remember how amazing our fans were that year. They really supported us … New Albany fans always travel well and back the Bulldogs.”
New Albany rolled past Warsaw 75-53 in the second morning semifinal game at state finals to advance to the championship game. However, the game took longer than most thanks to a number of free throw attempts, a tactic Warsaw employed to stop the clock. It did not work as New Albany won going away.
“ We played extremely well that game,” Unruh said.“ It was the second game and there were like 50 free throws attempted so by the time we walked off the floor, got back to the hotel and got something to eat, it was time to get back on the bus and head to the RCA Dome.”
New Albany may have been a bit fatigued, but Unruh won’ t make any excuses. However, the Bulldogs struggled from the field hitting only 2 of 13 threepoint attempts while Ben Davis was a solid 9 of 21 from the three-point line in the championship game.
“ Ben Davis had an excellent team and played very well defensively,” Unruh said.“ I thought our kids played well defensively. Both teams played hard and defended very well.”
All-State guard LaMont Roland led the Bulldogs with 27 points while Reggie Wheeler chipped in 12. They were the only two Bulldogs in double-figures. Poisel hit six three-pointers in the contest, including the game-winner and led Ben Davis with 20 points.
Hunter, who like Roland graduated as one of New Albany’ s most heralded players, was held to two points in the championship game. He would end his career the next season as the school’ s all-time leading scorer with 1,463 points, a mark that stood before being broken by Romeo Langford.
“ That was the worst game of my career, and it was on the biggest stage, at the state finals,” Hunter said.“ It just didn’ t come together for me that night.”
Many New Albany players including Roland, Hunter and Wheeler, got experience at the’ 94 state finals and were determined to get back to the Dome before their high school careers ended.
Despite its 23-3 record and top-20 ranking during the 1995-96 campaign, Hunter said the team didn’ t get the respect it deserved in the northern part of the state that season.
“ A lot of those teams had no idea about us,” he said.“ We had a lot of talent and just gelled as a team. I think one of the players who didn’ t get enough credit on that team was Angelo Pipes. He was a pure shooter.”
Hunter said he thinks Roland should have been named Mr. Basketball that year. Unruh would agree.
“ I cannot say enough with how LaMont played. Not just in the finals but the entire year,” Unruh said.“ He put a lot of work in over the summer. When we needed him the most, he played extremely well in the state finals. He had taken a jump at mid-season and was playing at a high, high level.
“ We had a really good team that year. They really did not care about individual stuff; they just wanted to win more than any group I had ever been around. Their goal was to win that thing. They worked all year and made a great tournament run. They played for each other and for New Albany High School.”
MAR / APR 2026 NEWS AND TRIBUNE SPORTS MAGAZINE PAGE NO. 29