Posted: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 9:08 pm
by Peter Adelsen
Coming in to the game, the Kokomo Wildkats and Northwestern Tigers had a combined record of 16-1, but it was only the Wildkats who showed its dominance in the 12-2 win in six innings Wednesday at Highland Park.
Kokomo senior Colton Summers began the game with a six-pitch first inning as Northwestern's hitters (junior Derek Mumaw, senior Luke Miller,junior Austin Henderson) went down in order.
The Kats struck first as senior Nolan Sanburn got an RBI single to send senior Casey Shipley, who earlier stole a base, home for a run to go up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning.
Tigers junior Bryan Beachy got a two-RBI double in the top of the second inning sending senior Danny Turner and junior Abe Ridlen home to give Northwestern a one-run lead at 2-1, but that would end up being the total run total for the Tigers.
In the bottom of the second, the Kats tacked on two more runs from its seven and eight hitters in the line-up, senior Devin Schacht and senior Nick Franklin.
"You are going to win baseball games when the bottom of the order is going to hit," Kokomo coach Steve Edwards said. "I told the kids if we can get the top of the order producing consistently and the bottom of the order keeps hitting like they are we're going to be a really, really good ball club."
The Tigers had only three at the plate in the top of the third and sixth innings and produced only three hits from the third inning forward.
"(Colton Summers) did a nice job mixing it up and getting a lot of ground balls and we were behind the count," Northwestern coach Ryan Berryman said. "Sixteen of the hits we gave up, 14 pitches were up in the zone and well over half of those we were behind in the count, so good teams will turn it on you and that's what we try to do to other teams and tonight Kokomo came after us and we gave them lots of opportunities."
Summers only allowed six hits, but he did have a rough stretch in the fourth inning when senior Danny Turner got a base hit followed by hitting the next two batters, Ridlen and junior Jake Yager, to load the bases for Northwestern, but he was off the hook when junior Matt Adams grounded out to end the inning.
Beachy, Northwestern's ace pitcher, was only able to go 2 2/3 innings in the loss and allowing 5 runs off of 8 hits.
Kokomo (9-1) next plays at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Warsaw in a double-header game. Northwestern (8-1) next plays at home at 11:00 a.m. Saturday in the 3-Way Invite against North Miami and Clinton Central.
Scores by inning:
1 2 3 4 5 6 Runs Hits Errors
Northwestern 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 6 2
Kokomo 1 2 4 0 1 4 12 17 0
Hitting statistics:
Northwestern-
6- Mumaw 0/3
8. Miller 1/3
>3. Richards 0/0
22. Henderson 0/3
17. Turner 2/3 (R)
12. Ridlen 2/3 (HBP, R)
4. Beachy 1/3 (2B, 2 RBI)
23. Gibson 0/2
>19. Christensen 0/1
10. Yager 0/1 (HBP)
>1. Galloway 0/0
5. Adams 0/2
Kokomo-
5. Shipley 1/3 (2R, SB)
3. Kuhns 3/4 (HR, 4 RBI)
6. Weir 2/3 (BB)
>2. Frey, pinch runner for Weir (R)
25. Sanburn 2/4 (2B, RBI, R)
19. Green 1/3 (2B, 2 RBI, BB)
17. Reynolds 1/4 (RBI)
>9. Wray, pinch runner for Reynolds (R)
22. Schacht 3/4 (2R)
24. Franklin 4/4 (2 RBI, 2R)
1. Sawyer 0/3 (R)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Solid pitching aids Comets in win over Guerin Catholic
Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2010 11:18 pm | Updated: 12:07 am, Fri Apr 23, 2010.
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Posted on April 22, 2010
* padelsen
by Peter Adelsen
GREENTOWN - The Eastern Comets hitting and pitching came out big in its win over Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles 5-2 on Thursday.
Eastern sophomore Bryce Rainey pitched five innings in the win. He struck out six batters, allowed five hits and walked one batter.
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Eastern senior Michael Moreno got the Comets on the board with a homerun off of Golden Eagles sophmore pitcher Colin Shanteau to go up 1-0.
"With the homerun in the first inning, that kind of set the tone on that pitcher can be hit," Eastern coach Steve Swinson said.
The Comets added another run in the third inning when senior Tyler Harnish singled to send senior Brandon Hainlen home. Hainlen earlier reached on a single.
The Eastern defense stepped up in the fourth inning as they forced a double play off of junior Phil Pecaroro's ground ball. Sophomore Adam Hufford, the next batter, flied out to right field to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, Guerin Catholic posed its greatest threat to the Comets. Rainey walked senior Aaron Beaver, senior Tim McHugh reached on an error and sophomore Adam Neidlinger reached first base to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Rainey calmed down and struck out the next two Golden Eagles batters, junior Tony Zunica and junior Matt Pletzke, to end the inning and the threat.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Comets got more breathing room as senior Lee Beachy RBI singled to send Moreno home, who earlier got a base hit, to increase the Comet lead to 3-0.
The Comets added two more runs in the sixth inning with RBIs from Hainlen and Harnish sending home senior Ian Beachy and Hainlen, respectively, to go up 5-0.
In the top of the seventh, Guerin Catholic made another attempt at threatening the Comets. Golden Eagles Neidlinger scored from third base on sophomore relief pitcher Kile Nolder's wild pitch and later junior Tony Zunica singled to bring home senior Tim McHugh, but this threat was over when Nolder struck out Pletzke. Guerin Catholic scored two runs, but it was not enough as the Comets won 5-2.
"I can't say enough about our pitching," Swinson said. "Our pitching has been just outstanding all week long and again tonight with Bryce Rainey starting throwing 5 innings and Kile Nolder throwing the last two, just tremendous."
Eastern (6-2) next plays at home against Tri-Central at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Guerin Catholic (5-6) next plays at the Heritage Christian Invite on Saturday.
Scores by inning:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Guerin Catholic 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 0
Eastern 1 0 1 0 1 2 X 5 12 1
Hitting statistics:
Guerin Catholic-
9. McHugh 0/4 (R)
3. Neidlinger 4/4 (R)
23. Zunica 2/4 (RBI)
>10. Haas 0/0
22. Pletzke 0/4
7. Shanteau 0/1 (HBP)
>17. Fettig 0/0 (BB)
12. Pecaroro 0/3
21. Hufford 1/3
45. Beaver 0/1 (BB)
>5. Highsmith 0/1
2. Kennedy 1/3
Eastern-
7. Hainlen 3/4 (RBI, 2R)
21. Horner 0/3 (BB)
17. Moreno 2/3 (HR, R, BB)
16. Harnish 2/4 (2B, 2 RBI)
24. Nolder 1/3
>2. Myers 0/1
19. Keith 0/3
6. Lee Beachy 1/3 (RBI)
5. Ian Beachy 3/3 (R, SB)
13. Courter 0/3
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Posted on April 22, 2010
* padelsen
by Peter Adelsen
GREENTOWN - The Eastern Comets hitting and pitching came out big in its win over Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles 5-2 on Thursday.
Eastern sophomore Bryce Rainey pitched five innings in the win. He struck out six batters, allowed five hits and walked one batter.
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Eastern senior Michael Moreno got the Comets on the board with a homerun off of Golden Eagles sophmore pitcher Colin Shanteau to go up 1-0.
"With the homerun in the first inning, that kind of set the tone on that pitcher can be hit," Eastern coach Steve Swinson said.
The Comets added another run in the third inning when senior Tyler Harnish singled to send senior Brandon Hainlen home. Hainlen earlier reached on a single.
The Eastern defense stepped up in the fourth inning as they forced a double play off of junior Phil Pecaroro's ground ball. Sophomore Adam Hufford, the next batter, flied out to right field to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, Guerin Catholic posed its greatest threat to the Comets. Rainey walked senior Aaron Beaver, senior Tim McHugh reached on an error and sophomore Adam Neidlinger reached first base to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Rainey calmed down and struck out the next two Golden Eagles batters, junior Tony Zunica and junior Matt Pletzke, to end the inning and the threat.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Comets got more breathing room as senior Lee Beachy RBI singled to send Moreno home, who earlier got a base hit, to increase the Comet lead to 3-0.
The Comets added two more runs in the sixth inning with RBIs from Hainlen and Harnish sending home senior Ian Beachy and Hainlen, respectively, to go up 5-0.
In the top of the seventh, Guerin Catholic made another attempt at threatening the Comets. Golden Eagles Neidlinger scored from third base on sophomore relief pitcher Kile Nolder's wild pitch and later junior Tony Zunica singled to bring home senior Tim McHugh, but this threat was over when Nolder struck out Pletzke. Guerin Catholic scored two runs, but it was not enough as the Comets won 5-2.
"I can't say enough about our pitching," Swinson said. "Our pitching has been just outstanding all week long and again tonight with Bryce Rainey starting throwing 5 innings and Kile Nolder throwing the last two, just tremendous."
Eastern (6-2) next plays at home against Tri-Central at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Guerin Catholic (5-6) next plays at the Heritage Christian Invite on Saturday.
Scores by inning:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Guerin Catholic 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 0
Eastern 1 0 1 0 1 2 X 5 12 1
Hitting statistics:
Guerin Catholic-
9. McHugh 0/4 (R)
3. Neidlinger 4/4 (R)
23. Zunica 2/4 (RBI)
>10. Haas 0/0
22. Pletzke 0/4
7. Shanteau 0/1 (HBP)
>17. Fettig 0/0 (BB)
12. Pecaroro 0/3
21. Hufford 1/3
45. Beaver 0/1 (BB)
>5. Highsmith 0/1
2. Kennedy 1/3
Eastern-
7. Hainlen 3/4 (RBI, 2R)
21. Horner 0/3 (BB)
17. Moreno 2/3 (HR, R, BB)
16. Harnish 2/4 (2B, 2 RBI)
24. Nolder 1/3
>2. Myers 0/1
19. Keith 0/3
6. Lee Beachy 1/3 (RBI)
5. Ian Beachy 3/3 (R, SB)
13. Courter 0/3
Panthers trounce Braves in shut-out
Posted: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 9:55 pm | Updated: 10:42 pm, Mon Apr 26, 2010.
by Peter Adelsen
RUSSIAVILLE- The Western Panthers could do no wrong against MIC conference rival Maconquah Braves on Tuesday winning 16-0 in 5 innings.
The Panthers took quick work on Braves' pitcher senior Mark Beebe in his first start of the season. In the first inning, Beebe fell behind the Western hitters as he threw 50 pitches on the way to the Panthers sending 11 hitters to the plate and scoring 7 runs on 4 hits. After Beebe walked juniors Damon Reel and Connor Love, senior Mike Jakubowicz began the scoring with his RBI single as Reel scored in the first inning and it was all Western from that point on.
The Braves got its first hit of the game from senior Michael Brooks in the second inning, but finished with a total of three hits in the game with back-to-back hits from seniors Jordan Calendine and Caleb Green in the fourth inning.
The Panthers had solid play from its hitters and pitchers throughout the game. Western starting pitcher sophomore Adam Bolen got the win allowing one hit through three innings and struck out five batters. Western's relief pitchers only allowed two hits over the remaining two innings. Western finished with 16 runs on 16 hits. Jakubowicz smashed a three-run home run in the fourth inning and junior Clay O'Neal followed him with a deep shot of his own to increase Western's lead to 16-0.
Every Western player had some part in the scoring in the evening. The Panthers were led by senior Matt Reida, Love, Jakubowicz and sophomore Adam Bolen who each had multiple hits.
"We just wanted to come out and be the aggressor and we're hitting the ball really well," Western coach Ty Calloway said. "We're a little concerned with the number of innings pitched this week, so those five-innings games help with arms. Everybody who played today, played well. This team is just going to get better and better."
Maconaquah fell behind early and was never in the game from that point on.
"Our biggest problem is that we fell behind at the plate and on the pitching mound," Maconaquah coach Dustin Hays said. "When you do that against Western they are going to hit the ball. That was one of the biggest problems falling behind to a good hitting team and once they got on base they took advantage of what we gave them."
Western (4-1) travels to Twin Lakes Wednesday for a 5 p.m. start and Maconaquah (1-3) travels to Northfield on Thursday with the first pitch at 5 p.m.
Scores by inning:
1 2 3 4 5 Runs Hits
Maconaquah 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Western 7 0 2 7 X 16 16
Hitting statistics:
Maconquah-
20- Frantz 0/2, BB
1- Shaffer 0/2
16- Calendine 1/2
7- Green 1/2
25- Allen 0/2
3- Brooks 1/1, BB
27- Comp 0/2
2- Wolf 0/1
6- Murphy 0/1
28- Beebe 0/1
11- Ellers 0/1
Western-
11- Reida 2/4 (2-2B, 3RBI, R)
8- Reel 1/3 (1B, R, BB)
4- Love 2/2 (2-1B, RBI, SB, BB)
7- Ennis 1/1 (1B, RBI, R)
15- Jakubowicz 3/4 (2-1B, HR, 3RBI, 2R)
19- O'Neal 1/3 (HR, 2R, BB)
16- Bolen 3/3 (2B, 2-1B, 3RBI, 2R)
12- Platt 0/1 (R, BB)
20- Bugher 1/2 (1B, R)
10- Kuntz 1/2 (1B, RBI, R)
5- LaFollette 1/1 (2B, RBI, R, BB)
3- Pingleton 0/1 (RBI)
by Peter Adelsen
RUSSIAVILLE- The Western Panthers could do no wrong against MIC conference rival Maconquah Braves on Tuesday winning 16-0 in 5 innings.
The Panthers took quick work on Braves' pitcher senior Mark Beebe in his first start of the season. In the first inning, Beebe fell behind the Western hitters as he threw 50 pitches on the way to the Panthers sending 11 hitters to the plate and scoring 7 runs on 4 hits. After Beebe walked juniors Damon Reel and Connor Love, senior Mike Jakubowicz began the scoring with his RBI single as Reel scored in the first inning and it was all Western from that point on.
The Braves got its first hit of the game from senior Michael Brooks in the second inning, but finished with a total of three hits in the game with back-to-back hits from seniors Jordan Calendine and Caleb Green in the fourth inning.
The Panthers had solid play from its hitters and pitchers throughout the game. Western starting pitcher sophomore Adam Bolen got the win allowing one hit through three innings and struck out five batters. Western's relief pitchers only allowed two hits over the remaining two innings. Western finished with 16 runs on 16 hits. Jakubowicz smashed a three-run home run in the fourth inning and junior Clay O'Neal followed him with a deep shot of his own to increase Western's lead to 16-0.
Every Western player had some part in the scoring in the evening. The Panthers were led by senior Matt Reida, Love, Jakubowicz and sophomore Adam Bolen who each had multiple hits.
"We just wanted to come out and be the aggressor and we're hitting the ball really well," Western coach Ty Calloway said. "We're a little concerned with the number of innings pitched this week, so those five-innings games help with arms. Everybody who played today, played well. This team is just going to get better and better."
Maconaquah fell behind early and was never in the game from that point on.
"Our biggest problem is that we fell behind at the plate and on the pitching mound," Maconaquah coach Dustin Hays said. "When you do that against Western they are going to hit the ball. That was one of the biggest problems falling behind to a good hitting team and once they got on base they took advantage of what we gave them."
Western (4-1) travels to Twin Lakes Wednesday for a 5 p.m. start and Maconaquah (1-3) travels to Northfield on Thursday with the first pitch at 5 p.m.
Scores by inning:
1 2 3 4 5 Runs Hits
Maconaquah 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Western 7 0 2 7 X 16 16
Hitting statistics:
Maconquah-
20- Frantz 0/2, BB
1- Shaffer 0/2
16- Calendine 1/2
7- Green 1/2
25- Allen 0/2
3- Brooks 1/1, BB
27- Comp 0/2
2- Wolf 0/1
6- Murphy 0/1
28- Beebe 0/1
11- Ellers 0/1
Western-
11- Reida 2/4 (2-2B, 3RBI, R)
8- Reel 1/3 (1B, R, BB)
4- Love 2/2 (2-1B, RBI, SB, BB)
7- Ennis 1/1 (1B, RBI, R)
15- Jakubowicz 3/4 (2-1B, HR, 3RBI, 2R)
19- O'Neal 1/3 (HR, 2R, BB)
16- Bolen 3/3 (2B, 2-1B, 3RBI, 2R)
12- Platt 0/1 (R, BB)
20- Bugher 1/2 (1B, R)
10- Kuntz 1/2 (1B, RBI, R)
5- LaFollette 1/1 (2B, RBI, R, BB)
3- Pingleton 0/1 (RBI)
Kats jump on Panthers in first inning on way to rivalry win
Posted: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 9:42 pm | Updated: 10:41 pm, Mon Apr 26, 2010.
by Peter Adelsen
RUSSIAVILLE - Coming off of an 11-1 pounding from Lafayette Jeff Tuesday, the Kokomo Wildkats bounced back with consistent hitting and excellent pitching in its win over the Western Panthers 7-3 on Wednesday.
Kokomo jumped on the Panthers in the first inning scoring three runs off of Western senior pitcher Bryson Platt. Kokomo scored on back-to-back RBI hits from seniors T.J. Weir and Nolan Sanburn. Weir drove in senior Casey Shipley and Sanburn hit a two-run blast passed the center field fence to drive in Weir and himself.
Western got back a run in the bottom of the first inning with a home run to deep left field from junior Connor Love.
From that point on, it was consistency. Kokomo had it at the plate as a team and on the mound with Weir. Weir pitched a complete game in allowing three runs on seven hits.
With a 3-2 lead in the third inning, Kokomo senior Michael Reynolds hit a two-run homer to give the Kats some more breathing room.
The Panthers responded with an RBI double from junior Connor Love to bring in junior Damon Reel in the fifth inning, but that was the last Western would score in the loss to Kokomo.
"It was a big win," Kokomo coach Steve Edwards said. "Playing in a rivalry game against Western is always competitive for us and to come out and jump on them early with that three-run home run that was big."
Edwards said after the first inning start, the biggest hit in the game was Reynold's home run in the third inning.
"Ultimately when we jump out on top of teams, we're going to have a lot more confidence," he said. "I think we showed it."
Western coach Ty Calloway said the difference in the game was consistency on the mound and hitting at the plate.
"We didn't pitch that poorly, but their batting was a little more consistent at the plate than our guys up through the line-up," he said. "(Kokomo) could put one to two, two to three hits together. We would only get one (hit) here and one there and they had less strike-outs than we did."
