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INDIANAPOLIS – For almost two months this season, Crispus Attucks senior Dezmon Briscoe was forced to play spectator.
Sidelined with an ankle injury following the Tigers’ season opener on Nov. 25, Briscoe watched from the sidelines for seven weeks while Attucks went 8-4 to start the year before he reemerged on Jan. 11.
Looking back, the 6-9 center admits that time was the hardest he’s faced in his basketball career, and it took even more grit to shake off the rust once he returned.
Dropping to 10-5 overall after losing to rival and top-ranked Cathedral in the City Tournament final, 71-63, on Jan. 27, the Class 3A eighth-ranked Tigers became an afterthought despite Briscoe being back to full strength.
Indiana high school boys basketball: IHSAA semistate scores, highlights, photos
On Saturday night inside Southport Fieldhouse during the 3A semistate final, Briscoe and the Tigers put the past behind them and reminded everyone why they’re always a contender.
Attucks (22-6), which knocked off No. 1 Cathedral to open its postseason run three weeks ago, defeated two more state-ranked opponents at Southport, including No. 3 New Palestine (26-4) in the finals, 67-49, to stretch their winning streak to 12.
Briscoe, an Iowa commit, finished with a team-high 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, and the Tigers clinched their seventh semistate title all-time and first since 2017 — the last time Attucks won state.
“I messed up my ankle real bad. Sat out for like two months. Came back and recovered. Did everything I could do to make it to state. It was hard for me, but I had to stay with it. Stay with my team. Stay with the details and get back on the court,” Briscoe said. “We haven’t lost since the Cathedral game at City. Everybody’s just locked in, and you see the result.”
The Tigers were ready to work, and after pushing through five ties with New Palestine through the first half, Attucks’ 27-23 halftime lead grew to 21 points by the fourth.
But not without more adversity.
“We know there’s going to be some adversity, but you just have to play through it, and our kids played through it,” Attucks coach Chris Hawkins said. “We were able to make stops, get the ball to Briscoe, and AJ Jones was big the whole day. First game, second game making shots and getting steals. This is a great team win, and we got one more left.”
New Palestine, led by senior Julius Gizzi with a game-high 22 points, cut the deficit to 41-35 in the third quarter behind a 9-2 run after Attucks went up by as many as 13 points.
A layup by senior Kayden English and an ensuing putback by Briscoe on the next possession kickstarted a decisive 19-4 run that began late in the third and carried into the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up by 21 points.
“We had to string plays together. Not just one play. Not just two plays. A lot of plays. Focusing on defense and making sure we capitalized and kept them out of the paint,” Jones said. “And without Briscoe, our big man, we wouldn’t be going to state right now. He’s doing his thing, and he’s carrying us right now.”
Jones had 15 points off the bench after dropping 10 points during the Tigers’ 61-55 win over No. 6 Princeton in the afternoon semifinal.
Senior Chris Hurt had 12 points, three assists, two steals and a block.
“It just shows how tough of a group we are. We battled through adversity all year. We played together. We stuck together. We’re just brothers,” Hurt said. “It feels amazing. Just to keep winning. You don’t want to lose. We like this level of competition. We like to play hard, play fast and play together.”
Briscoe is playing for a purpose after watching his older brother Derrick win the program’s last state title nine years ago.
“He’s been a starter since he was a freshman, and he’s played his heart out. He’s a true Crispus Attucks Tiger. His brother won state in 2017. Now, he has his chance to get his own state championship,” Hawkins said. “He’s a great representation of what an IPS kid is.”
Humble, athletic, relentless and a leader is how Briscoe is described by his teammates.
“I feel like he’s the glue of our team. Without our leader, we’re not who we are,” Jones said. “I feel like just him keeping his composure and keeping us as a team together pushed us to be where we’re at and makes us a state finalist right now.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: Dezmon Briscoe leads Crispus Attucks to state finals
Continue reading...
Sidelined with an ankle injury following the Tigers’ season opener on Nov. 25, Briscoe watched from the sidelines for seven weeks while Attucks went 8-4 to start the year before he reemerged on Jan. 11.
Looking back, the 6-9 center admits that time was the hardest he’s faced in his basketball career, and it took even more grit to shake off the rust once he returned.
Dropping to 10-5 overall after losing to rival and top-ranked Cathedral in the City Tournament final, 71-63, on Jan. 27, the Class 3A eighth-ranked Tigers became an afterthought despite Briscoe being back to full strength.
Indiana high school boys basketball: IHSAA semistate scores, highlights, photos
On Saturday night inside Southport Fieldhouse during the 3A semistate final, Briscoe and the Tigers put the past behind them and reminded everyone why they’re always a contender.
Attucks (22-6), which knocked off No. 1 Cathedral to open its postseason run three weeks ago, defeated two more state-ranked opponents at Southport, including No. 3 New Palestine (26-4) in the finals, 67-49, to stretch their winning streak to 12.
Briscoe, an Iowa commit, finished with a team-high 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, and the Tigers clinched their seventh semistate title all-time and first since 2017 — the last time Attucks won state.
“I messed up my ankle real bad. Sat out for like two months. Came back and recovered. Did everything I could do to make it to state. It was hard for me, but I had to stay with it. Stay with my team. Stay with the details and get back on the court,” Briscoe said. “We haven’t lost since the Cathedral game at City. Everybody’s just locked in, and you see the result.”
The Tigers were ready to work, and after pushing through five ties with New Palestine through the first half, Attucks’ 27-23 halftime lead grew to 21 points by the fourth.
But not without more adversity.
“We know there’s going to be some adversity, but you just have to play through it, and our kids played through it,” Attucks coach Chris Hawkins said. “We were able to make stops, get the ball to Briscoe, and AJ Jones was big the whole day. First game, second game making shots and getting steals. This is a great team win, and we got one more left.”
New Palestine, led by senior Julius Gizzi with a game-high 22 points, cut the deficit to 41-35 in the third quarter behind a 9-2 run after Attucks went up by as many as 13 points.
A layup by senior Kayden English and an ensuing putback by Briscoe on the next possession kickstarted a decisive 19-4 run that began late in the third and carried into the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up by 21 points.
“We had to string plays together. Not just one play. Not just two plays. A lot of plays. Focusing on defense and making sure we capitalized and kept them out of the paint,” Jones said. “And without Briscoe, our big man, we wouldn’t be going to state right now. He’s doing his thing, and he’s carrying us right now.”
Jones had 15 points off the bench after dropping 10 points during the Tigers’ 61-55 win over No. 6 Princeton in the afternoon semifinal.
Senior Chris Hurt had 12 points, three assists, two steals and a block.
“It just shows how tough of a group we are. We battled through adversity all year. We played together. We stuck together. We’re just brothers,” Hurt said. “It feels amazing. Just to keep winning. You don’t want to lose. We like this level of competition. We like to play hard, play fast and play together.”
Briscoe is playing for a purpose after watching his older brother Derrick win the program’s last state title nine years ago.
“He’s been a starter since he was a freshman, and he’s played his heart out. He’s a true Crispus Attucks Tiger. His brother won state in 2017. Now, he has his chance to get his own state championship,” Hawkins said. “He’s a great representation of what an IPS kid is.”
Humble, athletic, relentless and a leader is how Briscoe is described by his teammates.
“I feel like he’s the glue of our team. Without our leader, we’re not who we are,” Jones said. “I feel like just him keeping his composure and keeping us as a team together pushed us to be where we’re at and makes us a state finalist right now.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: Dezmon Briscoe leads Crispus Attucks to state finals
Continue reading...
