footsteps. “My sister started it all. I followed in her footsteps and my brother’s too. It was just about keeping the family name alive and keeping No. 20 on the back of my jersey (both siblings wore No. 20) and be able to do it my senior year.”
Konieczny is far from St. Joseph’s only option. The Huskies have 6-2 sophomore Elijah King (13.9 ppg, 5.1 rebounds), 6-4 junior Nick Shrewsberry (13.8 ppg, 4.1 rebounds) and 6-1 junior Ethan Roseman (10.8 ppg, 7.1 assists) all averaging in double figures. Other key players are 6-2 junior Braylen White (5.5 ppg, 3.0 rebounds) and 6-1 Brashaun Woods (5.2 ppg, 2.7 rebounds).
Roseman joined the team during the summer after transferring from Bishop Chatard.
“I think one of the main differences from last year is experience,” Konieczny said. “We’ve grown as a team. Our team chemistry is at a different level than it was last year. We didn’t expect to make it that far (last year). This year, we had the expectation and that all started at practice, just competing every day. There’s definitely a bigger target on us, but I don’t really feel it because we put in the time and work and effort in our practices and it’s paying off now.”
Similarly to St. Joseph, Attucks has a lot of different pieces to the puzzle to go with its top player. Briscoe, who pulled his commitment from Iowa after the coaching change and will take a close look at his options after the state finals, is joined by senior point guard and City Player of the Year Chris Hurt (14.2 ppg, 5.2 assists), 6-5 senior Kayden English (9.7 ppg, 3.2 rebounds) and 6-3 senior Che Brownlow (7.9 ppg, 2.5 rebounds) and 6-2 senior Imon Cousins (8.4 ppg, 40% 3-pointers) among the top options.
The Tigers had to learn to play without Briscoe for 10 games early in the season when he was sidelined by a high ankle sprain. Roles changed, again, when Briscoe came back to the lineup. The fully formed Tigers started to hit their stride after the City tournament loss to Cathedral, eventually turning the tables on the No. 1 Irish in the sectional semifinal at Shortridge.
That victory is part of a current 12-game winning streak.
“We had to adjust to playing with him again,” Hawkins said of Briscoe. “Now he has his wind, his conditioning down and kids know how to feed him and where to get him the basketball. Throughout this whole season, I’ve been impressed with how we’ve been able to adjust. Right now, I think we know exactly our roles and how we want to play.”
Class 3A final: South Bend St. Joseph vs. Crispus Attucks keys to game, prediction
Class A state finals details: Tipoff at 6 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse; game will live streamed on IHSAAtv.org for a cost of $15 or $20 for all four games; Tickets are $15 per person for one session and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Participating schools also have tickets available at the respective schools.
How South Bend St. Joseph can win: Run, run, run. I don’t sense there is any plan to slow down now. The Huskies, held under 70 points just seven times this season, have been able to turn up the tempo to play its best basketball. The key on defense will be slowing down Briscoe in the halfcourt and keeping Attucks off the boards.
How Crispus Attucks can win: Win inside and limit turnovers. Attucks needs to be the more physical team Saturday. Attack the paint on offense and limit St. Joseph’s effectiveness in the lane. It will not hurt to knock down a few 3-pointers, too. Cousins and Hurt, in particular, are capable of knocking them down behind the arc.
Prediction: I can’t see this being a runaway either way. Crispus Attucks 72, South Bend St. Joseph 70.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