Kokomo (4-1) next takes the field at 6 p.m. Friday against the Frankfort Hot Dogs. Western (3-1) next takes the diamond at 5 p.m. Tuesday at home against Mid-Indiana Conference rival Maconaquah Braves.
Tigers have components for success in 2010
Posted: Friday, April 23, 2010 1:37 pm
by Peter Adelsen
The 2010 Northwestern Tigers (17-8, 5-2 MIC in 2009) come into this baseball season wanting to play good baseball and would like to contend for the conference and sectional championships.
Coming into the season, the Tigers did not have any set objectives in mind. They just wanted to play good baseball.
"We really didn't have any goals coming into the season," Northwestern coach Ryan Berryman said. "We just wanted to play well and put together a good team. We have a lot of guys returning, so I feel we have a lot of key components to have a lot of success."
So far this season, the Tigers have put together a strong team with a record of 8-1 as of April 21.
Northwestern returns seven seniors to this year's line-up. They are Eric Osentoski, Toby Richards, Luke Miller, Cal Cossell, Danny Turner, Ray Schaaf and Trevor Gibson.
Around the infield, Berryman said his key returners are Miller and junior Austin Henderson.
"Luke has done a lot of key stuff for us for the four years," he said. "Austin has been a good power hitter for us. We're looking for them to continue to be hot."
As for the whole team at hitting, Berryman is optimistic this year.
"Up and down the order, I think we have enough to score runs and move the ball," he said.
As for pitching, the Tigers can go 10 or 11 deep on the mound. This year's pitching ace is junior Bryan Beachy.
"(Bryan) does a nice job mixing it up and keeping the ball down," he said. "He gives us an opportunity to win every night he gets out there."
A leader coming out of the bullpen is senior Trevor Gibson, who can also start for the Tigers.
For a look down the road this season, Berryman thinks he has a championship caliber team.
"I would like to think that we contend for MIC and sectional championships," he said. "We just got to continue to play good ball."
by Peter Adelsen
The 2010 Northwestern Tigers (17-8, 5-2 MIC in 2009) come into this baseball season wanting to play good baseball and would like to contend for the conference and sectional championships.
Coming into the season, the Tigers did not have any set objectives in mind. They just wanted to play good baseball.
"We really didn't have any goals coming into the season," Northwestern coach Ryan Berryman said. "We just wanted to play well and put together a good team. We have a lot of guys returning, so I feel we have a lot of key components to have a lot of success."
So far this season, the Tigers have put together a strong team with a record of 8-1 as of April 21.
Northwestern returns seven seniors to this year's line-up. They are Eric Osentoski, Toby Richards, Luke Miller, Cal Cossell, Danny Turner, Ray Schaaf and Trevor Gibson.
Around the infield, Berryman said his key returners are Miller and junior Austin Henderson.
"Luke has done a lot of key stuff for us for the four years," he said. "Austin has been a good power hitter for us. We're looking for them to continue to be hot."
As for the whole team at hitting, Berryman is optimistic this year.
"Up and down the order, I think we have enough to score runs and move the ball," he said.
As for pitching, the Tigers can go 10 or 11 deep on the mound. This year's pitching ace is junior Bryan Beachy.
"(Bryan) does a nice job mixing it up and keeping the ball down," he said. "He gives us an opportunity to win every night he gets out there."
A leader coming out of the bullpen is senior Trevor Gibson, who can also start for the Tigers.
For a look down the road this season, Berryman thinks he has a championship caliber team.
"I would like to think that we contend for MIC and sectional championships," he said. "We just got to continue to play good ball."
Titans banking on experience
Posted: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 10:06 am
by Peter Adelsen
The Taylor Titans (13-11, 2-5 MIC in 2009) look to be competitive in the 2010 season.
The Titans are returning seven starters and look to use that experience to its advantage.
"We have high expectations for ourselves," Taylor coach Jeremy Luna said. "We return an extremely solid core of guys."
Luna also said that he hopes that having four seniors and eight juniors brings the needed experience and no nerves out on the ball field.
Within the experience, Taylor returns two stand-out returnees, who are all-conference seniors Seth Vautaw and Dalton Tinsley. Last season, Vautaw had a .420 batting average and Tinsley had a .470 batting average.
"You throw those two guys into the mix, who are two of the top hitters in the county, we feel real confident," Luna said. "We feel like our expectations are extremely high and we'll see what happens when we go out and play the games."
Luna admits that it will be tough knocking down the perennial top teams of Western, Northwestern and 2A state runner-up Lewis Cass within the conference.
"Us, Eastern, Maconaquah, Peru, we're always trying to fight for the scraps," he said. "I think some of us are ready to step up and take on that three-headed monster up at the top. The best part about baseball is that you've got to go out and play the games."
In Taylor's opening game on March 29, Titans' junior Tyler Simmons threw a four-inning no hitter with 11 strike outs in the 3-1 win against Frankton.
by Peter Adelsen
The Taylor Titans (13-11, 2-5 MIC in 2009) look to be competitive in the 2010 season.
The Titans are returning seven starters and look to use that experience to its advantage.
"We have high expectations for ourselves," Taylor coach Jeremy Luna said. "We return an extremely solid core of guys."
Luna also said that he hopes that having four seniors and eight juniors brings the needed experience and no nerves out on the ball field.
Within the experience, Taylor returns two stand-out returnees, who are all-conference seniors Seth Vautaw and Dalton Tinsley. Last season, Vautaw had a .420 batting average and Tinsley had a .470 batting average.
"You throw those two guys into the mix, who are two of the top hitters in the county, we feel real confident," Luna said. "We feel like our expectations are extremely high and we'll see what happens when we go out and play the games."
Luna admits that it will be tough knocking down the perennial top teams of Western, Northwestern and 2A state runner-up Lewis Cass within the conference.
"Us, Eastern, Maconaquah, Peru, we're always trying to fight for the scraps," he said. "I think some of us are ready to step up and take on that three-headed monster up at the top. The best part about baseball is that you've got to go out and play the games."
In Taylor's opening game on March 29, Titans' junior Tyler Simmons threw a four-inning no hitter with 11 strike outs in the 3-1 win against Frankton.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Western looks to defend conference title, move further in tourney
Posted: Saturday, April 17, 2010 8:59 am
by Peter Adelsen
The 2010 Western Panthers baseball team (18-7, 6-1 MIC in 2009) looks to become more mature this season in its defense of the Mid-Indiana Conference championship.
"We had two out of three things going for us last year," Western coach Ty Calloway said. "Those things were our consistency game in and game out and defense. It was our pitching that we were a little thin at. We were just inexperienced."
In looking toward this season that is under way, Calloway says the pitching has improved.
"I think our pitching staff is going to be a lot deeper than it was last year," he said. "It's got to be. That's what kept us out of the state tournament last year."
In the 2009 season, the Panthers were defeated by Benton Central in the final game of the sectional.
As for this year, Western has a solid line-up that also includes two sophomores and two freshman. Standouts include senior short stop Matt Reida, who has started every game since he was a freshman. Other stand-outs are seniors Bryson Platt, who was 4-0 last year pitching with an ERA under 3 last season, and center fielder Mike Jakobowicz, who is expected to drive in many RBIs this season, Calloway said.
"We don't have any real serious holes in our line-up," he said. "There are no easy outs anywhere in our line-up."
He said he is hopeful to see senior Drew Brantley back on the diamond this year. Brantley nearly died after he collapsed on Feb. 17 and now wears an automated external defibrillator, or AED.
"We are optimistic to get Drew back," he said. "He's a good little hitter."
The Panthers would like to take it a bit further in tournament than last year, Calloway said.
"We want to win the conference as our first objective, then we want to advance as far as we can in the state tournament."
by Peter Adelsen
The 2010 Western Panthers baseball team (18-7, 6-1 MIC in 2009) looks to become more mature this season in its defense of the Mid-Indiana Conference championship.
"We had two out of three things going for us last year," Western coach Ty Calloway said. "Those things were our consistency game in and game out and defense. It was our pitching that we were a little thin at. We were just inexperienced."
In looking toward this season that is under way, Calloway says the pitching has improved.
"I think our pitching staff is going to be a lot deeper than it was last year," he said. "It's got to be. That's what kept us out of the state tournament last year."
In the 2009 season, the Panthers were defeated by Benton Central in the final game of the sectional.
As for this year, Western has a solid line-up that also includes two sophomores and two freshman. Standouts include senior short stop Matt Reida, who has started every game since he was a freshman. Other stand-outs are seniors Bryson Platt, who was 4-0 last year pitching with an ERA under 3 last season, and center fielder Mike Jakobowicz, who is expected to drive in many RBIs this season, Calloway said.
"We don't have any real serious holes in our line-up," he said. "There are no easy outs anywhere in our line-up."
He said he is hopeful to see senior Drew Brantley back on the diamond this year. Brantley nearly died after he collapsed on Feb. 17 and now wears an automated external defibrillator, or AED.
"We are optimistic to get Drew back," he said. "He's a good little hitter."
The Panthers would like to take it a bit further in tournament than last year, Calloway said.
"We want to win the conference as our first objective, then we want to advance as far as we can in the state tournament."
Kokomo grad having experience of a lifetime
Posted: Saturday, April 3, 2010 12:00 am | Updated: 2:47 am, Sat Apr 3, 2010.
by Peter Adelsen
This weekend, the 32-4 Butler University Bulldogs will be battling for the NCAA Division 1 men's basketball championship in Indianapolis.
One player on that team is junior Alex Anglin, a 2006 Kokomo High School graduate. While on the basketball court for the Wildkats, Anglin was a North Central Conference all-conference guard-forward and captain his senior year when he averaged 10.6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
Anglin, an accounting major at Butler, made the basketball team as a sophomore walk-on and after being fortunate to have a couple of workouts in front of the Butler coaching staff. From then on it has been a wild ride as a member of the basketball team.
"It has been a very interesting, rewarding and amazing experience from when I first joined the team to now," Anglin said.
Anglin has played in 11 games this season, but he earned his way on to a team that could be playing for a national championship on Monday.
Along the road to the Final Four this season, Anglin knew that this team was special.
"After I've seen the hard work put in and the growth of the team and its talent level, I definitely knew there was a possibility that our team could play for a national championship," he said. "We have great players and team chemistry. As a team, I guess not one person could be a NBA-type caliber (player), but as a group of five people on the court there is not one person who is greater than the other. So if we play together and everybody does their job and their role that we can play with anybody in the country."
Throughout the 2009-2010 season, the Bulldogs have played competitively with every team on its schedule. At first, it was not easy as the nation's longest current win streak at 24 may say. During the 2009 portion of the season, Butler was at 9-4, losing to Minnesota, Clemson, Georgetown and University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"We were all competitive in those games and there was stuff we could have done to win those games and we took that mindset knowing that if we played the right way we could beat any team in the country, but if we don't we could also get beat by any team in the country," he said.
From January on, the team could not lose.
"Throughout the win streak, we kept a one possession mindset that if we win every possession and focus on that possession, one game at a time, one play at a time that we can achieve what we want to achieve," he said.
The Bulldogs finished undefeated in the Horizon League to secure an NCAA Tournament bid and from then on, the team defeated Texas-El Paso 77-59, Murray State 54-52, Syracuse 63-59 and Kansas State 63-56 to come back home to Butler University as West Regional Champions.
For this year's tournament, there has been a lot of hype about brackets being busted because of mid-major teams upsetting the power teams, or in football terms, the Bowl Championship Series conference teams. In the opinion of Anglin, these upsets may not really be upsets.
"Smaller teams and teams with less money, mid-majors, they all can play basketball," he said. We were in the same pot as Murray State, which had a fantastic game against Vanderbilt and knocked them off, a SEC school. We played that team and that was our closest game in the NCAA Tournament. They are a really good team, a 31-win team. As far as upsets, those teams had a right to be there as a quality basketball team."
Another thought that has been surfacing is some people comparing Butler, a nationally ranked team for much of the season, to the movie ‘Hoosiers.'
"People are trying to have the comparison to ‘Hoosiers,' but I really don't know if it's an accurate comparison," he said. "We feel like we are one of the elite teams in college basketball and we feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody."
With that mentality, the next step on the road is just five miles south of campus at Lucas Oil Stadium to play in the Final Four against the 28-8 Michigan State Spartans at 6:07 p.m. Saturday. With a win, they advance to the national championship on Monday to face either West Virginia or Duke at 9:21 p.m.
The atmosphere on campus
The Butler University campus is bustling with anticipation as the basketball team has made it to the Final Four.
"There is definitely a crazy Butler basketball buzz on campus, in the city and state of Indiana," Anglin said.
On Wednesday, there was a pep rally at Monument Circle where a couple thousand people came out to support the Bulldogs, he said.
On campus, the 660 student tickets were sold out in less than a minute, he said.
As for everybody else, people were standing outside Hinkle Fieldhouse at 5 a.m. Monday when tickets went on sale at noon, he said.
"Everybody is all smiles and just proud to be a Butler Bulldog, same for the alumni as well," he said.
What an experience
Alex Anglin has literally traveled internationally as a member of the Butler basketball team. He has traveled to San Jose and Salt Lake City, just during the NCAA Tournament this season. During the past year, he has traveled to Italy during the summer to play four games and visited cities such as Rome, Venice and Florence.
During the non-conference portion of the season, the team went to Anaheim to play in the 76 Classic against Minnesota, UCLA and Clemson, on that trip, the team visited Disneyland and Laguna Beach. The team also traveled to New York City to play in the Jimmy V Classic against Georgetown University. While in New York, the team visited Times Square, he said.
"It's been a great experience," he said. "I've got to experience as a team cities that we would probably never ever see unless we made a trip out with business in our careers or vacationing. As a team, you are fortunate to use the opportunity to play basketball to see cities that you would not normally see as a typical college student."
http://www.kokomoperspective.com/news/article_809d7cf8-3e84-11df-bb33-001cc4c002e0.html
by Peter Adelsen
This weekend, the 32-4 Butler University Bulldogs will be battling for the NCAA Division 1 men's basketball championship in Indianapolis.
One player on that team is junior Alex Anglin, a 2006 Kokomo High School graduate. While on the basketball court for the Wildkats, Anglin was a North Central Conference all-conference guard-forward and captain his senior year when he averaged 10.6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
Anglin, an accounting major at Butler, made the basketball team as a sophomore walk-on and after being fortunate to have a couple of workouts in front of the Butler coaching staff. From then on it has been a wild ride as a member of the basketball team.
"It has been a very interesting, rewarding and amazing experience from when I first joined the team to now," Anglin said.
Anglin has played in 11 games this season, but he earned his way on to a team that could be playing for a national championship on Monday.
Along the road to the Final Four this season, Anglin knew that this team was special.
"After I've seen the hard work put in and the growth of the team and its talent level, I definitely knew there was a possibility that our team could play for a national championship," he said. "We have great players and team chemistry. As a team, I guess not one person could be a NBA-type caliber (player), but as a group of five people on the court there is not one person who is greater than the other. So if we play together and everybody does their job and their role that we can play with anybody in the country."
Throughout the 2009-2010 season, the Bulldogs have played competitively with every team on its schedule. At first, it was not easy as the nation's longest current win streak at 24 may say. During the 2009 portion of the season, Butler was at 9-4, losing to Minnesota, Clemson, Georgetown and University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"We were all competitive in those games and there was stuff we could have done to win those games and we took that mindset knowing that if we played the right way we could beat any team in the country, but if we don't we could also get beat by any team in the country," he said.
From January on, the team could not lose.
"Throughout the win streak, we kept a one possession mindset that if we win every possession and focus on that possession, one game at a time, one play at a time that we can achieve what we want to achieve," he said.
The Bulldogs finished undefeated in the Horizon League to secure an NCAA Tournament bid and from then on, the team defeated Texas-El Paso 77-59, Murray State 54-52, Syracuse 63-59 and Kansas State 63-56 to come back home to Butler University as West Regional Champions.
For this year's tournament, there has been a lot of hype about brackets being busted because of mid-major teams upsetting the power teams, or in football terms, the Bowl Championship Series conference teams. In the opinion of Anglin, these upsets may not really be upsets.
"Smaller teams and teams with less money, mid-majors, they all can play basketball," he said. We were in the same pot as Murray State, which had a fantastic game against Vanderbilt and knocked them off, a SEC school. We played that team and that was our closest game in the NCAA Tournament. They are a really good team, a 31-win team. As far as upsets, those teams had a right to be there as a quality basketball team."
Another thought that has been surfacing is some people comparing Butler, a nationally ranked team for much of the season, to the movie ‘Hoosiers.'
"People are trying to have the comparison to ‘Hoosiers,' but I really don't know if it's an accurate comparison," he said. "We feel like we are one of the elite teams in college basketball and we feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody."
With that mentality, the next step on the road is just five miles south of campus at Lucas Oil Stadium to play in the Final Four against the 28-8 Michigan State Spartans at 6:07 p.m. Saturday. With a win, they advance to the national championship on Monday to face either West Virginia or Duke at 9:21 p.m.
The atmosphere on campus
The Butler University campus is bustling with anticipation as the basketball team has made it to the Final Four.
"There is definitely a crazy Butler basketball buzz on campus, in the city and state of Indiana," Anglin said.
On Wednesday, there was a pep rally at Monument Circle where a couple thousand people came out to support the Bulldogs, he said.
On campus, the 660 student tickets were sold out in less than a minute, he said.
As for everybody else, people were standing outside Hinkle Fieldhouse at 5 a.m. Monday when tickets went on sale at noon, he said.
"Everybody is all smiles and just proud to be a Butler Bulldog, same for the alumni as well," he said.
What an experience
Alex Anglin has literally traveled internationally as a member of the Butler basketball team. He has traveled to San Jose and Salt Lake City, just during the NCAA Tournament this season. During the past year, he has traveled to Italy during the summer to play four games and visited cities such as Rome, Venice and Florence.
During the non-conference portion of the season, the team went to Anaheim to play in the 76 Classic against Minnesota, UCLA and Clemson, on that trip, the team visited Disneyland and Laguna Beach. The team also traveled to New York City to play in the Jimmy V Classic against Georgetown University. While in New York, the team visited Times Square, he said.
"It's been a great experience," he said. "I've got to experience as a team cities that we would probably never ever see unless we made a trip out with business in our careers or vacationing. As a team, you are fortunate to use the opportunity to play basketball to see cities that you would not normally see as a typical college student."
http://www.kokomoperspective.com/news/article_809d7cf8-3e84-11df-bb33-001cc4c002e0.html
Comets aim to improve
Posted: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 2:49 pm
by Peter Adelsen
The Eastern Comets (18-9, 4-3 MIC in 2009) are coming into the 2010 baseball season as preseason ranked number 5 in class 2A, but is still a work in progress.
