FEATURE
LOOKING BACK
WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER MORRIS
The shot heard‘ round Southern Indiana
Don Unruh will never forget the name Jeff Poisel.
With time running out and the score tied at 54 – 54 in the second overtime of the 1996 state championship game, Poisel dribbled across the midcourt line and launched a desperation shot as the buzzer sounded.
The ball hit nothing but net.
For Poisel and the Indianapolis Ben Davis Giants, it was the stuff dreams are made of— highlight-reel worthy, even SportsCenter-top-10 material. For New Albany Head Coach Don Unruh and his 12th-ranked team, it was a nightmare.
“ That shot haunted me for a long time,” said Chad Hunter, who was a junior forward on the 1995-96 New Albany team.
Looking back on that game and season 30 years ago, Unruh is still bothered by the outcome, but has nothing but praise for his players and the successful season.
“ As difficult as it was to lose that final game … I sometimes look back even though it was 30 years ago and wonder if I could have done something differently,” Unruh said.“ We had such a great run and great season. It is only going to end good for one team out of 364( before class basketball) at the time. It was not us but we made a great run and had great memories all the way up.”
The New Albany boys’ basketball 1996 team finished IHSAA State runner-ups after a 57-54 loss to Ben Davis in double overtime. This year was the penultimate year of un-classed basketball. During the final, Lamont Roland led the Bulldogs with a double-double in points( 27) and rebounds( 10).
It was Ben Davis’ second-straight title. But for the Bulldogs, it was another gut-wrenching defeat that had become all too familiar in tournament play. New Albany has nine semistate titles in its illustrious basketball history, but only two state crowns – 1973 and 2016. It always seems like something, or someone ruins the tourney run. In March of 1996, it was Poisel.
New Albany won four semistate titles in the 1950s, only to come up empty in the state finals. In 1980, the Bulldogs took and undefeated record into the final game but came up short against Indianapolis Broad Ripple. In 1994 New Albany had a solid chance in the state semifinal but a controversial walking call late in the game ended the dream. And two years later, it was Poisel’ s 35-footer that sealed the Bulldogs’ fate in front of 21,748 fans at the RCA Dome.
“ As many times as we made it up there in the 1950s we never won it. I was reminded of that many times as we headed up to the state finals that year,” Unruh said.“ I just
PAGE NO. 28 NEWS AND TRIBUNE SPORTS MAGAZINE MAR / APR 2026