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INDIANAPOLIS – It’s a long way from Westview High School to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 173 miles to be exact. The ride down for the Westview Warrior basketball team was probably exciting, nerve-racking and nauseating all at the same time. Earlier this week the Warriors made the trip down with hopes of returning to Topeka with the school’s first state championship since 2000. Unfortunately, the ride back will be just as long, not as exciting and still a little nauseating.

Westview fell on Saturday afternoon to Park Tudor in the 2014 IHSAA Class 2A Basketball State Finals. There was no lack of effort or grit from the Warriors, just a lack of talent compared to the fast-paced and aggressive Panther squad. Park Tudor would use a big third quarter to help secure an 84-57 victory over the Panthers.

To put it simply, Westview was just not on the same level as the Panthers. One reason for that was the superior play of Park Tudor’s Trevon Bluiett.

Bluiett is one of the top candidates to win the state’s coveted Mr. Basketball award and is a top recruit for Xavier University. In the young man’s final game, he lived up to all of the hype by breaking a Class 2A State Finals record by scoring a game-high 38 points to help lead the route for the Panthers.

Bluiett was asked about breaking the record and his candidacy for Mr. Basketball, but the senior did not seem concerned with the accolades.

“I think that’s great,” Bluiett said of the record. “I mean, I had no idea and it really wasn’t a goal of mine. Just like the Mr. Basketball thing, it’s a great award but this season our team’s focus has been ‘Team over me.’ I just wanted to win this team championship today and finish out my career right with this team.”

Bluiett added 12 rebounds for the team and was an impressive 5-9 from behind the arc. As a team the Panthers hit 14 threes, Westview managed to have just six deep balls fall.

The Warriors started strong early on but quickly faded in the first quarter, trailing 12-6 at the break. Westview made a big push before the half and put the pressure on Park Tudor with solid rebounding and found itself trailing 35-27 at the break, but with a lot of momentum.

The Warriors got a quick basket and free throw to close the gap to five but that would be the closest Westview got the rest of the game. The Panthers put together a 13-0 run to highlight a 30-point third quarter performance and put a choke-hold on the game, 65-41.

Park Tudor outscored the Warriors 19-16 in the fourth quarter to further extend its lead and claim its third basketball title in school history (2011, 2012). Westview was led in scoring by Damon Hershberger(19 points) and Jordyn Bontrager (10).

“You’ve just got to give them (Park Tudor) credit,” said Westview head coach Rob Yoder. “Today was their day, no doubt about it. They hit shots when they needed too. They started hitting from deep and getting the jump shot to go and you just have to give them credit, they deserve it.”

Park Tudor head coach Kyle Cox was ecstatic to claim a title in his first year as head coach for the Panthers.

“I’m proud of my team,” Cox said to open his interview. “We want to get out and run and put a lot of pressure on our opponent and we were able to do that. We led the state in scoring this year and there is a reason for it. Give credit to Westview, that is a very good defensive team and they did some nice things against us but ultimately we were able to do what we do best and got our offense to work for us today.”

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Park Tudor was just the superior team and far tougher than Westview on Saturday, but toughness is not something the Warriors lack.

“Toughness is one of the things that got us here, definitely,” Yoder stated. “Our kids compete really hard, game in and game out. They work hard in practice, every practice. They fight for each other, I think they are great teammates.

“They don’t fight with each other, you won’t see that from our guys. These kids are easy to root for and I think that’s why you see such great support from our fan base. These guys are east to like. They’re humble, they work hard and they’re easy to root for. I don’t know what else you can ask for out of a group of kids.”

The State runners-up finish is the first for Westview. The Warriors were crowned state champions in 1999 and again in 2000. Jamar Weaver was named as the 2014 Class 2A recipient of the Arthur L. Trester Mental Attitude Award. Westview finishes the season 23-5.