KHSAA Sweet 16 State Tournament Runner-Up
The 1961 Dunbar Bearcats Basketball Team was the first all-black team to play in the championship game of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Sweet 16 Tournament, only four years after black schools were permitted to play in the KHSAA.
Dunbar defeated Harrison County 68-56 and Beaver Dam 83-74 in the first two rounds of the tournament. In the semifinal game, Dunbar’s Austin Dumas hit an unforgettable last-second shot from mid-court to defeat Breathitt County 55-54 and lead the Bearcats to the championship game. Dunbar lost to top-ranked Ashland High School by a score of 69-50 at Memorial Coliseum. Dumas and Henry Davis made the Sweet 16 All-Tournament Team.
This history-making team included Benjamin Allen, William Cook, Robert Campbell, Henry Davis, Austin Dumas, John Finn, Bob Garner, Gordon Jones, Edward Rawlings, William Rawlings, Phillip Rowe, James Smith, Thomas White, and George Wilson. The Bearcats were coached by S.T. Roach and Norman Passmore, Sr.