"Our outlook is to try to take each game one at a time and try to be successful in as many as we can," coach Steve Swinson said.
For the past three to four years, Swinson said, the team has been a work in progress to try to build depth and improve the program.
"We're starting to get kids to where they can play multiple positions and that has helped us in situations where we need to change pitchers and move pitchers around," he said. "Pitching has gotten much better and our defense has really improved also. The hitting part early in the season is a work in progress also and I hope that we'll get better at that as the year goes on."
Coming into this season, Swinson says the team has become more baseball savvy since last year's season.
"They are understanding situational baseball a little bit more this year," he said.
This year's team is returning six starters with seven seniors returning to the line-up, he said. With the returnees, this is bringing leadership early in the season, he said.
As for the Mid-Indiana Conference, the Comets, as well as other smaller schools, may be chasing the larger schools in the conference in the standings, but Swinson sees each game as a test for his team.
"I think the 2A schools are chasing the bigger schools in the conference," he said. "(The smaller schools) are pretty good too. It's a good gauge for us small schools to see where we're at and it's a good challenge for us. Western, Northwestern and (Hamilton) Heights are predominantly pretty good every year. We try to gauge where we're at with what we do against them year to year."
Eastern has already faced a challenging start to its season in its opening game 6-0 loss to 4A's number 4 ranked Kokomo Wildkats on March 30.
"Being as ranked as high as (Kokomo) is a pretty good opponent to start the season with," he said. "I thought we played really well against them."
With a tough schedule, this may help the Comets later on in the season.
"Our goal is to play a week or two longer than we did last year," he said. "We finished up at 18-9 and we want to improve on that record and play a little longer in the season."
by Peter Adelsen
The Eastern Comets (18-9, 4-3 MIC in 2009) are coming into the 2010 baseball season as preseason ranked number 5 in class 2A, but is still a work in progress.
"Our outlook is to try to take each game one at a time and try to be successful in as many as we can," coach Steve Swinson said.
For the past three to four years, Swinson said, the team has been a work in progress to try to build depth and improve the program.
"We're starting to get kids to where they can play multiple positions and that has helped us in situations where we need to change pitchers and move pitchers around," he said. "Pitching has gotten much better and our defense has really improved also. The hitting part early in the season is a work in progress also and I hope that we'll get better at that as the year goes on."
Coming into this season, Swinson says the team has become more baseball savvy since last year's season.
"They are understanding situational baseball a little bit more this year," he said.
This year's team is returning six starters with seven seniors returning to the line-up, he said. With the returnees, this is bringing leadership early in the season, he said.
As for the Mid-Indiana Conference, the Comets, as well as other smaller schools, may be chasing the larger schools in the conference in the standings, but Swinson sees each game as a test for his team.
"I think the 2A schools are chasing the bigger schools in the conference," he said. "(The smaller schools) are pretty good too. It's a good gauge for us small schools to see where we're at and it's a good challenge for us. Western, Northwestern and (Hamilton) Heights are predominantly pretty good every year. We try to gauge where we're at with what we do against them year to year."
Eastern has already faced a challenging start to its season in its opening game 6-0 loss to 4A's number 4 ranked Kokomo Wildkats on March 30.
"Being as ranked as high as (Kokomo) is a pretty good opponent to start the season with," he said. "I thought we played really well against them."
With a tough schedule, this may help the Comets later on in the season.
"Our goal is to play a week or two longer than we did last year," he said. "We finished up at 18-9 and we want to improve on that record and play a little longer in the season."
Kats aiming toward state title run
Posted: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 3:54 pm | Updated: 3:55 pm, Wed Apr 7, 2010.
by Peter Adelsen
After a disappointing end to last season losing in the sectional, the Kokomo Wildkats baseball team (22-8, 10-4 NCC in 2009) has high expectations for this season.
The Kats, preseason ranked 4th in class 4A, are bringing back 11 seniors, most with three or four years of experience on the varsity level with the 2009 North Central Conference champions.
"We have a lot of experience with our kids and most of the success that we've had over the last couple years has been because of the kids who are now seniors," Kokomo coach Steve Edwards said. "We have our top four pitchers back and we have basically eight of our nine starters back offensively."
The top four pitchers returning are seniors T.J. Weir (8-0 with .95 ERA in 2009), Colton Summers, Nolan Sandburn and junior Nick Lorenc.
In the opening game of the season, Summers threw a perfect game and struck-out seven batters against the Eastern Comets at Highland Park on only 68 pitches in the 6-0 win.
"We had a lot of excitement the first game, but I don't think anybody expects to see a no-hitter on the first game of the season," Edwards said. "He had command of all of his pitches and Colton was throwing all of his pitches really well and was hitting his spots and kept hitters off balance and that's pretty good against a number five ranked Eastern team in 2A."
Offensively in the opening game, the team had 11 hits. Weir hit a home run and a double, senior Nick Franklin went 3 for 3 with two doubles, senior Devin Schacht had two hits and senior Dylan Green had two hits in the win.
This year's goal, like the past seasons, is to win the North Central Conference, win the sectional and move on to the state tournament.
"We're very deep on the mound and we've been looking for this since 2007 when we were state runner-up," he said. "Last year and this year were years where we were looking at doing some damage. We fell short last year, but this year we have high expectations to advance in the tournament and do some damage in the tournament."
http://www.kokomoperspective.com/local_sports/high_school/kokomo/article_80e49ad0-427f-11df-84ce-001cc4c03286.html
by Peter Adelsen
After a disappointing end to last season losing in the sectional, the Kokomo Wildkats baseball team (22-8, 10-4 NCC in 2009) has high expectations for this season.
The Kats, preseason ranked 4th in class 4A, are bringing back 11 seniors, most with three or four years of experience on the varsity level with the 2009 North Central Conference champions.
"We have a lot of experience with our kids and most of the success that we've had over the last couple years has been because of the kids who are now seniors," Kokomo coach Steve Edwards said. "We have our top four pitchers back and we have basically eight of our nine starters back offensively."
The top four pitchers returning are seniors T.J. Weir (8-0 with .95 ERA in 2009), Colton Summers, Nolan Sandburn and junior Nick Lorenc.
In the opening game of the season, Summers threw a perfect game and struck-out seven batters against the Eastern Comets at Highland Park on only 68 pitches in the 6-0 win.
"We had a lot of excitement the first game, but I don't think anybody expects to see a no-hitter on the first game of the season," Edwards said. "He had command of all of his pitches and Colton was throwing all of his pitches really well and was hitting his spots and kept hitters off balance and that's pretty good against a number five ranked Eastern team in 2A."
Offensively in the opening game, the team had 11 hits. Weir hit a home run and a double, senior Nick Franklin went 3 for 3 with two doubles, senior Devin Schacht had two hits and senior Dylan Green had two hits in the win.
This year's goal, like the past seasons, is to win the North Central Conference, win the sectional and move on to the state tournament.
"We're very deep on the mound and we've been looking for this since 2007 when we were state runner-up," he said. "Last year and this year were years where we were looking at doing some damage. We fell short last year, but this year we have high expectations to advance in the tournament and do some damage in the tournament."
http://www.kokomoperspective.com/local_sports/high_school/kokomo/article_80e49ad0-427f-11df-84ce-001cc4c03286.html
Bronchos knock Kats out of IHSAA tournament
Posted: Sunday, March 7, 2010 12:05 am | Updated: 12:27 am, Sun Mar 7, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats stormed out to an early 10-point lead Saturday, but in a game of runs, the Lafayette Jeff Bronchos made the final run in the fourth quarter to get a 67-61 victory to become the Kokomo Sectional champions and advance to the Marion Regional.
The Kats continued its recent hot shooting, led by sophomore D.J. Balentine's 7 points, in the first quarter as they took an early 13-3 lead that forced the Bronchos to call a time-out with 2:31 to go in the period. From that point on, the Brochos went on a 6-2 run to close out the quarter with two 3-pointers from junior Nick Stacy to cut Kokomo's lead to 15-9.
The second quarter was a three-point shootout between the teams. Kats' freshman LaBradford Sebree and Bronchos' senior Jesse Berry each knocked down three 3-point shots, but the lead would change as Jeff would hit five-total three pointers to Kokomo's three in the quarter to take a 30-28 halftime lead. Berry scored 15 points in the quarter after being shutout in the first quarter.
After Jeff took a four-point lead in the third quarter, the Kats stormed back again to retake the lead led by senior T.J. Weir's 9 points and Balentine's 4 points. At the end of the third, the Kats lead 45-42.
Kats' sophomore Armon Bridgeforth started off the fourth quarter with a made lay-up and followed it up with a three-pointer assisted by Weir to take a 50-42 lead with 7:01 remaining. After two free-throws by both teams, Jeff's Berry followed up his own miss with a lay-up and on the next possession hit a three-pointer to cut Kokomo's lead to 52-49 with 5:45 to go. On Kokomo's next possession, senior Brock Barbary extended the lead with a lay-up, but seconds later Jeff junior Colin Bultinick hit a three-pointer to bring Jeff to within two points (54-52) with 5:06 remaining.
Jeff then went on a 6-0 run to take a 58-54 lead with 2:51 remaining. Kokomo could only take tough shots and foul down the stretch to give them a shot at a win, but it was not enough as their season came to an end.
"When there was still plenty of time, we kind of panicked a little bit, I thought," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "The guys laid it on the line, but their effort was just tremendous."
McCauley was proud of his team's efforts throughout the game and that of Jeff's, as well.
"We don't have any regrets," he said. "We did the very best we could. I thought Lafayette Jeff more so won the game than we lost the game. Our guys battled and did not give Jeff the game."
The Kats ended its season as North Central Conference champions for the first time since 2003, sharing it with New Castle.
Kokomo had two players in double-figures scoring. Weir and Balentine each scored 15 points. Barbary had a near double-double with 10 rebounds (3 offensive) and 9 points.
Jeff had two players in double-figures scoring, as well. Berry led the Bronchos with 33 points on 10 of 19 shooting, including five 3 pointers. Stacy joined him with 14 points. Senior Roddy Richardson led the Bronchos in rebounding with 11, including 5 offensive rebounds.
Jeff advances to play Muncie Central at noon Saturday at the Marion Regional.
Scores by quarter:
Kokomo 15 13 17 16 =61
Lafayette Jeff 9 21 12 25 =67
Other sectional championships Saturday:
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 20 at Frankfort
West Lafayette 50, Frankfort 40
(West Lafayette advances to play Andrean at the Chesterton Regional.)
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 22 at Norwell
Fort Wayne-Elmhurst 64, Norwell 47
(Elmhurst advances to play Yorktown at the Blackford Regional.)
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 27 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Mt. Vernon 57, Shelbyville 37
(Mt. Vernon advances to play Greensburg at the Shelbyville Regional.)
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 39 at Lewis Cass
Southwood 59, Lewis Cass 51
(Southwood advances to play the winner of Adams Central/Fort Wayne Luers at the Tipton Regional.)
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 40 at Taylor
Guerin Catholic 66, Tipton 53
(Guerin Catholic advances to play Carroll at the Tipton Regional.)
CLASS A, SECTIONAL 53 at Tri-Central
Lafayette Central Catholic 79, Tri-Central 55
(Lafayette Central Catholic advances to play Monroe Central at the Frankfort Regional.)
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats stormed out to an early 10-point lead Saturday, but in a game of runs, the Lafayette Jeff Bronchos made the final run in the fourth quarter to get a 67-61 victory to become the Kokomo Sectional champions and advance to the Marion Regional.
The Kats continued its recent hot shooting, led by sophomore D.J. Balentine's 7 points, in the first quarter as they took an early 13-3 lead that forced the Bronchos to call a time-out with 2:31 to go in the period. From that point on, the Brochos went on a 6-2 run to close out the quarter with two 3-pointers from junior Nick Stacy to cut Kokomo's lead to 15-9.
The second quarter was a three-point shootout between the teams. Kats' freshman LaBradford Sebree and Bronchos' senior Jesse Berry each knocked down three 3-point shots, but the lead would change as Jeff would hit five-total three pointers to Kokomo's three in the quarter to take a 30-28 halftime lead. Berry scored 15 points in the quarter after being shutout in the first quarter.
After Jeff took a four-point lead in the third quarter, the Kats stormed back again to retake the lead led by senior T.J. Weir's 9 points and Balentine's 4 points. At the end of the third, the Kats lead 45-42.
Kats' sophomore Armon Bridgeforth started off the fourth quarter with a made lay-up and followed it up with a three-pointer assisted by Weir to take a 50-42 lead with 7:01 remaining. After two free-throws by both teams, Jeff's Berry followed up his own miss with a lay-up and on the next possession hit a three-pointer to cut Kokomo's lead to 52-49 with 5:45 to go. On Kokomo's next possession, senior Brock Barbary extended the lead with a lay-up, but seconds later Jeff junior Colin Bultinick hit a three-pointer to bring Jeff to within two points (54-52) with 5:06 remaining.
Jeff then went on a 6-0 run to take a 58-54 lead with 2:51 remaining. Kokomo could only take tough shots and foul down the stretch to give them a shot at a win, but it was not enough as their season came to an end.
"When there was still plenty of time, we kind of panicked a little bit, I thought," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "The guys laid it on the line, but their effort was just tremendous."
McCauley was proud of his team's efforts throughout the game and that of Jeff's, as well.
"We don't have any regrets," he said. "We did the very best we could. I thought Lafayette Jeff more so won the game than we lost the game. Our guys battled and did not give Jeff the game."
The Kats ended its season as North Central Conference champions for the first time since 2003, sharing it with New Castle.
Kokomo had two players in double-figures scoring. Weir and Balentine each scored 15 points. Barbary had a near double-double with 10 rebounds (3 offensive) and 9 points.
Jeff had two players in double-figures scoring, as well. Berry led the Bronchos with 33 points on 10 of 19 shooting, including five 3 pointers. Stacy joined him with 14 points. Senior Roddy Richardson led the Bronchos in rebounding with 11, including 5 offensive rebounds.
Jeff advances to play Muncie Central at noon Saturday at the Marion Regional.
Scores by quarter:
Kokomo 15 13 17 16 =61
Lafayette Jeff 9 21 12 25 =67
Other sectional championships Saturday:
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 20 at Frankfort
West Lafayette 50, Frankfort 40
(West Lafayette advances to play Andrean at the Chesterton Regional.)
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 22 at Norwell
Fort Wayne-Elmhurst 64, Norwell 47
(Elmhurst advances to play Yorktown at the Blackford Regional.)
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 27 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Mt. Vernon 57, Shelbyville 37
(Mt. Vernon advances to play Greensburg at the Shelbyville Regional.)
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 39 at Lewis Cass
Southwood 59, Lewis Cass 51
(Southwood advances to play the winner of Adams Central/Fort Wayne Luers at the Tipton Regional.)
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 40 at Taylor
Guerin Catholic 66, Tipton 53
(Guerin Catholic advances to play Carroll at the Tipton Regional.)
CLASS A, SECTIONAL 53 at Tri-Central
Lafayette Central Catholic 79, Tri-Central 55
(Lafayette Central Catholic advances to play Monroe Central at the Frankfort Regional.)
Kats defeat Berries to advance to sectional championship against Bronchos
Posted: Friday, March 5, 2010 11:26 pm | Updated: 11:46 pm, Fri Mar 5, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After getting out to a 10-point cushion at the end of the first quarter, the Kokomo Wildkats went on to defeat the Logansport Berries Friday at Memorial Gym to advance to the Sectional 7 championship game.
The Kats began the game with hot shooting from senior Brock Barbary who scored 10 points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers, to give Kokomo a boost. Kokomo caught fire during the final four minutes of the quarter to increase its lead from 7-4 to 19-9 on a 12 to 5 run. As a team in the first quarter, Kokomo shot at 57 percent, while Logansport shot at 25 percent.
Kokomo and Logansport played even throughout the second and third quarters until foul trouble doomed the Berries in the fourth quarter. The closest the Berries got to the Kats in the fourth quarter was when senior Nate Champion converted a three-point play to bring the score to a 49-40 Kokomo lead with 5:13 to go in the game. The Kats went on to win the game by adding points at the free-throw line as they drove to the basket down the stretch to increase the lead to 20 points with 56 seconds remaining. The Kats went on to end the Berries' season by a 68-52 final score.
"Brock Barbary got us off to a tremendous start and I'm really pleased with that," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "D.J. (Balentine) showed a lot of toughness by coming in and making some plays. It was a total team effort."
Barbary's 23 points and 9 rebounds led the Kats in each category. Sophomore D.J. Balentine's 16 points in double-figures scoring joined him in double-figures scoring.
Champion led the Berries in scoring with 21 points and was tied with the most team rebounds with 7. Senior Jared Jennings also had 7 rebounds. Also in double-figures scoring was freshman Antonio Penney who scored 14 points.
Scores by quarter:
Logansport 9 10 14 19 =52
Kokomo 19 10 12 27 =68
Kokomo will play Lafayette Jeff at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the Sectional 7 Championship at Memorial Gym. The Jeff Bronchos defeated the Harrison Raiders in the second game Friday 60-51.
In this game, the Bronchos began with an 8-0 lead to only vanish when the Raiders began the second quarter on a 6-0 run to cut Jeff's lead to 14-13 at 6:58 to go in the second quarter. The game remained close throughout until 1:51 to go in the game when Jeff got a 53-47 lead with senior Jesse Berry's basket. From that point on, the Bronchos stretched its lead from the foul line to defeat the Raiders.
Senior Blair Banker's 18 points led Harrison in scoring.
The Bronchos had two players in double-figures scoring. Seniors Jesse Berry and Roddy Richardson scored 28 and 18, respectively.
Scores by quarter:
Lafayette Jeff 14 15 10 21 =60
Harrison 7 16 14 14 =51
Other sectional semi-finals Friday:
(Bolded teams advanced to sectional championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.)
