Gordon Hayward dropped in a twisting runner from point blank range as time expired to send unranked Brownsburg to a 40-39 victory over No. 8 Marion in Saturday night’s IHSAA Class 4A state championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse. It was Brownsburg’s first-ever state championship and sealed a 22-5 season under fourth-year Head Coach Joshua Kendrick.

Hayward’s last second heroics erased an equally clutch jumper by Marion’s Scott Wood with 2.1 ticks left.

After a series of four timeouts between the two teams, Brownsburg’s Austin Fish fired a one-handed pass three-quarters the length of the court, only to see Marion’s Jay Edwards get both hands on the ball. An alert Julian Mavunga jarred the ball loose, where it squirted free to Hayward in the middle of the lane. Without hesitation, Hayward put the ball on the rim where it dropped through after time had expired.

On the previous possession, Marion’s Julius Mays worked methodically against Hayward near midcourt before driving down the left side of the lane and spotting Wood open on the wing. A 45-percent three-point shooter, Wood line drived home his only field goal of the game to give the Giants a 39-38 lead.

The late drama capped a fourth quarter full of heroes.

Fish seemingly buried Marion when he swished an open three from the corner, giving Brownsburg a 35-29 lead with 4:18 left. Marion countered with a driving layup from Lamar Jackson and an old fashioned three-point play from Mays to cut the lead to one with 3:14 to play. Hayward and Mays traded baskets on each team’s next possessions before a Hayward miss gave Marion the ball down by one.

After taking nearly a minute off the clock, Mays had a potential go-ahead basket negated when he was whistled for an offensive foul with 1:05 left. Brownsburg’s J.D. Cosby made it a two-point game at the free throw line with 24 seconds left, setting up the late heroics.

In a classic game of nip-and-tuck, neither team led by more than seven points while the 79 combined points matched the fewest points in a championship game since 2004. Additionally, Brownsburg’s 40 points were the fewest by a winning team in a state championship game since Milan beat Muncie Central 32-30 in 1954. The victory ran the Bulldogs’ winning streak to seven games as they had lost their last two games heading into sectional play.

Mavunga led Brownsburg with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots and Hayward scored six of his 10 points in the final quarter. As a team, Brownsburg shot just 30.2 percent from the floor in the win, but committed just four turnovers overall. Mays led all scorers with 21 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field.

Wood led Marion with seven rebounds and Jay Edwards chipped in six points and five rebounds. The Giants committed just six turnovers in the slow paced game.

Marion finished the 2007-08 season with a 24-5 record under fourth-year Head Coach Joe Luce.

In the game, Mavunga set a new Class 4A championship game record with 12 free throw attempts, eclipsing the 10 attempted by North Central’s Jason Gardner in 1999 and equaled by Pike’s Justin Cage in 2002. Saturday’s evening session was the fourth straight sellout with an attendance of 18,305 while the entire day’s attendance was 31,943.

Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Gordon Hayward of Brownsburg High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award.

The award is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.

Hayward is ranked 11th in his class of 472 and carries a 4.2 GPA. He will attend Butler University in the fall and will study computer engineering and physics.

Hayward is a member of the National Honor Society, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is a Brownsburg Athletic Ambassador. He also serves as a National Honor Society tutor and volunteers for Lighthouse Mission Food Distribution.

In addition to his accomplishments on the hardwood, Hayward has played varsity tennis for four years at Brownsburg and was named to the All-State Singles Team in 2006 and 2007.

“Gordon indeed has been blessed, but he has also worked very hard to get to this point in his career,” says Brownsburg Principal Bret Daghe. “His work ethic serves as a fine example, not just for students, but for all of us to emulate.”

He is the son of Gordon and Jody Hayward of Brownsburg.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, will present a $1,000 scholarship to Brownsburg High School in the name of Gordon Hayward.

The award is named in honor of Arthur L. Trester, the IHSAA’s first commissioner who served the Association from 1929-44.