By Darrel Radford
For The Courier-Times
A brother’s sweet jump shot from the top of the key. A ringside seat for a sectional upset. Big time shots, overtime thrillers and individual heroics.
As a basketball fan and a journalist, I have been blessed to see a lot of great games in Henry County. When I was asked if I would want to write about the most memorable ones from the 1970s and 1980s, the answer was as predictable as a Steve Alford free throw.
Yes! Where do I start?
Church Street Gym
For me, I guess it starts in Church Street Gym, where Blue River Valley used to play its home games before the current high school was built. My brother, Ron, was a senior guard and averaged about 14 per game. One night the Vikings were playing Knightstown, which had a guard by the name of Gene Bundy. My dad challenged Ron, offering $1 for every point he scored over 20.
My brother scored 21 that night. If memory serves, Bundy – now Henry County’s treasurer, had a few more than that.
But I always enjoyed watching my brother play. He could jump and his jump shot was a thing of beauty.
Of course, there was another game played in that gym that I’m sure people remember more than the one I just described. It was a bit before my time but I certainly wish I could have been there, too.
1974 Sectional Upset
The next game on my list would have to be the 1974 sectional game against Knightstown. The Panthers were 15-5, as I recall, and we were 5-15. But you know what they say – “on any given night.” And this was one of those nights.
I was a student manager and had a courtside seat to a great game. Tony Goff, our star player, couldn’t miss, it seemed. We were red hot and built a big lead, only to have it melt right before our eyes faster than the clock ticked down. It was the late Kyle Burke – who just passed away this month – hitting some key free throws down the stretch to give Blue River its first sectional victory since the school’s first year of consolidation. Our fans stormed the fieldhouse floor. The next day, we were all cheering and celebrating around the BRV halls until Principal Robert Poffenbarger kindly reminded us not to forget to go to class.
Speaking of the Devils
Fast-forward six years, and I was courtside for a different reason – serving as sports editor of The Courier-Times. It was a time when Richmond came to New Castle for sectional action. Nobody liked the fact that the Devils were here. But no one could argue they sure made things interesting. Who could forget the four-overtime thriller between Shenandoah and Richmond that year?
The 1980 and 1981 sectional championship games had identical final scores: 40-39 – and Richmond was involved in both of them.
Richmond defeated New Castle in 1980. (I’m still waiting for the foul to be called and Kent Grider to be awarded his free throws with no time left on the clock. Grider was chasing down a rebound and many thought he was fouled in the process, but the buzzer sounded and Richmond celebrated.)
Conjuring images of Milan
Then in 1981, Shenandoah turned the tables on the Devils, defeating them 40-39. In that game, the final 2:30 or so featured no points scored. The tension and excitement gives me goose bumps even to this day.
Of course, that was just the beginning of a remarkable run by the Raiders to the Final Four. Led by four talented Scotts – Heady, Hubbard, Ramsey and Trennepohl – Shenandoah stirred up memories of Milan with its appearance at Market Square Arena.
I’ll never forget the semistate title game with Indianapolis Howe. That team looked so athletic and intimidating, dunking the ball with ease in warm-ups. Yet, if memory serves, the Raiders never trailed after the first few minutes of the game. Scott Heady directed the offense, controlled the Hinkle Fieldhouse hardwood with an almost surgical-like skill.
I remember 1981 for another reason. It was the first tournament played without John Jordan, the long-time Sports Party Line columnist who inspired many with his courageous battle against physical health struggles. I was privileged to sit next to John on press row a few times. He died just before the tournament started that year. I often thought about how much he would have enjoyed Shenandoah’s march to Market Square. It wasn’t — and hasn’t — been the same without him.
Tri and Knightstown
So many great players and games in this rivalry. I remember one season in the late 1970s when Don Schwarzkopf’s Titans defeated Duane Queener’s Panthers three times in the same season — with each game decided by a single point.
I remember players like Randy Reece, Jeff Miller and Terry McBride for the Titans. For the Panthers, Art Rose was one of the best county players I’d ever seen. He scored over 40 one night, and some of his coaches said it wasn’t one of his better games. Rose could control a game much in the same way Steve Alford did. He was a good ball handler, good shooter, got fouled a lot and hit his free throws.
Steve Alford
In 1983 Steve Alford’s incredible season that featured more than one “sold out” sign on the doors of the 9,320-seat fieldhouse.
He had many memorable games, but the one that stands out for me was his 57-point performance in the semistate against Broad Ripple. I enjoyed writing about it in The Henry County News Republican, a weekly publication my wife, Becky, and I owned at the time.
Alford hit 16-of-27 shots from the floor that day and an amazing 25-fo-25 from the free throw line. What people may forget was that Steve also had 10 rebounds. His effort was so relentless, word was he lost four pounds that game.
In a column written by Indianapolis Star legend Bob Collins, Alford’s feat was put into colorful perspective.
“The desperate Rockets went at him with everything except hammers,” Collins wrote. “And by the end, they were probably considering a search of the carpentry shop.”
Alford scored 20 points in the second quarter alone and had a staggering 30 points at halftime – seven more than Broad Ripple’s entire team. It was 42-23 Trojans at intermission.
I can still hear the buzz at Hinkle Fieldhouse. “He’s got 30? Alford’s got 30? At the half?!”
Another reporter glanced at my messy scorebook. “You need two scorebooks, one for Alford and one for the rest of the team,” he said.
By the time Broad Ripple caught up with Steve, there was only 3:32 left in the third quarter. That was the mark when, for the first time in the game, the Rockets had more points collectively than Steve did individually.
New Castle won that game but fell to eventual state champion Connersville 70-57 in the semistate final. Alford scored 37 in that one. His 94 points in the two semistate games is still a single-day tournament record. He hit a combined 36-for-36 from the free throw line.
The 1984 semistate
It just might be the most exciting day in Trojan basketball history – at least in terms of drama.
New Castle’s 74-73 OT win against Perry Meridian in the afternoon game of the 1984 Indianapolis semistate was followed by the Trojans’ 60-59 triumph over Columbus North to put them into the state finals. The men of Troy were led by a couple of Troys that season – Troy Lundy and Troy Burgess. Sean Alford, Steve’s brother, was also a key member as was Rodney Haynes.
I remember my scorebook-keeping hand was shaking as Haynes stepped to the free throw line and calmly put New Castle ahead.
And that’s why I write about memorable basketball games instead of play in them.
(Darrel Radford is a former sports editor and managing editor of The Courier-Times. He’s been a basketball fan since the Mooreland Bobcat days.)