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 20 at Frankfort
West Lafayette 38, Western 37
Frankfort 81, Northwestern 77
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 22 at Norwell
Norwell 53, Peru 51
Fort Wayne-Elmhurst 61, Fort Wayne-Wayne 52
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 27 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Mount Vernon 52, Hamilton Heights 37
Shelbyville 55, Rushville 52
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 39 at Lewis Cass
Southwood 57, North Miami 46
Lewis Cass 64, Wabash 38
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 40 at Taylor
Tipton 85, Sheridan 48
Guerin Catholic 74, Madison-Grant 62
CLASS A, SECTIONAL 53 at Tri-Central
Tri-Central 63, Clinton Prairie 60 (OT)
Lafayette Central Catholic 78, Rossville 49
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After getting out to a 10-point cushion at the end of the first quarter, the Kokomo Wildkats went on to defeat the Logansport Berries Friday at Memorial Gym to advance to the Sectional 7 championship game.
The Kats began the game with hot shooting from senior Brock Barbary who scored 10 points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers, to give Kokomo a boost. Kokomo caught fire during the final four minutes of the quarter to increase its lead from 7-4 to 19-9 on a 12 to 5 run. As a team in the first quarter, Kokomo shot at 57 percent, while Logansport shot at 25 percent.
Kokomo and Logansport played even throughout the second and third quarters until foul trouble doomed the Berries in the fourth quarter. The closest the Berries got to the Kats in the fourth quarter was when senior Nate Champion converted a three-point play to bring the score to a 49-40 Kokomo lead with 5:13 to go in the game. The Kats went on to win the game by adding points at the free-throw line as they drove to the basket down the stretch to increase the lead to 20 points with 56 seconds remaining. The Kats went on to end the Berries' season by a 68-52 final score.
"Brock Barbary got us off to a tremendous start and I'm really pleased with that," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "D.J. (Balentine) showed a lot of toughness by coming in and making some plays. It was a total team effort."
Barbary's 23 points and 9 rebounds led the Kats in each category. Sophomore D.J. Balentine's 16 points in double-figures scoring joined him in double-figures scoring.
Champion led the Berries in scoring with 21 points and was tied with the most team rebounds with 7. Senior Jared Jennings also had 7 rebounds. Also in double-figures scoring was freshman Antonio Penney who scored 14 points.
Scores by quarter:
Logansport 9 10 14 19 =52
Kokomo 19 10 12 27 =68
Kokomo will play Lafayette Jeff at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the Sectional 7 Championship at Memorial Gym. The Jeff Bronchos defeated the Harrison Raiders in the second game Friday 60-51.
In this game, the Bronchos began with an 8-0 lead to only vanish when the Raiders began the second quarter on a 6-0 run to cut Jeff's lead to 14-13 at 6:58 to go in the second quarter. The game remained close throughout until 1:51 to go in the game when Jeff got a 53-47 lead with senior Jesse Berry's basket. From that point on, the Bronchos stretched its lead from the foul line to defeat the Raiders.
Senior Blair Banker's 18 points led Harrison in scoring.
The Bronchos had two players in double-figures scoring. Seniors Jesse Berry and Roddy Richardson scored 28 and 18, respectively.
Scores by quarter:
Lafayette Jeff 14 15 10 21 =60
Harrison 7 16 14 14 =51
Other sectional semi-finals Friday:
(Bolded teams advanced to sectional championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.)
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 20 at Frankfort
West Lafayette 38, Western 37
Frankfort 81, Northwestern 77
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 22 at Norwell
Norwell 53, Peru 51
Fort Wayne-Elmhurst 61, Fort Wayne-Wayne 52
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 27 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Mount Vernon 52, Hamilton Heights 37
Shelbyville 55, Rushville 52
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 39 at Lewis Cass
Southwood 57, North Miami 46
Lewis Cass 64, Wabash 38
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 40 at Taylor
Tipton 85, Sheridan 48
Guerin Catholic 74, Madison-Grant 62
CLASS A, SECTIONAL 53 at Tri-Central
Tri-Central 63, Clinton Prairie 60 (OT)
Lafayette Central Catholic 78, Rossville 49
Kokomo, Logansport meet for second time in sectional semi-final
Posted: Thursday, March 4, 2010 4:45 pm | Updated: 4:51 pm, Thu Mar 4, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
Two North Central Conference foes will collide 6 p.m. Friday at Memorial Gym for the second time this season.
The Logansport Berries (15-5, 4-3 NCC) will try to avenge its previous loss to the now 17th ranked Kokomo Wildkats (15-5, 6-1 NCC) that possibly cost them a conference title in the Sectional 7 semi-final game where only the winner moves on.
In the first game on Feb. 11, the Widkats caught fire from behind the three-point arc in the second quarter and never looked back as they took first place in the NCC with their 74-60 win over the Berries. The Kats were led by senior Brock Barbary's 24 points and as a team shot 55 percent from the field. The Berries struggled from the field as they shot at 37 percent and their leading scorer senior Nate Champion shot a measly 29 percent, but still scored 18 points.
"We are going to need a lot of guys to step up," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "We would love to have the same type of offensive production we had in the first game, but if we don't we're going to have to rely on our defensive rebounding."
Kokomo also led in rebounding 40 to 26. However, Logansport had fewer turnovers with 6 to Kokomo's 16.
"We're going to have to have the same type of defensive and rebounding effort that we did the first game," McCauley said. "(Logansport) created some turnovers throughout the game that caused us some problems. I think we're going to have to do a better job of preparing to take care of the ball better and making some adjustments there on offense in order to limit our turnovers."
Like the first time the team's met, this game will have big implications and this time only one team will be able to play again this season.
"They had NCC implications the first game and this game is just as big, if not bigger," he said. "Now you are fighting for your season, so it's going to be an intense game and a game that Logansport wants very badly and so do we."
In the second game of the Sectional 7 semi-final, Lafayette-Jefferson plays Harrison at 8 p.m. at Memorial Gym.
Other Sectional semi-final games Friday:
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 20 at Frankfort
Western v. West Lafayette, 6 p.m.
Northwestern v. Frankfort, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 22 at Norwell
Peru v. Norwell, 6 p.m.
Fort Wayne-Elmhurst v. Fort Wayne-Wayne, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 27 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Mt. Vernon v. Hamilton Heights, 6 p.m.
Rushville v. Shelbyville, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 39 at Lewis Cass
Southwood v. North Miami, 6 p.m.
Lewis Cass v. Wabash, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 40 at Taylor
Sheridan v. Tipton, 6 p.m.
Guerin Catholic v. Madison-Grant, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS A, SECTIONAL 53 at Tri-Central
Clinton Prairie v. Tri-Central, 6 p.m.
Rossville v. Lafayette Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
Two North Central Conference foes will collide 6 p.m. Friday at Memorial Gym for the second time this season.
The Logansport Berries (15-5, 4-3 NCC) will try to avenge its previous loss to the now 17th ranked Kokomo Wildkats (15-5, 6-1 NCC) that possibly cost them a conference title in the Sectional 7 semi-final game where only the winner moves on.
In the first game on Feb. 11, the Widkats caught fire from behind the three-point arc in the second quarter and never looked back as they took first place in the NCC with their 74-60 win over the Berries. The Kats were led by senior Brock Barbary's 24 points and as a team shot 55 percent from the field. The Berries struggled from the field as they shot at 37 percent and their leading scorer senior Nate Champion shot a measly 29 percent, but still scored 18 points.
"We are going to need a lot of guys to step up," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "We would love to have the same type of offensive production we had in the first game, but if we don't we're going to have to rely on our defensive rebounding."
Kokomo also led in rebounding 40 to 26. However, Logansport had fewer turnovers with 6 to Kokomo's 16.
"We're going to have to have the same type of defensive and rebounding effort that we did the first game," McCauley said. "(Logansport) created some turnovers throughout the game that caused us some problems. I think we're going to have to do a better job of preparing to take care of the ball better and making some adjustments there on offense in order to limit our turnovers."
Like the first time the team's met, this game will have big implications and this time only one team will be able to play again this season.
"They had NCC implications the first game and this game is just as big, if not bigger," he said. "Now you are fighting for your season, so it's going to be an intense game and a game that Logansport wants very badly and so do we."
In the second game of the Sectional 7 semi-final, Lafayette-Jefferson plays Harrison at 8 p.m. at Memorial Gym.
Other Sectional semi-final games Friday:
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 20 at Frankfort
Western v. West Lafayette, 6 p.m.
Northwestern v. Frankfort, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 22 at Norwell
Peru v. Norwell, 6 p.m.
Fort Wayne-Elmhurst v. Fort Wayne-Wayne, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A, SECTIONAL 27 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Mt. Vernon v. Hamilton Heights, 6 p.m.
Rushville v. Shelbyville, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 39 at Lewis Cass
Southwood v. North Miami, 6 p.m.
Lewis Cass v. Wabash, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A, SECTIONAL 40 at Taylor
Sheridan v. Tipton, 6 p.m.
Guerin Catholic v. Madison-Grant, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS A, SECTIONAL 53 at Tri-Central
Clinton Prairie v. Tri-Central, 6 p.m.
Rossville v. Lafayette Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
Preparation saves Western student’s life
Posted: Thursday, March 4, 2010 1:00 am | Updated: 3:31 pm, Wed Mar 3, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
It is hard to tell what tomorrow may bring, but for Western High School senior Drew Brantley, he nearly lost seeing his next tomorrow. Thanks to a device and the people using it, he is alive today.
Drew was in perfect health and a multi-sport athlete as a soccer goalie and baseball player. He previously played on the basketball team. There was nothing to expect at his age that could go wrong physically.
On Feb. 17, Brantley collapsed while playing a basketball game on one of the non-lifting days in his weight-training class at Western High School.
“They originally thought it was a seizure,” said Ron Brantley, his dad. “Once they evaluated him, they realized that it was a lot more than a seizure.”
Soon they began CPR on him and hooked up an automated external defibrillator, or AED, and he was shocked four times. They didn’t know right away, his dad said, but his heart stopped, and he was clinically dead for two to three minutes, they estimated.
Drew’s teacher, Alix Engle, immediately was working on Drew, Ron Brantley said. Others involved were athletic director Rick Fields, nurse Brenda Strunk, liaison officer Wayne Ives, as well as the students.
Drew was then taken by ambulance to Howard Regional Health System, where he was put on a ventilator and into an induced coma to keep him sedated, Ron Brantley said. Drew was then LifeLined to Methodist Hospital after waiting for the helicopter from Rochester to come because Kokomo’s was on a call.
Late that night, the hospital removed the breathing tube and he awoke, but he had some memory loss from the incident.
“When he woke up, he was scared to death because he didn’t know where he was at,” Ron Brantley said. “We would tell him where he was at and what had happened and then two minutes later he was waking up asking the same question. So it was a really rough night Wednesday night.”
The next day when he awoke late in the morning, he was doing a lot better.
“He could carry a conversation along with you, but he still had the memory loss, but he could at least carry a conversation, which made me and his mom feel much better,” Ron Brantley said.
From there, every team of doctors told the family that if it were not for the school having these AED units that Drew would have died.
“In all honesty, they have expressed to us a million times that without this AED unit that Drew would have died,” he said. “There would not have been enough CPR that would have saved him. It was totally the AED union that the school had bought and was in place.”
Thanks to Western being prepared with 12 AED units throughout the school buildings, his life was saved. But it may not have always been that way.
“We cannot say enough about Western,” he said. “Obviously they saved our son’s life, but they said five years ago or so that Western had one AED unit and it was locked up in the Athletic Director’s Office. Unless he was around, it basically did no good.”
From what the doctors and nurses said, according to Ron Brantley, it is not uncommon for a school to have one or two AED units and be locked up.
Now it comes down to other schools if a Western athletic team is on the road.
“Principal Rick Davis told me that Western is working on a program to send AED units with their teams when they go on the road, which is just fantastic. It’s just another credit for Western in really caring about their kids and their athletes.”
It was determined that it was in the electrical part of his heart that was the problem, his dad said. It is probably a genetic issue, he said.
The hospital then decided to put in an AICD unit that is an internal defibrillator and pacemaker built together. They inserted it into Drew’s upper-left chest and ran a wire through one of his veins into his heart.
“They actually program this unit to control what they want Drew’s heart to beat at and if it goes faster that what they want it to be at, it will give Drew a little shock to slow it down basically and if it goes slow, then the pacemaker will kick in and will pace his heart back up to where they want it to be, he said.
The company that manufactured the AICD was Boston Scientific and they even sent representatives to see Drew for his story as an inspiration for their company, he said.
Drew was then doing outstanding, besides being a little sore, and was sent home Tuesday. He may even return to Western High School late this week.
“We have to be real careful with infection with the incision,” he said. “He cannot raise his elbow above his shoulder for about three weeks at least. That’s just basically keeping him from pulling the wire out of his heart before it gets attached by the heart muscles itself.”
Drew had no idea that this could happen.
“It was kind of a shock here when I woke up (at the hospital) and heard that I went into a cardiac arrest,” Drew Brantley said. “When they told me that one of the possibilities was that it was genetic that it kind of eased my mind knowing that I didn’t do anything wrong, personally.”
Not surprisingly, he is thrilled that Western had the AED units in place that saved his life.
“They’re expensive, but if you use them once, they obviously pay for themselves,” he said. “If you don’t have to use them at all it is even better. It is a peace of mind that if something does happen that it’s there. I’m very thrilled that we have them in our school.”
Now, he wants to become a spokesperson to where AED units could become more common.
For him, everything went to plan when he collapsed he said.
“Everything went perfect,” he said. “If this had to happen, nothing went wrong with everyone who did everything.”
Since he collapsed he has received so much support. Even a Facebook group titled “Pray for Drew Brantley” was created.
“I think within like the next day there were a thousand people on that page,” he said. “When my mom told me about that at the hospital, I was like ‘No way.’ I don’t even think I know a thousand people. It’s overwhelming. The support from everybody has been just crazy.”
If it all goes well, Drew may be back on the baseball diamond this year.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
It is hard to tell what tomorrow may bring, but for Western High School senior Drew Brantley, he nearly lost seeing his next tomorrow. Thanks to a device and the people using it, he is alive today.
Drew was in perfect health and a multi-sport athlete as a soccer goalie and baseball player. He previously played on the basketball team. There was nothing to expect at his age that could go wrong physically.
On Feb. 17, Brantley collapsed while playing a basketball game on one of the non-lifting days in his weight-training class at Western High School.
“They originally thought it was a seizure,” said Ron Brantley, his dad. “Once they evaluated him, they realized that it was a lot more than a seizure.”
Soon they began CPR on him and hooked up an automated external defibrillator, or AED, and he was shocked four times. They didn’t know right away, his dad said, but his heart stopped, and he was clinically dead for two to three minutes, they estimated.
Drew’s teacher, Alix Engle, immediately was working on Drew, Ron Brantley said. Others involved were athletic director Rick Fields, nurse Brenda Strunk, liaison officer Wayne Ives, as well as the students.
Drew was then taken by ambulance to Howard Regional Health System, where he was put on a ventilator and into an induced coma to keep him sedated, Ron Brantley said. Drew was then LifeLined to Methodist Hospital after waiting for the helicopter from Rochester to come because Kokomo’s was on a call.
Late that night, the hospital removed the breathing tube and he awoke, but he had some memory loss from the incident.
“When he woke up, he was scared to death because he didn’t know where he was at,” Ron Brantley said. “We would tell him where he was at and what had happened and then two minutes later he was waking up asking the same question. So it was a really rough night Wednesday night.”
The next day when he awoke late in the morning, he was doing a lot better.
“He could carry a conversation along with you, but he still had the memory loss, but he could at least carry a conversation, which made me and his mom feel much better,” Ron Brantley said.
From there, every team of doctors told the family that if it were not for the school having these AED units that Drew would have died.
“In all honesty, they have expressed to us a million times that without this AED unit that Drew would have died,” he said. “There would not have been enough CPR that would have saved him. It was totally the AED union that the school had bought and was in place.”
Thanks to Western being prepared with 12 AED units throughout the school buildings, his life was saved. But it may not have always been that way.
“We cannot say enough about Western,” he said. “Obviously they saved our son’s life, but they said five years ago or so that Western had one AED unit and it was locked up in the Athletic Director’s Office. Unless he was around, it basically did no good.”
From what the doctors and nurses said, according to Ron Brantley, it is not uncommon for a school to have one or two AED units and be locked up.
Now it comes down to other schools if a Western athletic team is on the road.
“Principal Rick Davis told me that Western is working on a program to send AED units with their teams when they go on the road, which is just fantastic. It’s just another credit for Western in really caring about their kids and their athletes.”
It was determined that it was in the electrical part of his heart that was the problem, his dad said. It is probably a genetic issue, he said.
The hospital then decided to put in an AICD unit that is an internal defibrillator and pacemaker built together. They inserted it into Drew’s upper-left chest and ran a wire through one of his veins into his heart.
“They actually program this unit to control what they want Drew’s heart to beat at and if it goes faster that what they want it to be at, it will give Drew a little shock to slow it down basically and if it goes slow, then the pacemaker will kick in and will pace his heart back up to where they want it to be, he said.
The company that manufactured the AICD was Boston Scientific and they even sent representatives to see Drew for his story as an inspiration for their company, he said.
Drew was then doing outstanding, besides being a little sore, and was sent home Tuesday. He may even return to Western High School late this week.
“We have to be real careful with infection with the incision,” he said. “He cannot raise his elbow above his shoulder for about three weeks at least. That’s just basically keeping him from pulling the wire out of his heart before it gets attached by the heart muscles itself.”
Drew had no idea that this could happen.
“It was kind of a shock here when I woke up (at the hospital) and heard that I went into a cardiac arrest,” Drew Brantley said. “When they told me that one of the possibilities was that it was genetic that it kind of eased my mind knowing that I didn’t do anything wrong, personally.”
Not surprisingly, he is thrilled that Western had the AED units in place that saved his life.
“They’re expensive, but if you use them once, they obviously pay for themselves,” he said. “If you don’t have to use them at all it is even better. It is a peace of mind that if something does happen that it’s there. I’m very thrilled that we have them in our school.”
Now, he wants to become a spokesperson to where AED units could become more common.
For him, everything went to plan when he collapsed he said.
“Everything went perfect,” he said. “If this had to happen, nothing went wrong with everyone who did everything.”
Since he collapsed he has received so much support. Even a Facebook group titled “Pray for Drew Brantley” was created.
“I think within like the next day there were a thousand people on that page,” he said. “When my mom told me about that at the hospital, I was like ‘No way.’ I don’t even think I know a thousand people. It’s overwhelming. The support from everybody has been just crazy.”
If it all goes well, Drew may be back on the baseball diamond this year.
Kats finish season strong with victory over FW Elmhurst
Posted: Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:16 am
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats finished the season on a six-game winning streak with their 71-64 victory over the 3A 9th-ranked Fort Wayne-Elmhurst Trojans Friday at Memorial Gym.
