Bloomington North completed an impressive tournament run by defeating Delta 75-54 to win the 87th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament March 22, 1997 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Coached by Tom McKinney, top-ranked Bloomington North posted its 18th consecutive victory and finished 28-1 overall. The Cougars were the first Bloomington to reach the state finals in 37 years and became the 47th different school to claim the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship since the tournament began in 1911.

Delta, which had never reached the tournament's Sweet Sixteen level before in the school's 30-year history, completed its season 24-5. The Eagles were coached by Paul Keller.

Bloomington North had survived an overtime battle with Bloomington South in the finals of the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional, while Delta began its long tournament road with a one-point triumph over Wapahani in the Jay County Sectional finals.

In the state championship game, Bloomington North jumped to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and never trailed. The Cougars led 30-17 at halftime and 50-35 after three quarters. Kueth Duany and Ryan Reed shared scoring honors for the champions with 17 points each, while Patrick Jackson and Rob Robbins paced Delta with 13 points apiece. In a well-played game, Bloomington North shot .574 from the field and committed only four turnovers.

Bloomington North had advanced to the championship game with a 50-43 triumph over Kokomo in the semifinals. Delta earned its spot in the final game with a down-to-the-wire 57-56 victory over LaPorte. Kokomo's Herman Fowler recorded the highest individual scoring total in the 1997 state finals with 27 points in a losing effort. Bloomington North put three players in double figures, led by Jeremy Sinsabaugh with 15 points. Kokomo (23-5) led 10-7 after one quarter and 20-16 at halftime. Bloomington North took the lead the for good on its final possession of the third quarter for a 31-29 advantage and stretched the gap to as much as 10 in the final period.

Down 18-4 after just four minutes of play in the second state semifinals game, Delta came all the way back in a stirring effort to nip LaPorte (22-5) in a battle of unranked teams. The winning score came with four seconds left when Patrick Jackson dribbled the length of the floor before passing to Tyce Shideler for a lay-up basket. Shideler led Delta with 21 points, while Ben Tonagel paced LaPorte with 21 points.

Jeremy Sinsabaugh of Bloomington North was named the tournament's most valuable player by the Associated Press. Other members of the all-tourney team were Ryan Reed and Mario Wuysang of Bloomington North, Patrick Jackson of Delta, Ben Tonagel of LaPorte and Herman Fowler of Kokomo.

The IHSAA Executive Committee selected Billy Lynch of Delta as the 1997 recipient of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award in Boys Basketball. Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate sponsor of all IHSAA tournaments, presented a $1,000 scholarship in Lynch's name to Delta High School.

A total of 382 schools and 4,584 athletes began competition at the sectional level.

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