LAPEL, Ind. — Before the early start of Saturday's IHSAA boys basketball regionals, Monroe Central roamed the hallways around its gymnasium.
Head coach Justin Ullom wanted his boys to look at the walls, where photos of past Golden Bears champions hang. The players gazed at the program's boys basketball sectional winners, the first being 1964-65, and realized their team photo will join that group forever.
That understanding made the sting of Class 2A No. 1 Monroe Central's 44-23 regional championship loss to No. 6 Carroll at Lapel High School easier to manage. Yes, its 25-game winning streak ended, but it was never about being perfect.