In a tight game throughout, it featured some major streaks.
The game began with a slow moving first quarter. At the end of the quarter, the Trojans' junior Pervis Hall made two free throws to end the quarter leading 13-10. Those two free throws began an 8-1 run that continued to the beginning of the second quarter to a 19-11 lead at 6:19 to go. The Kats then went on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 23-23 at 3:54 to go until the half.
The Wildkats then took the lead on two made free throws by sophomore D.J. Balentine with 3:22 to go in the quarter. The lead was shortlived as Trojan senior Kristian Gayday hit a three-pointer to retake the lead at 26-25. The Kats answered with a free throw from senior Brock Barbary to tie the game at 26-26. From that point on, the Wildkats went on a 5-1 run until Elmhurst's Hall hit a three pointer as the second quarter expired to cut Kokomo's lead to 31-30.
The third quarter had 8 lead changes and three ties as Kokomo outscored Elmhurst 15-14 to take a 46-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Wildkats played their best in the fourth quarter as they increased the lead through excellent play offensively and defensively.
The Trojans took a 49-48 lead at 6:08 to go on two made field goals, but from that point on the Wildkats closed the game with tough play in creating open shots and lay-ups to gradually increase their lead to 10 points with :16 to go at 69-59. The Kats went on to win 71-64.
"The guys executed very well late in the game," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "We had some nice back cuts, layups and some broken plays. The guys did a real good job making plays down the stretch. I'm really proud of them."
For Kokomo's four seniors, T.J. Weir, S.J. Moultrie, Brock Barbary and Braxton Shelton, it was a great way to conclude their senior season.
Kokomo was led by Balentine's 21 points and was joined by Weir and junior Cheyse Swain in double figures with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Swain also led the team in rebounds with 10, including five offensive rebounds.
Elmhurst was led by Hall's 19 points and was joined by seniors Evan Cleveland's 17 points and Kristian Gayday's 12 points.
Kokomo (15-5, 6-1 NCC) next takes the court against conference rival Logansport Berries Friday at 6 p.m. at Memorial Gym in sectional play.
Fort Wayne Elmhurst (14-5) next plays either Fort Wayne-Wayne or Bellmont in the Norwell sectional Friday.
Scores by quarter:
FW-Elmhurst 13 17 14 20 =64
Kokomo 10 21 15 25 =71
Other games Friday:
Eastern 67 (12-8, 2-5 MIC)
Tri-Central 57 (8-12, 3-2 HHC)
Maconaquah 47 (8-12, 2-5 MIC)
Jay County 62 (10-8, 1-2 Olympic)
#2-3A Peru 61 (19-1, 7-0 MIC)
Hamilton Heights 41 (12-7, 4-3 MIC)
Western 61 (13-7, 4-2 MIC)
#4-2A Tipton 72 (17-3, 6-0 Hoosier)
Tuesday (March 2) Sectional games:
Maconaquah at Norwell, 6 p.m.
Tipton at Taylor, 7 p.m.
Twin Lakes v. Western (at Frankfort), 6 p.m.
Wednesday (March 3) Sectional games:
Eastern v. Madison-Grant (at Taylor), 7:30 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats finished the season on a six-game winning streak with their 71-64 victory over the 3A 9th-ranked Fort Wayne-Elmhurst Trojans Friday at Memorial Gym.
In a tight game throughout, it featured some major streaks.
The game began with a slow moving first quarter. At the end of the quarter, the Trojans' junior Pervis Hall made two free throws to end the quarter leading 13-10. Those two free throws began an 8-1 run that continued to the beginning of the second quarter to a 19-11 lead at 6:19 to go. The Kats then went on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 23-23 at 3:54 to go until the half.
The Wildkats then took the lead on two made free throws by sophomore D.J. Balentine with 3:22 to go in the quarter. The lead was shortlived as Trojan senior Kristian Gayday hit a three-pointer to retake the lead at 26-25. The Kats answered with a free throw from senior Brock Barbary to tie the game at 26-26. From that point on, the Wildkats went on a 5-1 run until Elmhurst's Hall hit a three pointer as the second quarter expired to cut Kokomo's lead to 31-30.
The third quarter had 8 lead changes and three ties as Kokomo outscored Elmhurst 15-14 to take a 46-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Wildkats played their best in the fourth quarter as they increased the lead through excellent play offensively and defensively.
The Trojans took a 49-48 lead at 6:08 to go on two made field goals, but from that point on the Wildkats closed the game with tough play in creating open shots and lay-ups to gradually increase their lead to 10 points with :16 to go at 69-59. The Kats went on to win 71-64.
"The guys executed very well late in the game," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "We had some nice back cuts, layups and some broken plays. The guys did a real good job making plays down the stretch. I'm really proud of them."
For Kokomo's four seniors, T.J. Weir, S.J. Moultrie, Brock Barbary and Braxton Shelton, it was a great way to conclude their senior season.
Kokomo was led by Balentine's 21 points and was joined by Weir and junior Cheyse Swain in double figures with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Swain also led the team in rebounds with 10, including five offensive rebounds.
Elmhurst was led by Hall's 19 points and was joined by seniors Evan Cleveland's 17 points and Kristian Gayday's 12 points.
Kokomo (15-5, 6-1 NCC) next takes the court against conference rival Logansport Berries Friday at 6 p.m. at Memorial Gym in sectional play.
Fort Wayne Elmhurst (14-5) next plays either Fort Wayne-Wayne or Bellmont in the Norwell sectional Friday.
Scores by quarter:
FW-Elmhurst 13 17 14 20 =64
Kokomo 10 21 15 25 =71
Other games Friday:
Eastern 67 (12-8, 2-5 MIC)
Tri-Central 57 (8-12, 3-2 HHC)
Maconaquah 47 (8-12, 2-5 MIC)
Jay County 62 (10-8, 1-2 Olympic)
#2-3A Peru 61 (19-1, 7-0 MIC)
Hamilton Heights 41 (12-7, 4-3 MIC)
Western 61 (13-7, 4-2 MIC)
#4-2A Tipton 72 (17-3, 6-0 Hoosier)
Tuesday (March 2) Sectional games:
Maconaquah at Norwell, 6 p.m.
Tipton at Taylor, 7 p.m.
Twin Lakes v. Western (at Frankfort), 6 p.m.
Wednesday (March 3) Sectional games:
Eastern v. Madison-Grant (at Taylor), 7:30 p.m.
Kats prepare for regional-like game against FW-Elmhust Friday
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010 6:13 pm | Updated: 12:34 pm, Fri Feb 26, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After winning a share of the North Central Conference last week, the Kokomo Wildkats welcome the 3A 9th-ranked Fort Wayne-Elmhurst Trojans in a regional-like match-up 8 p.m. Friday at Memorial Gym on senior night.
The Wildkats are using the game to see where they are heading into the IHSAA tournament.
"It will be a great measuring stick to see where we're at here toward the end of the season and as we go into our sectional," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "Both teams have played competitive schedules and have gotten themselves ready for the tournament. So this will be the last opportunity to make improvements. It will definitely be a great test for us."
Kokomo (14-5, 6-1 NCC) is coming into the game on a five-game winning streak with wins over three NCC opponents, Logansport, Huntington North and Richmond.
Elmhurst (13-4, 7-2 Summit) has won nine out of its last 10 games, including its last win over 4A's 10th ranked Homestead, 65-60.
Like the rest of the season, the winner of game will have to do its best to defend and rebound.
"They are a great offensive rebounding team," McCauley said. "They are a great offensive team. They have great slashers and have a couple shooters. They are just very athletic, so we'll have to really defend and block out and rebound. If we can control those two areas, we'll have a better chance of winning."
Kokomo is going to have to defend senior forward Evan Cleveland, Elmhurst's top scorer. Another Trojan standout is center Antonio Wilson, who is a solid rebounder and a blocking threat.
In Kokomo's last game in a win over Richmond, juniors Cheyse Swain and Parker Salinas combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds.
For Wildkat seniors Brock Barbary, S.J. Moultrie, Braxton Shelton and T.J. Weir, Friday will be their final home game.
Friday will also be the first time the Wildkats and Trojans have met since the 1967-1968 season.
"It's kind of a regional or semi state type of situation where there is not a lot of familiarity between the teams," McCauley said.
Other games Friday:
Eastern (11-8, 2-5 MIC) at Tri-Central (8-11, 3-2 HHC), 7:30 p.m.
Maconaquah (8-11, 2-5 MIC) at Jay County (9-8, 1-2 Olympic), 8 p.m.
#2-3A Peru (18-1, 6-0 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (12-6, 4-2 MIC), 7:30 p.m.
Western (13-6, 4-2 MIC) at #4-2A Tipton (16-3, 6-0 Hoosier), 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday (March 2) Sectional games:
Maconaquah at Norwell, 6 p.m.
Tipton at Taylor, 7 p.m.
Twin Lakes v. Western (at Frankfort), 6 p.m.
Wednesday (March 3) Sectional games:
Eastern v. Madison-Grant (at Taylor), 7:30 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After winning a share of the North Central Conference last week, the Kokomo Wildkats welcome the 3A 9th-ranked Fort Wayne-Elmhurst Trojans in a regional-like match-up 8 p.m. Friday at Memorial Gym on senior night.
The Wildkats are using the game to see where they are heading into the IHSAA tournament.
"It will be a great measuring stick to see where we're at here toward the end of the season and as we go into our sectional," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "Both teams have played competitive schedules and have gotten themselves ready for the tournament. So this will be the last opportunity to make improvements. It will definitely be a great test for us."
Kokomo (14-5, 6-1 NCC) is coming into the game on a five-game winning streak with wins over three NCC opponents, Logansport, Huntington North and Richmond.
Elmhurst (13-4, 7-2 Summit) has won nine out of its last 10 games, including its last win over 4A's 10th ranked Homestead, 65-60.
Like the rest of the season, the winner of game will have to do its best to defend and rebound.
"They are a great offensive rebounding team," McCauley said. "They are a great offensive team. They have great slashers and have a couple shooters. They are just very athletic, so we'll have to really defend and block out and rebound. If we can control those two areas, we'll have a better chance of winning."
Kokomo is going to have to defend senior forward Evan Cleveland, Elmhurst's top scorer. Another Trojan standout is center Antonio Wilson, who is a solid rebounder and a blocking threat.
In Kokomo's last game in a win over Richmond, juniors Cheyse Swain and Parker Salinas combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds.
For Wildkat seniors Brock Barbary, S.J. Moultrie, Braxton Shelton and T.J. Weir, Friday will be their final home game.
Friday will also be the first time the Wildkats and Trojans have met since the 1967-1968 season.
"It's kind of a regional or semi state type of situation where there is not a lot of familiarity between the teams," McCauley said.
Other games Friday:
Eastern (11-8, 2-5 MIC) at Tri-Central (8-11, 3-2 HHC), 7:30 p.m.
Maconaquah (8-11, 2-5 MIC) at Jay County (9-8, 1-2 Olympic), 8 p.m.
#2-3A Peru (18-1, 6-0 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (12-6, 4-2 MIC), 7:30 p.m.
Western (13-6, 4-2 MIC) at #4-2A Tipton (16-3, 6-0 Hoosier), 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday (March 2) Sectional games:
Maconaquah at Norwell, 6 p.m.
Tipton at Taylor, 7 p.m.
Twin Lakes v. Western (at Frankfort), 6 p.m.
Wednesday (March 3) Sectional games:
Eastern v. Madison-Grant (at Taylor), 7:30 p.m.
Northwestern scratches out victory over Eastern
Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 1:00 am | Updated: 1:13 am, Sat Feb 20, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After getting an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter on senior night, the Northwestern Tigers had to scrap in the final seconds to get a victory over the Eastern Comets Friday at Northwestern High School, 54-53.
Northwestern senior Aaron Snoddy scored the first points of the Howard County Tournament rematch and Tigers led the game until Eastern senior Joby Renbarger's gave the Comets a 30-29 lead at 4:22 to go in the third quarter. The lead was short lived as the Tigers scored seven consecutive points to increase its lead to 36-30.
The run ended on Eastern junior Blake Donson's made lay-up off an offensive rebound and made foul shot with 1:35 to go in the third quarter. The Tigers responded with a three-pointer from sophomore Tanner Thomas to close the quarter with a 39-33 lead.
The Tigers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run on two made three-pointers by Thomas and junior Bryan Beachy to give them a 45-34 lead at 6:47 to go in the game. From here, the Comets went on a 16-5 run for the next four minutes to tie the game at 50-50 with a Renbarger field goal at 2:39 to go.
This run may have been déjà vu for the Tigers as they lost a 12-point fourth-quarter lead Wednesday on the way to losing the game, 59-50, but the Tigers did their best to persevere Friday.
"We had that same type of game against Hamilton Heights the other night," Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. "In the third quarter, we were really strong with the basketball and strong mentally and going into the fourth quarter we still have things that we need to work on."
After Northwestern senior Brayden Merrell split at the foul line, the Comets took a 52-51 lead with 2:01 remaining on junior Wes Horner's drive to the hoop, but he could not convert the foul shot.
With 47 seconds to go, Eastern's Horner forced a Northwestern turnover, but as soon as that happened Northwestern sophomore Kylan Dubbels stole the ball back and drove to the basket where he was fouled. Dubbels made both foul shots to give the Tigers a 53-52 lead with 34.4 seconds remaining. The Tigers added another free throw from Merrell with 10.3 seconds to go.
With less than 10 seconds remaining, the Comets appeared to be finished until Renbarger was fouled on the baseline with 1.1 seconds remaining. He had an opportunity to tie the game by making both free throws. Northwestern called a time-out to ice Renbarger, but he made the first foul shot. Northwestern called another time-out and on the second-foul shot Renbarger's shot bounced off the rim and Donson tried to put in the rebound, but it was no good.
"I really praise our kids for battling back down 11 points with 6 minutes to go," Eastern coach Duane Keisling said. "I got to hand it to the kids for pursuing that. Mixing up the defense bothered Northwestern a little bit and I think that's what got the momentum change for us late in the game. "
The Tigers still clawed their way and used the crowd to their advantage late in the game.
"The thing I enjoyed the most is that we switched into three different defenses in about the last 2:14 of the game," Gish said. "In each of those three defenses, the kids followed the rules and game plan put in to place by each defense to a ‘T.' If you are going to do what you are supposed to do, you usually get descent results."
Renbarger's 15 points led Eastern and sophomore Joey Price joined him with 11 points in double-figures.
Treadway's 19 points led Northwestern. Merrell joined him in double-figures with 10 points.
Eastern (9-8, 2-5 MIC) next takes the court at Elwood 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Northwestern's (11-7, 3-4 MIC) next opponent is at 2A no. 4 Tipton 7:30 p.m. Saturday; its fourth game in 10 days.
"We're looking it as an opportunity," Gish said. "Let's pretend like it's the sectional championship. We know Tipton is a really good team and we are going in as the underdog."
On Northwestern senior night, Gish was proud of his four seniors, Brayden Merrell, Raymond Schaaf, Aaron Snoddy and Jared Treadway.
"These four young men are very good basketball players, but they are better people," he said. "They have done such a marvelous job this whole year portraying themselves and the team and Northwestern community in such a positive light. They do things the right way on and off the court."
Scores by quarter:
Eastern 11 13 9 20 =53
Northwestern 16 11 12 15 =54
Other games Friday:
Kokomo 61 (14-5, 6-1 NCC)
Richmond 46 (13-7, 1-6 NCC)
Western 62 (12-6, 5-2 MIC)
Lewis Cass 43 (7-12, 1-6 MIC)
Carroll 40 (9-9, 3-0 HHC)
#16-2A Taylor 55 (12-7, 4-3 MIC)
Maconaquah 52 (7-11, 2-5 MIC)
Hamilton Heights 49 (12-6, 4-2 MIC)
Rochester 52 (12-6, 4-3 TRC)
#2-3A Peru 56 (17-1, 6-0 MIC)
#4-2A Tipton 65 (14-3, 6-0 Hoosier)
Frankfort 55 (8-11, 2-3 Sagamore)
Clinton Prairie 68 (4-14, 1-3 HHC)
Tri-Central 77 (8-10, 3-2 HHC)
Saturday games:
Clinton Central (1-16, 0-5 HHC) at Western (12-6, 5-2 MIC), 7:30
Eastern (9-8, 2-5 MIC) at Elwood (3-16), 7:30
Northwestern (11-7, 3-4 MIC) at #4-2A Tipton (14-3, 6-0 Hoosier), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (12-6, 4-2 MIC) at Madison-Grant (11-5, 5-1 CIC), 7:30
Monday game:
Tri-Central at Maconaquah, 7:30
Tuesday games:
Northwestern at Oak Hill, 7:30
Wabash at Eastern, 7:30
Lewis Cass at #4-2A Tipton, 7:30
#2-3A Peru at North Miami, 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After getting an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter on senior night, the Northwestern Tigers had to scrap in the final seconds to get a victory over the Eastern Comets Friday at Northwestern High School, 54-53.
Northwestern senior Aaron Snoddy scored the first points of the Howard County Tournament rematch and Tigers led the game until Eastern senior Joby Renbarger's gave the Comets a 30-29 lead at 4:22 to go in the third quarter. The lead was short lived as the Tigers scored seven consecutive points to increase its lead to 36-30.
The run ended on Eastern junior Blake Donson's made lay-up off an offensive rebound and made foul shot with 1:35 to go in the third quarter. The Tigers responded with a three-pointer from sophomore Tanner Thomas to close the quarter with a 39-33 lead.
The Tigers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run on two made three-pointers by Thomas and junior Bryan Beachy to give them a 45-34 lead at 6:47 to go in the game. From here, the Comets went on a 16-5 run for the next four minutes to tie the game at 50-50 with a Renbarger field goal at 2:39 to go.
This run may have been déjà vu for the Tigers as they lost a 12-point fourth-quarter lead Wednesday on the way to losing the game, 59-50, but the Tigers did their best to persevere Friday.
"We had that same type of game against Hamilton Heights the other night," Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. "In the third quarter, we were really strong with the basketball and strong mentally and going into the fourth quarter we still have things that we need to work on."
After Northwestern senior Brayden Merrell split at the foul line, the Comets took a 52-51 lead with 2:01 remaining on junior Wes Horner's drive to the hoop, but he could not convert the foul shot.
