Knights fall in OT thriller

FORT WAYNE. Ind. (WANE) - After an emotional end to the regular season with senior Shelby Gruss being partially paralyzed in a snowboarding accident, Bishop Luers has ridden an emotional rollercoaster to the class 2A state championship and was looking for a record 6th state title. The Knights battled 2nd-ranked Austin for the title, but was unsuccessful in taking it.  Austin won the 2A State Championship in a 70-65 overtime win. This was Austin's first state title in any sport, in any time.

Austin (25-2) tied Bishop Luers (18-7) with 1:47 left in the quarter. At the buzzer, Luers took a 4-point lead to end the first quarter 14-10. Luers was 7 for 17 from the field.

With 4:35 left in the 2nd quarter, Austin and Luers kept a close 18-17 game with Austin up 1 point. By the end, Austin was able to pull ahead of Luers 29-26.

The second half started off strong as Austin kept the lead over Luers 38-32 with 4:34 left to go in the third quarter.

Luers continued to trail Austin 49-40 at the end of the third quarter.

Towards the end of the 4th quarter, Luers was able to catch up to Austin tieing the game 54-54 and get ahead by 1 point 57-56 with 1:41 to go.

Luers and Austin ended the regular game in a tie 59-59, awaiting overtime to get a state champ.

However, Austin was able to pull ahead once again to be named 2A State Champions with a 70-65 win over Luers. This was Austin's first state championship in any sport.