All-time WPIAL boys basketball championship games No. 5: 2015 Indiana beats Beaver Falls at the buzzer

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 23, 2018 | 5:30 PM

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The TribLive High School Sports Network will be counting down the Top 10 boys and girls WPIAL basketball championship games leading up to the 2018 title games March 1-3 at the Petersen Events Center.

TRIBHSSN is the exclusive audio and video home for all 12 WPIAL championship games, which will be broadcasted and video streamed live at TribHSSN.triblive.com.

Here is the sixth installment of a 10-part series ranking the top WPIAL boys basketball championship games in district history.

No. 5: 2015 — WPIAL Class 3A finals: Indiana 62, Beaver Falls 61

If Hollywood was to come up with a dramatic script centering on a WPIAL basketball championship game, the players and coaches involved in this 2015 title game might have had to enjoy the Screen Actors Guild after taking part in Hoosiers II. On one hand, you had big bad Beaver Falls, winners of nine district basketball crowns at the time, including back-to-back crowns in 2012 and ‘13. On the other side was Indiana, the farthest school east in the district that had an empty resume when it came to finals appearances yet alone golden trophies.

Both Beaver Falls and Indiana won their section; the Tigers were the No. 2 seed while the Little Indians had to settle for the No. 5 seed in the 20-team bracket. Beaver Falls beat Knoch, South Fayette and New Castle while Indiana defeated defending champion Central Valley, Highlands and then an Ambridge team that stunned top-seeded Mars in the quarterfinals.

Instead of being nervous, Indiana came out flying — a pair of Riley Stapleton dunks put the Little Indians ahead 13-4 early. While Beaver Falls settled in and closed the gap, underdog Indiana led 32-28 at the half.

The Tigers came out roaring in the third quarter and outscored the Little Indians, 22-9, to take a 50-41 advantage into the fourth quarter.

With Beaver Falls up by one at 59-58 in the final half minute of regulation, the Tigers' Josh Creach and the Little Indians' Blake Shields each hit a pair of free throws to make the score 61-60 with 14 seconds left. Beaver Falls then turned the ball on a jump ball.

In the final seconds, Indiana spread the floor for Dylan Stapleton, who dribbled right and nearly lost the ball. He recovered his dribble, drove the right lane and found his brother Riley open on the left blocks for a buzzer-beating layup that sent Indiana into a golden tizzy.

Jacob Zilinskas led Indiana with 16 points while Dylan Stapleton added 14 and Shields 12 for the Little Indians. Creach led all scorers with 26 points and also had 14 rebounds for the Tigers.

“This is my 25th year of coaching,” Indiana coach Greg Lezanic recently said, “and I won two District 6 girls basketball titles. So this was just like adding a District 7 title, right? No way, people don't realize how big it is to win a WPIAL championship until you do it. We kind of helped put Indiana on the map.”

Don Rebel is a TribLive High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Beaver Falls, Indiana