With 47 seconds to go, Eastern's Horner forced a Northwestern turnover, but as soon as that happened Northwestern sophomore Kylan Dubbels stole the ball back and drove to the basket where he was fouled. Dubbels made both foul shots to give the Tigers a 53-52 lead with 34.4 seconds remaining. The Tigers added another free throw from Merrell with 10.3 seconds to go.
With less than 10 seconds remaining, the Comets appeared to be finished until Renbarger was fouled on the baseline with 1.1 seconds remaining. He had an opportunity to tie the game by making both free throws. Northwestern called a time-out to ice Renbarger, but he made the first foul shot. Northwestern called another time-out and on the second-foul shot Renbarger's shot bounced off the rim and Donson tried to put in the rebound, but it was no good.
"I really praise our kids for battling back down 11 points with 6 minutes to go," Eastern coach Duane Keisling said. "I got to hand it to the kids for pursuing that. Mixing up the defense bothered Northwestern a little bit and I think that's what got the momentum change for us late in the game. "
The Tigers still clawed their way and used the crowd to their advantage late in the game.
"The thing I enjoyed the most is that we switched into three different defenses in about the last 2:14 of the game," Gish said. "In each of those three defenses, the kids followed the rules and game plan put in to place by each defense to a ‘T.' If you are going to do what you are supposed to do, you usually get descent results."
Renbarger's 15 points led Eastern and sophomore Joey Price joined him with 11 points in double-figures.
Treadway's 19 points led Northwestern. Merrell joined him in double-figures with 10 points.
Eastern (9-8, 2-5 MIC) next takes the court at Elwood 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Northwestern's (11-7, 3-4 MIC) next opponent is at 2A no. 4 Tipton 7:30 p.m. Saturday; its fourth game in 10 days.
"We're looking it as an opportunity," Gish said. "Let's pretend like it's the sectional championship. We know Tipton is a really good team and we are going in as the underdog."
On Northwestern senior night, Gish was proud of his four seniors, Brayden Merrell, Raymond Schaaf, Aaron Snoddy and Jared Treadway.
"These four young men are very good basketball players, but they are better people," he said. "They have done such a marvelous job this whole year portraying themselves and the team and Northwestern community in such a positive light. They do things the right way on and off the court."
Scores by quarter:
Eastern 11 13 9 20 =53
Northwestern 16 11 12 15 =54
Other games Friday:
Kokomo 61 (14-5, 6-1 NCC)
Richmond 46 (13-7, 1-6 NCC)
Western 62 (12-6, 5-2 MIC)
Lewis Cass 43 (7-12, 1-6 MIC)
Carroll 40 (9-9, 3-0 HHC)
#16-2A Taylor 55 (12-7, 4-3 MIC)
Maconaquah 52 (7-11, 2-5 MIC)
Hamilton Heights 49 (12-6, 4-2 MIC)
Rochester 52 (12-6, 4-3 TRC)
#2-3A Peru 56 (17-1, 6-0 MIC)
#4-2A Tipton 65 (14-3, 6-0 Hoosier)
Frankfort 55 (8-11, 2-3 Sagamore)
Clinton Prairie 68 (4-14, 1-3 HHC)
Tri-Central 77 (8-10, 3-2 HHC)
Saturday games:
Clinton Central (1-16, 0-5 HHC) at Western (12-6, 5-2 MIC), 7:30
Eastern (9-8, 2-5 MIC) at Elwood (3-16), 7:30
Northwestern (11-7, 3-4 MIC) at #4-2A Tipton (14-3, 6-0 Hoosier), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (12-6, 4-2 MIC) at Madison-Grant (11-5, 5-1 CIC), 7:30
Monday game:
Tri-Central at Maconaquah, 7:30
Tuesday games:
Northwestern at Oak Hill, 7:30
Wabash at Eastern, 7:30
Lewis Cass at #4-2A Tipton, 7:30
#2-3A Peru at North Miami, 7:30
Comets, Tigers meet Friday in county tournament rematch
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2010 8:44 pm
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After losing to the Eastern Comets in the opening game of the Howard County Tournament 60-55, the Northwestern Tigers are looking to even up the season series 7:30 p.m. Friday at Northwestern High School.
"We felt like the last time we played Eastern that it was a pretty even matched-up game," Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. We had a really poor second quarter and took some really poor shots that allowed Eastern to outscore us 20 to 8 in that quarter, a quarter on which we shot 18 percent. We're going to come into the game looking to take good shots, taking care of the basketball and rebounding well."
The Tigers (10-7) and Comets (9-7) are battling in the middle of the pack of the Mid-Indiana Conference with a 2-4 record.
"We're really pleased with the way we're playing right now," Gish said. "We're going into a stretch of games here where we're playing almost 25 percent of our season in about six days. Our schedule is not really light with Peru, Hamilton Heights, Eastern and then turn back around with Tipton. We've got a really tough stretch of games here."
Northwestern, like Eastern, have had many games postponed because of snow and because of that they are each playing an NBA-like schedule until the sectional round begins.
"We feel like we have enough (practice) to go into a game, but it really cuts down in preparation time that you can prepare the kids on what the opponent is going to be doing," Gish said.
The Tigers are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Hamilton Heights Huskies (12-5, 4-1 MIC) Wednesday where they led by 10 points going into the fourth quarter. The Huskies came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run to beat the Tigers 60-56.
The Comets are coming off a 58-52 loss to the Lewis Cass Kings on Feb. 11, where the Kings won its first conference game of the season after starting 0-5.
In the last meeting of the two teams, Eastern senior Joby Renbarger led his team with 14 points and seven rebounds. Also in double-figures scoring were juniors Wes Horner and Blake Donson who scored 13 and 10, respectively.
Senior Jared Treadway's 18 points and nine rebounds led the Tigers. Sophomore Kylan Dubbels added 13 points and senior Brayden Merrell scored 12.
Other games Friday:
Kokomo (13-5, 5-1 NCC) at Richmond (13-6, 1-5 NCC), 7:30
Western (11-6, 4-2 MIC) at Lewis Cass (7-11, 1-5 MIC), 7:30
Carroll (9-8, 3-0 HHC) at #16-2A Taylor (11-7, 4-3 MIC), 7:30
Maconaquah (6-11, 1-5 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (12-5, 4-1 MIC), 7:30
Rochester (12-5, 4-3 TRC) at #2-3A Peru (16-1, 6-0 MIC), 7:30
#4-2A Tipton (13-3, 6-0 Hoosier) at Frankfort (8-10, 2-3 Sagamore), 7:30
Clinton Prairie (4-13, 1-2 HHC) at Tri-Central (7-10, 2-2 HHC), 8:00
Saturday games:
Clinton Central (1-16, 0-5 HHC) at Western (11-6, 4-2 MIC), 7:30
Eastern (9-7, 2-4 MIC) at Elwood (3-15, 1-5 CIC), 7:30
Northwestern (10-7, 2-4 MIC) at #4-2A Tipton (13-3, 6-0 Hoosier), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (12-5, 4-1 MIC) at Madison-Grant (11-5, 5-1 CIC), 7:30
Monday game:
Tri-Central at Maconaquah, 7:30
Tuesday games:
Northwestern at Oak Hill, 7:30
Wabash at Eastern, 7:30
Lewis Cass at #4-2A Tipton, 7:30
#2-3A Peru at North Miami, 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
After losing to the Eastern Comets in the opening game of the Howard County Tournament 60-55, the Northwestern Tigers are looking to even up the season series 7:30 p.m. Friday at Northwestern High School.
"We felt like the last time we played Eastern that it was a pretty even matched-up game," Northwestern coach Jim Gish said. We had a really poor second quarter and took some really poor shots that allowed Eastern to outscore us 20 to 8 in that quarter, a quarter on which we shot 18 percent. We're going to come into the game looking to take good shots, taking care of the basketball and rebounding well."
The Tigers (10-7) and Comets (9-7) are battling in the middle of the pack of the Mid-Indiana Conference with a 2-4 record.
"We're really pleased with the way we're playing right now," Gish said. "We're going into a stretch of games here where we're playing almost 25 percent of our season in about six days. Our schedule is not really light with Peru, Hamilton Heights, Eastern and then turn back around with Tipton. We've got a really tough stretch of games here."
Northwestern, like Eastern, have had many games postponed because of snow and because of that they are each playing an NBA-like schedule until the sectional round begins.
"We feel like we have enough (practice) to go into a game, but it really cuts down in preparation time that you can prepare the kids on what the opponent is going to be doing," Gish said.
The Tigers are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Hamilton Heights Huskies (12-5, 4-1 MIC) Wednesday where they led by 10 points going into the fourth quarter. The Huskies came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run to beat the Tigers 60-56.
The Comets are coming off a 58-52 loss to the Lewis Cass Kings on Feb. 11, where the Kings won its first conference game of the season after starting 0-5.
In the last meeting of the two teams, Eastern senior Joby Renbarger led his team with 14 points and seven rebounds. Also in double-figures scoring were juniors Wes Horner and Blake Donson who scored 13 and 10, respectively.
Senior Jared Treadway's 18 points and nine rebounds led the Tigers. Sophomore Kylan Dubbels added 13 points and senior Brayden Merrell scored 12.
Other games Friday:
Kokomo (13-5, 5-1 NCC) at Richmond (13-6, 1-5 NCC), 7:30
Western (11-6, 4-2 MIC) at Lewis Cass (7-11, 1-5 MIC), 7:30
Carroll (9-8, 3-0 HHC) at #16-2A Taylor (11-7, 4-3 MIC), 7:30
Maconaquah (6-11, 1-5 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (12-5, 4-1 MIC), 7:30
Rochester (12-5, 4-3 TRC) at #2-3A Peru (16-1, 6-0 MIC), 7:30
#4-2A Tipton (13-3, 6-0 Hoosier) at Frankfort (8-10, 2-3 Sagamore), 7:30
Clinton Prairie (4-13, 1-2 HHC) at Tri-Central (7-10, 2-2 HHC), 8:00
Saturday games:
Clinton Central (1-16, 0-5 HHC) at Western (11-6, 4-2 MIC), 7:30
Eastern (9-7, 2-4 MIC) at Elwood (3-15, 1-5 CIC), 7:30
Northwestern (10-7, 2-4 MIC) at #4-2A Tipton (13-3, 6-0 Hoosier), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (12-5, 4-1 MIC) at Madison-Grant (11-5, 5-1 CIC), 7:30
Monday game:
Tri-Central at Maconaquah, 7:30
Tuesday games:
Northwestern at Oak Hill, 7:30
Wabash at Eastern, 7:30
Lewis Cass at #4-2A Tipton, 7:30
#2-3A Peru at North Miami, 7:30
Kats defeat Berries with hot shooting, take lead in NCC
Posted: Thursday, February 11, 2010 11:53 pm | Updated: 12:36 am, Fri Feb 12, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats caught fire from behind the arc late in the second quarter and never looked back as they took first place in the North Central Conference with their victory over the 17th-ranked Logansport Berries 74-60 Thursday at Memorial Gym.
"It was a huge game," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "Anytime you can have a conference opponent come in to your home floor, you really want to take care of business. The guys are really coming together and they are really understanding the significance of each game now and I'm really proud of their effort and they way they finished."
The turning point in the game was at 2:45 to go in the second quarter when Kokomo took a two-point lead at 28-26 with sophomore D.J. Balentine's made basket. Prior to this point in the game there were seven ties and 10 lead changes. Balentine's shot began an 11-0 run by the Wildkats to give them an 11-point lead at the half. The run was keyed by two made three-pointers by Balentine and a three pointer made by senior Brock Barbary.
The Kats shot 65 percent from the field in the first half on 15/23 shooting including 7/10 from three-point range.
The Kats continued their scoring and picked up on the defensive end to increase their lead in the third quarter. The quarter began with the Kats scoring ten points before Logansport scored their second field goal of the frame. Kokomo finished the quarter up on Logansport 50-36.
The Berries gradually made it a closer game in the fourth quarter as they got as close as seven points (57-50) with 3:46 remaining, but the Kats increased their lead from the foul line and by taking good shots to increase their lead. Logansport senior Garrett Baldini scored the final field goal of the game from three-point range with nine seconds to go to cut Kokomo lead to 14 points as Kokomo went on to win 74-60.
With a win next week over Huntington North, Kokomo has a shot to win the conference title as Muncie Central (9-8, 2-3 NCC) defeated Anderson (9-7, 3-2 NCC) Thursday. Kokomo is now in a conference tie with New Castle (13-2, 4-1 NCC) as they defeated Richmond (12-5, 1-4 NCC) Friday.
"It makes the Huntington North game the championship game for us and that's what we wanted to do. Our balance offensively is just tremendous," he said.
Kokomo targeted its defense on Logansport senior Nathan Champion, an Indiana All-Star candidate. Champion finished with 18 points on 6 of 21 shooting, including 2/8 from three-point range.
"Our guys did a good job on understanding that Nate Champion is an outstanding player and they knew where he was at all times," McCauley said.
Kokomo (12-5, 4-1 NCC) finished with four players in double-figures scoring. They were led by Barbary's season-high 24 points and he was joined by Balentine's 15, junior Parker Salinas' 13 and senior T.J. Weir scored 12.
Logansport (13-3, 3-2 NCC) had two players in double figures. Champion led the Berries with 18 and freshman Antonio Penny scored 11.
For the game, Kokomo shot 55 percent from the floor as Logansport shot at 37 percent.
Kokomo out-rebounded Logansport 40 to 26 and each team had 11 offensive rebounds.
Kokomo could play Logansport again at the Kokomo sectional in a couple weeks.
The Wildkats next take the court at Huntington North on Feb. 16 at 7:45 p.m. in a make-up game. The Berries host Muncie Central on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Scores by quarter:
Logansport 18 8 10 24
Kokomo 18 19 13 24
Other games Thursday:
Eastern 52 (9-7, 2-4 MIC)
Lewis Cass 58 (6-11, 1-5 MIC)
#15-2A Taylor 51 (11-5, 4-2 MIC)
Maconaquah 46 (6-9, 1-5 MIC)
Northwestern (10-5, 2-2 MIC) at #2-3A Peru (15-1, 5-0 MIC), ppd to Feb. 13
Saturday games:
Lewis Cass (6-11, 1-5 MIC) at Wabash (2-15), 2:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Pioneer (7-9), 7:30
Northwestern (10-5, 2-2 MIC) at #2-3A Peru (15-1, 5-0 MIC), 2:30
Upcoming games- Tuesday:
Western at Taylor, 7:30
Northwestern at Hamilton Heights, 7:30
Northfield at Maconaquah, 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats caught fire from behind the arc late in the second quarter and never looked back as they took first place in the North Central Conference with their victory over the 17th-ranked Logansport Berries 74-60 Thursday at Memorial Gym.
"It was a huge game," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "Anytime you can have a conference opponent come in to your home floor, you really want to take care of business. The guys are really coming together and they are really understanding the significance of each game now and I'm really proud of their effort and they way they finished."
The turning point in the game was at 2:45 to go in the second quarter when Kokomo took a two-point lead at 28-26 with sophomore D.J. Balentine's made basket. Prior to this point in the game there were seven ties and 10 lead changes. Balentine's shot began an 11-0 run by the Wildkats to give them an 11-point lead at the half. The run was keyed by two made three-pointers by Balentine and a three pointer made by senior Brock Barbary.
The Kats shot 65 percent from the field in the first half on 15/23 shooting including 7/10 from three-point range.
The Kats continued their scoring and picked up on the defensive end to increase their lead in the third quarter. The quarter began with the Kats scoring ten points before Logansport scored their second field goal of the frame. Kokomo finished the quarter up on Logansport 50-36.
The Berries gradually made it a closer game in the fourth quarter as they got as close as seven points (57-50) with 3:46 remaining, but the Kats increased their lead from the foul line and by taking good shots to increase their lead. Logansport senior Garrett Baldini scored the final field goal of the game from three-point range with nine seconds to go to cut Kokomo lead to 14 points as Kokomo went on to win 74-60.
With a win next week over Huntington North, Kokomo has a shot to win the conference title as Muncie Central (9-8, 2-3 NCC) defeated Anderson (9-7, 3-2 NCC) Thursday. Kokomo is now in a conference tie with New Castle (13-2, 4-1 NCC) as they defeated Richmond (12-5, 1-4 NCC) Friday.
"It makes the Huntington North game the championship game for us and that's what we wanted to do. Our balance offensively is just tremendous," he said.
Kokomo targeted its defense on Logansport senior Nathan Champion, an Indiana All-Star candidate. Champion finished with 18 points on 6 of 21 shooting, including 2/8 from three-point range.
"Our guys did a good job on understanding that Nate Champion is an outstanding player and they knew where he was at all times," McCauley said.
Kokomo (12-5, 4-1 NCC) finished with four players in double-figures scoring. They were led by Barbary's season-high 24 points and he was joined by Balentine's 15, junior Parker Salinas' 13 and senior T.J. Weir scored 12.
Logansport (13-3, 3-2 NCC) had two players in double figures. Champion led the Berries with 18 and freshman Antonio Penny scored 11.
For the game, Kokomo shot 55 percent from the floor as Logansport shot at 37 percent.
Kokomo out-rebounded Logansport 40 to 26 and each team had 11 offensive rebounds.
Kokomo could play Logansport again at the Kokomo sectional in a couple weeks.
The Wildkats next take the court at Huntington North on Feb. 16 at 7:45 p.m. in a make-up game. The Berries host Muncie Central on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Scores by quarter:
Logansport 18 8 10 24
Kokomo 18 19 13 24
Other games Thursday:
Eastern 52 (9-7, 2-4 MIC)
Lewis Cass 58 (6-11, 1-5 MIC)
#15-2A Taylor 51 (11-5, 4-2 MIC)
Maconaquah 46 (6-9, 1-5 MIC)
Northwestern (10-5, 2-2 MIC) at #2-3A Peru (15-1, 5-0 MIC), ppd to Feb. 13
Saturday games:
Lewis Cass (6-11, 1-5 MIC) at Wabash (2-15), 2:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Pioneer (7-9), 7:30
Northwestern (10-5, 2-2 MIC) at #2-3A Peru (15-1, 5-0 MIC), 2:30
Upcoming games- Tuesday:
Western at Taylor, 7:30
Northwestern at Hamilton Heights, 7:30
Northfield at Maconaquah, 7:30
Kats aim for conference lead Thursday against Berries
Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 4:00 pm
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats welcome the 17th-ranked Logansport Berries to Memorial Gym 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a game that could come a long way in deciding the North Central Conference championship.
Currently there is a four-way tie for the conference lead between Logansport, Kokomo, New Castle and Anderson, which all have 3-1 NCC records.
"This week is the biggest game of the year," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "Both teams are competing for the North Central Conference championship. Obviously they want to win it to solidify their position and we want to do the same."
The Berries (13-2, 3-1 NCC) travel to Kokomo (11-5, 3-1 NCC) after losing at New Castle 58-65 on Jan. 29. Prior to that loss, Logansport had been on a nine-game winning streak, including wins at Anderson, McCutcheon, at Western and at Marion. Also for their first win on the season, the Berries defeated Peru to give class 3A's second-ranked team its only loss.
Kokomo began the season hot as it got wins over Muncie Central, Marion and Lafayette Jeff. As of late, the team has gotten victories over Tipton, Harrison and Lebanon.
Logansport is led by senior Nathan Champion, an Indiana all-star candidate. In his last game in a loss to New Castle, he scored a team-high 23 points.
Champion is joined by a tough supporting cast of Jared Jennings, Jordan McGuire, Tyler Raisor, Nick Winstein and Antonio Penny.
"They all do a very good job of complimenting him well," said McCauley. "I think team defense is going to be crucial. For us, continuing to play well offensively and playing together and moving the basketball are going to be important keys."
The Wildkats have also been playing team basketball. In their win over Lebanon Saturday, Kokomo had a season high in assists with 16. Sophomore D. J. Balentine led the Kats with 19 points and junior Parker Salinas added 16 points in the victory.
"Hopefully we can continue off our momentum and keep building toward this North Central Conference race and hope we are playing our best as we go into the sectional," he said.
Other games Thursday:
Eastern (9-6, 2-3 MIC) at Lewis Cass (5-11, 0-5 MIC), 7:30
#15-2A Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) at Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC), 7:30
Northwestern (10-5, 2-2 MIC) at #2-3A Peru (15-1, 5-0 MIC), 7:30
Upcoming games- Saturday:
Lewis Cass (5-11, 0-5 MIC) at Wabash (2-14), 2:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Pioneer (7-9), 7:30
Upcoming games- Tuesday:
Western at Taylor, 7:30
Northwestern at Hamilton Heights, 7:30
Northfield at Maconaquah, 7:30
Tuesday (Feb. 9) game finals:
Eastern (9-6, 2-3 MIC) at Elwood (2-14), postponed to Feb. 20 at 7:30
Wednesday (Feb. 10) game finals:
Hamilton Heights (11-5, 3-1 MIC) at Madison-Grant (11-4), postponed
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
The Kokomo Wildkats welcome the 17th-ranked Logansport Berries to Memorial Gym 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a game that could come a long way in deciding the North Central Conference championship.
Currently there is a four-way tie for the conference lead between Logansport, Kokomo, New Castle and Anderson, which all have 3-1 NCC records.
"This week is the biggest game of the year," Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. "Both teams are competing for the North Central Conference championship. Obviously they want to win it to solidify their position and we want to do the same."
The Berries (13-2, 3-1 NCC) travel to Kokomo (11-5, 3-1 NCC) after losing at New Castle 58-65 on Jan. 29. Prior to that loss, Logansport had been on a nine-game winning streak, including wins at Anderson, McCutcheon, at Western and at Marion. Also for their first win on the season, the Berries defeated Peru to give class 3A's second-ranked team its only loss.
Kokomo began the season hot as it got wins over Muncie Central, Marion and Lafayette Jeff. As of late, the team has gotten victories over Tipton, Harrison and Lebanon.
Logansport is led by senior Nathan Champion, an Indiana all-star candidate. In his last game in a loss to New Castle, he scored a team-high 23 points.
Champion is joined by a tough supporting cast of Jared Jennings, Jordan McGuire, Tyler Raisor, Nick Winstein and Antonio Penny.
"They all do a very good job of complimenting him well," said McCauley. "I think team defense is going to be crucial. For us, continuing to play well offensively and playing together and moving the basketball are going to be important keys."
The Wildkats have also been playing team basketball. In their win over Lebanon Saturday, Kokomo had a season high in assists with 16. Sophomore D. J. Balentine led the Kats with 19 points and junior Parker Salinas added 16 points in the victory.
"Hopefully we can continue off our momentum and keep building toward this North Central Conference race and hope we are playing our best as we go into the sectional," he said.
Other games Thursday:
Eastern (9-6, 2-3 MIC) at Lewis Cass (5-11, 0-5 MIC), 7:30
#15-2A Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) at Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC), 7:30
Northwestern (10-5, 2-2 MIC) at #2-3A Peru (15-1, 5-0 MIC), 7:30
Upcoming games- Saturday:
Lewis Cass (5-11, 0-5 MIC) at Wabash (2-14), 2:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Pioneer (7-9), 7:30
Upcoming games- Tuesday:
Western at Taylor, 7:30
Northwestern at Hamilton Heights, 7:30
Northfield at Maconaquah, 7:30
Tuesday (Feb. 9) game finals:
Eastern (9-6, 2-3 MIC) at Elwood (2-14), postponed to Feb. 20 at 7:30
Wednesday (Feb. 10) game finals:
Hamilton Heights (11-5, 3-1 MIC) at Madison-Grant (11-4), postponed
Western looks to avenge tournament loss to Taylor in conference fight Friday
Posted: Thursday, February 4, 2010 9:45 pm | Updated: 4:40 pm, Fri Feb 5, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
(The Western at Taylor game has been postponed to a later date. To see other area basketball postponements, click here.)
For the second time this season, the Western Panthers travel to face the Taylor Titans at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a pivotal Mid-Indiana Conference battle.
The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 15 at the Howard County Tournament where the winner would advance to the tournament championship. In that game, the Titans defeated the Panthers 75-67 reroute to defeating Eastern for the championship.
"(Western) is going to be loaded and ready for a little revenge and we have to step up the challenge," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said.
Like Western (9-6, 2-2 MIC), Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) has won three out of their last four games. The one loss for both teams has been to 3A second-ranked Peru. Those two losses to Peru have been two of Peru's toughest games on their 12-game winning streak.
"Our toughness has gotten better," Fisher said. "Hopefully that will continue to get better."
The key to the game may be rebounding.
"(Western is) a little more physical than we are," Fisher said. "They generate some offense through offensive rebounding."
Both Western and Taylor have been playing with a balanced-scoring offense. Western's Drew Larrick, Jamal Johnson and Matt Reida have consistently been averaging near double-figures scoring and on any given night another player could step up to play a pivotal role in a game. The same is with Taylor. The Titans have seen great games from Reomey Northington, Drake Herr, Seth Vautaw and Cody Hinton.
Throughout the season for Western, they have played different styles depending on the situation and they are comfortable with that, Western coach Andy Weaver said. The Panthers have scored between 41 points last week against Peru and 85 points against Tri-Central, the week before.
Other games Friday:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Huntington North (4-11, 1-3 NCC), 7:45
Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC) at Elwood (2-14), 7:30
Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
#2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC) at Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC), 7:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC), 7:30
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Lebanon (9-6), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-9) at Western (9-6, 3-2 MIC), 7:30
#15-2A Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
Southwood (8-4) at Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Oak Hill (4-10) at Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC), 7:30
Tri-Central (6-9) at Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC), 7:30
Manchester (2-13) at #2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC), 7:30
Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC) at Winamac (3-10), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC) at Westfield (9-5), 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
(The Western at Taylor game has been postponed to a later date. To see other area basketball postponements, click here.)
For the second time this season, the Western Panthers travel to face the Taylor Titans at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a pivotal Mid-Indiana Conference battle.
The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 15 at the Howard County Tournament where the winner would advance to the tournament championship. In that game, the Titans defeated the Panthers 75-67 reroute to defeating Eastern for the championship.
"(Western) is going to be loaded and ready for a little revenge and we have to step up the challenge," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said.
Like Western (9-6, 2-2 MIC), Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) has won three out of their last four games. The one loss for both teams has been to 3A second-ranked Peru. Those two losses to Peru have been two of Peru's toughest games on their 12-game winning streak.
"Our toughness has gotten better," Fisher said. "Hopefully that will continue to get better."
The key to the game may be rebounding.
"(Western is) a little more physical than we are," Fisher said. "They generate some offense through offensive rebounding."
Both Western and Taylor have been playing with a balanced-scoring offense. Western's Drew Larrick, Jamal Johnson and Matt Reida have consistently been averaging near double-figures scoring and on any given night another player could step up to play a pivotal role in a game. The same is with Taylor. The Titans have seen great games from Reomey Northington, Drake Herr, Seth Vautaw and Cody Hinton.
Throughout the season for Western, they have played different styles depending on the situation and they are comfortable with that, Western coach Andy Weaver said. The Panthers have scored between 41 points last week against Peru and 85 points against Tri-Central, the week before.
Other games Friday:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Huntington North (4-11, 1-3 NCC), 7:45
Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC) at Elwood (2-14), 7:30
Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
#2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC) at Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC), 7:30
Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC) at Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC), 7:30
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (10-5, 3-1 NCC) at Lebanon (9-6), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-9) at Western (9-6, 3-2 MIC), 7:30
#15-2A Taylor (10-5, 3-2 MIC) at #6-2A Tipton (10-3), 7:30
Southwood (8-4) at Northwestern (9-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Oak Hill (4-10) at Eastern (8-6, 2-3 MIC), 7:30
Tri-Central (6-9) at Maconaquah (6-8, 1-4 MIC), 7:30
Manchester (2-13) at #2-3A Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC), 7:30
Lewis Cass (4-10, 0-4 MIC) at Winamac (3-10), 7:30
Hamilton Heights (11-4, 3-1 MIC) at Westfield (9-5), 7:30
Peru outlasts Western in physical conference battle
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010 12:40 am | Updated: 2:32 am, Sat Jan 30, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
PERU - It had a feel of a championship game. In a way, it could have been. It was physical and each team was not about to quit.
The Western Panthers came into Friday's game against the 3A second-ranked Peru Tigers on a three-game winning streak and only a game behind the Tigers in the Mid-Indiana Conference standings. The Peru Tigers have not seen a loss since November and were on an 11-game winning streak. If that was not enough, the Panthers also faced a hostile crowd.
The match-up sure did not disappoint, as the game was tight throughout as Peru made the crucial stops late in the fourth quarter to defeat Western, 50-41.
"The championship (atmosphere) was the Mid-Indiana Conference," said Peru coach Eric Thompson. "(Western was) playing hard and they wanted it bad. We were playing hard and we wanted it badly. The winner got to be in first place. The loser had to drop down a notch and they're tough. Coach Weaver is a very good coach, one of the best and he does a great job with his kids."
On the way to the victory for Peru, it was a physical battle from the start to the very end as both Peru's coach Eric Thompson and Western's coach Andy Weaver became heated with each other in front of the scorer's bench after an accidental Western take-down on a rebound attempt with seconds remaining. Following the game, both coaches made amends.
As the score was 6-4 in favor of the Tigers, Peru's senior Justin Engel stole the ball from the Panthers and drove to the basket only to be called for an offensive foul at 4:33 to go in the first quarter. This was only the beginning. Throughout the quarter, the Panthers and Tigers kept trading baskets, as the largest lead was four points when Peru was up 4-0 early.
One thing that Peru did at the conclusion of each quarter was to close them strong. Tigers' junior Taylor Smith hit a three-pointer with 44 seconds remaining and ended the quarter as Western's senior Jamal Johnson was called for a charging foul with 27 seconds remaining. The Tigers led after one quarter, 13-11.
The Panthers began the second quarter on a 6-0 run until Peru senior Terry Smith ended the Tiger drought with 4 minutes to go until the half. Western continued its second-quarter scoring run to 10-4 with 1:27 to go when junior Drew Larrick received an inbounds pass under the basket to score a quick lay-up. The Tigers quickly responded with a three-pointer from Terry Smith to cut Western's lead to 21-20. The quarter ended similar to the first quarter as Western junior Clay O'Neal was called for a charging foul with 3.7 seconds remaining. The Panthers led at the half, 21-20.
The third quarter was full of responses. The Tigers began the quarter on a 4-2 run and then junior Wes Zimmerman scored a three-point basket at 6:20 to go bringing the score to 27-23 Peru. Western's Johnson responded with a three-pointer and after the Tigers failed to score on their end, Western junior Brandon Larrick scored a lay-up and added a foul shot to give the Panthers a 29-27 lead with 5:05 to go. Peru's Terry Smith quickly scored a three-pointer to give the Tigers the lead again and less than 10 seconds later, Western's Johnson responded with another three-pointer to give the Panthers the lead again. As both teams fought, Peru finished the quarter on an 8-2 run, including a three-pointer in the corner by Taylor Smith at the quarter buzzer to give the Tigers a 40-34 lead after three quarters.
The Panthers quickly brought the game to a one-point deficit with 6:28 to play in the game. Peru's Zimmerman then made a three-pointer to increase the Tiger lead to four points. After Peru's Travis Smith stole the ball from Western with 5:12 to go, the Tigers' Terry Smith held the ball for 2 minutes, as the Panthers were content at slowing the game down. When Western senior Matt Reida began to guard Smith, the Tigers called a time-out. After the time-out, the Tigers held the ball again and then played keep away from Western until a Western sophomore John Capps fouled Peru's Travis Smith at 1:39 to go.
"We're the underdog on the road against a senior-laden team on their home court so we shortened the game," Western coach Andy Weaver said. "We got the ball back at four (points down) and unfortunately we didn't execute, but I don't regret that decision at all."
After a confrontational finish to the game, the Tigers defeated the Panthers 50-41 to give them a two-game lead in the Mid-Indiana Conference.
"It's up to the referees to dictate how the game is going to be played," Thompson said. "The kids are going to play as hard as they are going to allow them, especially on Coach Weaver's team and my team. Our kids play very hard. The referees allowed the game to be physical."
Western out-rebounded Peru 26-20 in the physical contest and the Panthers out-fouled the Tigers, especially in the second half with 13 to Peru's 2, to give Peru a 16-1 advantage in free-throw attempts.
"We would have loved to have won this game, but we battled and we'll move on," Weaver said. "I'm happy with our team's competitiveness."
Western's Drew Larrick led the Panthers in scoring with 12 as five of his teammates also scored.
Peru's Terry Smith finished with a game-high 21 points and Zimmerman scored 11 as he surpassed the 1,000-point barrier after making a three-pointer with 6:09 to go in the fourth quarter to bring his career total to 1,001 points.
Western (9-6, 3-2 MIC) next plays at conference-foe Taylor (9-5, 3-2 MIC) Friday at 7:30 p.m. Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC) travels to conference-foe Lewis Cass (3-10, 0-4 MIC) Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Peru coach Thompson is proud of the way his team has battled the past two games with hard-fought wins over Taylor and now Western.
"We need to play teams like this and I am just real proud of our mental focus and we're going to get it at Cass, the next night (against Manchester) and the next week as Northwestern will be coming here. We just got to be ready. It's going to help us get prepared for the sectional against some tough teams we have in that."
Scores by quarter:
Western 11 10 13 7 =41
Peru 13 7 20 10 =50
Other games Friday:
Anderson 57 (8-6, 3-1 NCC), Kokomo 52 (9-5, 3-1 NCC)
#15-2A Taylor 57 (9-5, 3-2 MIC), Eastern 36 (8-5, 2-3 MIC)
Northwestern 56 (8-5, 2-2 MIC), Carroll 55 (7-6, 2-0 HHC), 7:30
Hamilton Heights 64 (11-4, 3-1 MIC), #6-2A Tipton 57 (8-3, 5-0 Hoosier)
Maconaquah 59 (5-8, 1-3 MIC), Lewis Cass 48 (3-10, 0-4 MIC)
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (9-5, 3-1 NCC) at Harrison (7-7)
Madison-Grant (11-3) at #15-2A Taylor (9-5, 3-2 MIC), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-8) at Northwestern (8-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
#6-2A Tipton (8-3, 5-0 Hoosier) at Eastern (8-5, 2-3 MIC), 7:30
Clinton Central (1-10, 0-2 HHC) at Lewis Cass (3-10, 0-4 MIC), 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
PERU - It had a feel of a championship game. In a way, it could have been. It was physical and each team was not about to quit.
The Western Panthers came into Friday's game against the 3A second-ranked Peru Tigers on a three-game winning streak and only a game behind the Tigers in the Mid-Indiana Conference standings. The Peru Tigers have not seen a loss since November and were on an 11-game winning streak. If that was not enough, the Panthers also faced a hostile crowd.
The match-up sure did not disappoint, as the game was tight throughout as Peru made the crucial stops late in the fourth quarter to defeat Western, 50-41.
"The championship (atmosphere) was the Mid-Indiana Conference," said Peru coach Eric Thompson. "(Western was) playing hard and they wanted it bad. We were playing hard and we wanted it badly. The winner got to be in first place. The loser had to drop down a notch and they're tough. Coach Weaver is a very good coach, one of the best and he does a great job with his kids."
On the way to the victory for Peru, it was a physical battle from the start to the very end as both Peru's coach Eric Thompson and Western's coach Andy Weaver became heated with each other in front of the scorer's bench after an accidental Western take-down on a rebound attempt with seconds remaining. Following the game, both coaches made amends.
As the score was 6-4 in favor of the Tigers, Peru's senior Justin Engel stole the ball from the Panthers and drove to the basket only to be called for an offensive foul at 4:33 to go in the first quarter. This was only the beginning. Throughout the quarter, the Panthers and Tigers kept trading baskets, as the largest lead was four points when Peru was up 4-0 early.
One thing that Peru did at the conclusion of each quarter was to close them strong. Tigers' junior Taylor Smith hit a three-pointer with 44 seconds remaining and ended the quarter as Western's senior Jamal Johnson was called for a charging foul with 27 seconds remaining. The Tigers led after one quarter, 13-11.
The Panthers began the second quarter on a 6-0 run until Peru senior Terry Smith ended the Tiger drought with 4 minutes to go until the half. Western continued its second-quarter scoring run to 10-4 with 1:27 to go when junior Drew Larrick received an inbounds pass under the basket to score a quick lay-up. The Tigers quickly responded with a three-pointer from Terry Smith to cut Western's lead to 21-20. The quarter ended similar to the first quarter as Western junior Clay O'Neal was called for a charging foul with 3.7 seconds remaining. The Panthers led at the half, 21-20.
The third quarter was full of responses. The Tigers began the quarter on a 4-2 run and then junior Wes Zimmerman scored a three-point basket at 6:20 to go bringing the score to 27-23 Peru. Western's Johnson responded with a three-pointer and after the Tigers failed to score on their end, Western junior Brandon Larrick scored a lay-up and added a foul shot to give the Panthers a 29-27 lead with 5:05 to go. Peru's Terry Smith quickly scored a three-pointer to give the Tigers the lead again and less than 10 seconds later, Western's Johnson responded with another three-pointer to give the Panthers the lead again. As both teams fought, Peru finished the quarter on an 8-2 run, including a three-pointer in the corner by Taylor Smith at the quarter buzzer to give the Tigers a 40-34 lead after three quarters.
The Panthers quickly brought the game to a one-point deficit with 6:28 to play in the game. Peru's Zimmerman then made a three-pointer to increase the Tiger lead to four points. After Peru's Travis Smith stole the ball from Western with 5:12 to go, the Tigers' Terry Smith held the ball for 2 minutes, as the Panthers were content at slowing the game down. When Western senior Matt Reida began to guard Smith, the Tigers called a time-out. After the time-out, the Tigers held the ball again and then played keep away from Western until a Western sophomore John Capps fouled Peru's Travis Smith at 1:39 to go.
"We're the underdog on the road against a senior-laden team on their home court so we shortened the game," Western coach Andy Weaver said. "We got the ball back at four (points down) and unfortunately we didn't execute, but I don't regret that decision at all."
After a confrontational finish to the game, the Tigers defeated the Panthers 50-41 to give them a two-game lead in the Mid-Indiana Conference.
"It's up to the referees to dictate how the game is going to be played," Thompson said. "The kids are going to play as hard as they are going to allow them, especially on Coach Weaver's team and my team. Our kids play very hard. The referees allowed the game to be physical."
Western out-rebounded Peru 26-20 in the physical contest and the Panthers out-fouled the Tigers, especially in the second half with 13 to Peru's 2, to give Peru a 16-1 advantage in free-throw attempts.
"We would have loved to have won this game, but we battled and we'll move on," Weaver said. "I'm happy with our team's competitiveness."
Western's Drew Larrick led the Panthers in scoring with 12 as five of his teammates also scored.
Peru's Terry Smith finished with a game-high 21 points and Zimmerman scored 11 as he surpassed the 1,000-point barrier after making a three-pointer with 6:09 to go in the fourth quarter to bring his career total to 1,001 points.
Western (9-6, 3-2 MIC) next plays at conference-foe Taylor (9-5, 3-2 MIC) Friday at 7:30 p.m. Peru (13-1, 4-0 MIC) travels to conference-foe Lewis Cass (3-10, 0-4 MIC) Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Peru coach Thompson is proud of the way his team has battled the past two games with hard-fought wins over Taylor and now Western.
"We need to play teams like this and I am just real proud of our mental focus and we're going to get it at Cass, the next night (against Manchester) and the next week as Northwestern will be coming here. We just got to be ready. It's going to help us get prepared for the sectional against some tough teams we have in that."
Scores by quarter:
Western 11 10 13 7 =41
Peru 13 7 20 10 =50
Other games Friday:
Anderson 57 (8-6, 3-1 NCC), Kokomo 52 (9-5, 3-1 NCC)
#15-2A Taylor 57 (9-5, 3-2 MIC), Eastern 36 (8-5, 2-3 MIC)
Northwestern 56 (8-5, 2-2 MIC), Carroll 55 (7-6, 2-0 HHC), 7:30
Hamilton Heights 64 (11-4, 3-1 MIC), #6-2A Tipton 57 (8-3, 5-0 Hoosier)
Maconaquah 59 (5-8, 1-3 MIC), Lewis Cass 48 (3-10, 0-4 MIC)
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (9-5, 3-1 NCC) at Harrison (7-7)
Madison-Grant (11-3) at #15-2A Taylor (9-5, 3-2 MIC), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-8) at Northwestern (8-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
#6-2A Tipton (8-3, 5-0 Hoosier) at Eastern (8-5, 2-3 MIC), 7:30
Clinton Central (1-10, 0-2 HHC) at Lewis Cass (3-10, 0-4 MIC), 7:30
Western travels to Peru Friday in battle of conference leaders
Posted: Thursday, January 28, 2010 5:00 pm | Updated: 4:51 pm, Thu Jan 28, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
For the second-straight week, the 3A second-ranked Peru High School Tigers (12-1, 3-0 MIC) will be tested for the Mid-Indiana Conference lead as they welcome the Western High School Panthers (9-5, 3-1 MIC) to their home court 7:30 p.m. Friday.
"This game is critical for us in terms on getting a MIC championship," Western coach Andy Weaver said. "We obviously want to retain the title."
Even with a tough game like this, it could be beneficial for both teams as tournament time is around the corner.
"If you're going to do well during tournament time, you've got to have games like this during the season," Weaver said.
The Panthers are coming into Peru on a three-game winning streak with wins over Northwestern, Maconaquah and Tri-Central where they had to play different styles of basketball, Weaver said, to get those wins. Western scored 70, 55 and 85 in each of those games, respectively, to get those wins.
Coming into this game, the Panthers are comfortable at playing different styles, Weavers said. But the Panthers do have a focus on what to do against the Tigers.
"We've got to defend in the post (Friday) night and rebound," Weaver said. "Those are things that we are going to try to do."
In Peru's last win, the Tigers' defense disrupted the Taylor Titans from the mid-point of the second quarter to the end of the game at the post and rebounding. At halftime of that game, the Titans had a 27-24 lead. The Tigers allowed only 9 points in the second half as they defeated the Titans 50-36. The Titans had only one offensive rebound in the game.
"(Peru is) a veteran group and is very defensively oriented," he said. "They go after the basketball when it's loose. We have to rebound because they are relentless on the glass. Rebounding and being strong with the ball are very huge keys."
The Tigers are on an 11-game winning streak, but they only have a one-game lead in the conference over Western and Hamilton Heights in the loss column. A Peru win may give the team a commanding lead, but a Peru loss opens the door to the rest of the conference.
"Our conference is pretty good from top to bottom," Weaver said. "I'm sure everybody is picking Peru over us, but you have to play the game."
Western has had balanced scoring throughout the season. The only Achilles heal on the team has been its free-throw shooting. In recent games, Western junior Drew Larrick has scored a career-high 27 points against Maconaquah and 25 points against Tri-Central. Other stand-outs in scoring have been seniors Jamal Johnson and Matt Reida.
In Peru's win over Taylor, senior Terry Smith scored 15 points, senior Wes Zimmerman scored 13 and junior Taylor Smith scored 11.
Last season when the two teams met, Peru had two losses coming into the match-up at Western, which had six losses. Western defeated Peru 57-52 and for Friday's match-up, the Tigers may be looking at some revenge on the Panthers on top of trying to keep the conference lead.
Other games Friday:
Anderson (7-6, 2-1 NCC) at Kokomo (9-4, 3-0 NCC), 8 p.m
#15-2A Taylor (8-5, 2-2 MIC) at Eastern (8-4, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Northwestern (7-5, 2-2 MIC) at Carroll (7-5, 2-0 HHC), 7:30
#6-2A Tipton (8-2, 5-0 Hoosier) at Hamilton Heights (10-4, 3-1 MIC), 7:30
Lewis Cass (3-9, 0-3 MIC) at Maconaquah (4-8, 0-3 MIC), 7:30
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (9-4, 3-0 NCC) at Harrison (7-6, 1-4 HCC), 7:30
Madison-Grant (10-3, 4-1 CIC) at #15-2A Taylor (8-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-7, 1-2 Hoosier) at Northwestern (7-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
#6-2A Tipton (8-2, 5-0 Hoosier) at Eastern (8-4, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Clinton Central (1-10, 0-2 HHC) at Lewis Cass (3-9, 0-3 MIC), 7:30
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
For the second-straight week, the 3A second-ranked Peru High School Tigers (12-1, 3-0 MIC) will be tested for the Mid-Indiana Conference lead as they welcome the Western High School Panthers (9-5, 3-1 MIC) to their home court 7:30 p.m. Friday.
"This game is critical for us in terms on getting a MIC championship," Western coach Andy Weaver said. "We obviously want to retain the title."
Even with a tough game like this, it could be beneficial for both teams as tournament time is around the corner.
"If you're going to do well during tournament time, you've got to have games like this during the season," Weaver said.
The Panthers are coming into Peru on a three-game winning streak with wins over Northwestern, Maconaquah and Tri-Central where they had to play different styles of basketball, Weaver said, to get those wins. Western scored 70, 55 and 85 in each of those games, respectively, to get those wins.
Coming into this game, the Panthers are comfortable at playing different styles, Weavers said. But the Panthers do have a focus on what to do against the Tigers.
"We've got to defend in the post (Friday) night and rebound," Weaver said. "Those are things that we are going to try to do."
In Peru's last win, the Tigers' defense disrupted the Taylor Titans from the mid-point of the second quarter to the end of the game at the post and rebounding. At halftime of that game, the Titans had a 27-24 lead. The Tigers allowed only 9 points in the second half as they defeated the Titans 50-36. The Titans had only one offensive rebound in the game.
"(Peru is) a veteran group and is very defensively oriented," he said. "They go after the basketball when it's loose. We have to rebound because they are relentless on the glass. Rebounding and being strong with the ball are very huge keys."
The Tigers are on an 11-game winning streak, but they only have a one-game lead in the conference over Western and Hamilton Heights in the loss column. A Peru win may give the team a commanding lead, but a Peru loss opens the door to the rest of the conference.
"Our conference is pretty good from top to bottom," Weaver said. "I'm sure everybody is picking Peru over us, but you have to play the game."
Western has had balanced scoring throughout the season. The only Achilles heal on the team has been its free-throw shooting. In recent games, Western junior Drew Larrick has scored a career-high 27 points against Maconaquah and 25 points against Tri-Central. Other stand-outs in scoring have been seniors Jamal Johnson and Matt Reida.
In Peru's win over Taylor, senior Terry Smith scored 15 points, senior Wes Zimmerman scored 13 and junior Taylor Smith scored 11.
Last season when the two teams met, Peru had two losses coming into the match-up at Western, which had six losses. Western defeated Peru 57-52 and for Friday's match-up, the Tigers may be looking at some revenge on the Panthers on top of trying to keep the conference lead.
Other games Friday:
Anderson (7-6, 2-1 NCC) at Kokomo (9-4, 3-0 NCC), 8 p.m
#15-2A Taylor (8-5, 2-2 MIC) at Eastern (8-4, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Northwestern (7-5, 2-2 MIC) at Carroll (7-5, 2-0 HHC), 7:30
#6-2A Tipton (8-2, 5-0 Hoosier) at Hamilton Heights (10-4, 3-1 MIC), 7:30
Lewis Cass (3-9, 0-3 MIC) at Maconaquah (4-8, 0-3 MIC), 7:30
Saturday's games:
Kokomo (9-4, 3-0 NCC) at Harrison (7-6, 1-4 HCC), 7:30
Madison-Grant (10-3, 4-1 CIC) at #15-2A Taylor (8-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Twin Lakes (5-7, 1-2 Hoosier) at Northwestern (7-5, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
#6-2A Tipton (8-2, 5-0 Hoosier) at Eastern (8-4, 2-2 MIC), 7:30
Clinton Central (1-10, 0-2 HHC) at Lewis Cass (3-9, 0-3 MIC), 7:30
Third-ranked Peru hangs with Taylor, pulls away for win in second half
Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010 11:35 pm | Updated: 11:44 pm, Fri Jan 22, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
It has been a rare occasion for the class 3A third-ranked Peru High School Tigers to be trailing at halftime this season. The Taylor High School Titans came ready to host the Tigers Friday in a heavyweight battle of two of the best teams in the Mid-Indiana Conference.
The Tigers' depth and defensive pressure in the second half aided them to a victory over the Titans, 50-36.
The Titans scored the first five points in the match-up and led throughout the first quarter of play. Taylor had excellent ball movement to lead to open looks for shots. Senior Seth Vautaw led the Titans in scoring in the first quarter with 10 points. The quarter ended with senior Reomey Northington driving to the basket where he was fouled and scored on two free throws. The Titans led after one quarter, 18-14.
In the second quarter, Peru began to add more defensive pressure on the Titans. The Tigers began the quarter on a 6-3 run, yet the Titans maintained the lead. Taylor senior Drake Herr scored all the points for the Titans with three made three-point baskets. Peru junior Taylor Smith led the Tigers in the quarter with six points, including two made free throws to cut Taylor's lead to 27-24 at halftime.
The Tigers continued to put pressure on the Titans in the third quarter. At the beginning of the quarter, Taylor junior Tyler Simmons fouled Peru's Taylor Smith where Smith made one of two free throws to cut Taylor's lead to one point. Taylor's Herr quickly responded with a basket of his own to increase his team's lead to four points, 29-25. On Peru's next possession, senior Terry Smith scored a basket to cut the lead to two. Then as Taylor was moving the ball up the court following the score, the Tigers forced a turnover and senior Wes Zimmerman scored to tie the game at 29 with 4:42 to go in the quarter. From this point on, the Tigers went on a 6-1 run to close the quarter, including a three-point basket from Terry Smith. The Tigers led for the first time at the end of the quarter, 35-30.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Tigers spend much of the time at the free-throw line. The Tigers made nine of 13 from the line as the Titans struggled to make only two field goals. The Titans' first made field goal was a Vautaw three-pointer at 3:27 to go in the game as the Tigers had already scored eight unanswered points. The Tigers kept the pressure on the Titans as they made open shots and forced turnovers. The Tigers pulled away from the Titans as they won, 50-36.
Taylor coach Jeff Fisher was proud of his team's effort, but they could not sustain that effort in the second half.
"We're just not that far off," Fisher said. "I'm still proud of our kids. We just did not execute. I think we showed what we can do in the first half. I thought our execution the first half was about as good as anybody that they've played. Then we got bogged down. They put a little more pressure on us. We did not respond to that next level of their pressure."
The turn in the game, Fisher said, was when Taylor lost its crispness on the court.
"I want to give (Peru) credit," he said. "They have a great team. They play excellent defense. I thought the key to us being successful in the first half was ball movement and hitting the open man with good crisp passes. We did exactly the opposite in the second half. We dribbled the ball too much. The big key is you have to pass to people as they come open. Not after they're open."
Peru coach Eric Thompson said he was proud of his team to be only down by three at halftime.
"To be only down three at halftime and not playing very well and they were playing pretty darn well, from a coaching standpoint for survival, I was pleased at where we were at," he said. "We just kept grinding away and hoped that our defense would force some turnovers, which it did. We started hitting our shots and that's what happened."
Both coaches agreed on what was the turning point in the game.
"(Taylor) got tired and their passes weren't as crisp and we were a little bit deeper than they were and were able to keep fresh legs and get a lot more turnovers," Thompson said.
Peru's win over Taylor was the Tigers' 11th win in a row. During the streak, the Tigers have defeated four area schools, including Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice.
Taylor had only two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Herr's 13 points. Vautaw added 11 points for the Titans.
Peru had three players in double-figures scoring and they were Terry Smith with 15, Zimmerman with 13 and Taylor Smith with 10.
Taylor (7-5, 2-2 MIC) next takes the court Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against (1-9) Clinton Central. Peru (12-1, 3-0 MIC) next plays at home against Western (8-5, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Scores by quarter:
Peru 14 10 9 15 = 50
Taylor 18 9 3 6 = 36
Other scores from Friday:
Frankfort 47, Kokomo 44
Western 55, Maconaquah 49
Eastern 61, Hamilton Heights 51
Northwestern 78, Lewis Cass 70
Saturday's games (7:30 starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton at Kokomo
Tri-Central at Western
Clinton Central at Taylor
Eastern at Northfield
Hamilton Heights at Sheridan
Lewis Cass at Delphi
Maconaquah at Logansport, 8 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
It has been a rare occasion for the class 3A third-ranked Peru High School Tigers to be trailing at halftime this season. The Taylor High School Titans came ready to host the Tigers Friday in a heavyweight battle of two of the best teams in the Mid-Indiana Conference.
The Tigers' depth and defensive pressure in the second half aided them to a victory over the Titans, 50-36.
The Titans scored the first five points in the match-up and led throughout the first quarter of play. Taylor had excellent ball movement to lead to open looks for shots. Senior Seth Vautaw led the Titans in scoring in the first quarter with 10 points. The quarter ended with senior Reomey Northington driving to the basket where he was fouled and scored on two free throws. The Titans led after one quarter, 18-14.
In the second quarter, Peru began to add more defensive pressure on the Titans. The Tigers began the quarter on a 6-3 run, yet the Titans maintained the lead. Taylor senior Drake Herr scored all the points for the Titans with three made three-point baskets. Peru junior Taylor Smith led the Tigers in the quarter with six points, including two made free throws to cut Taylor's lead to 27-24 at halftime.
The Tigers continued to put pressure on the Titans in the third quarter. At the beginning of the quarter, Taylor junior Tyler Simmons fouled Peru's Taylor Smith where Smith made one of two free throws to cut Taylor's lead to one point. Taylor's Herr quickly responded with a basket of his own to increase his team's lead to four points, 29-25. On Peru's next possession, senior Terry Smith scored a basket to cut the lead to two. Then as Taylor was moving the ball up the court following the score, the Tigers forced a turnover and senior Wes Zimmerman scored to tie the game at 29 with 4:42 to go in the quarter. From this point on, the Tigers went on a 6-1 run to close the quarter, including a three-point basket from Terry Smith. The Tigers led for the first time at the end of the quarter, 35-30.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Tigers spend much of the time at the free-throw line. The Tigers made nine of 13 from the line as the Titans struggled to make only two field goals. The Titans' first made field goal was a Vautaw three-pointer at 3:27 to go in the game as the Tigers had already scored eight unanswered points. The Tigers kept the pressure on the Titans as they made open shots and forced turnovers. The Tigers pulled away from the Titans as they won, 50-36.
Taylor coach Jeff Fisher was proud of his team's effort, but they could not sustain that effort in the second half.
"We're just not that far off," Fisher said. "I'm still proud of our kids. We just did not execute. I think we showed what we can do in the first half. I thought our execution the first half was about as good as anybody that they've played. Then we got bogged down. They put a little more pressure on us. We did not respond to that next level of their pressure."
The turn in the game, Fisher said, was when Taylor lost its crispness on the court.
"I want to give (Peru) credit," he said. "They have a great team. They play excellent defense. I thought the key to us being successful in the first half was ball movement and hitting the open man with good crisp passes. We did exactly the opposite in the second half. We dribbled the ball too much. The big key is you have to pass to people as they come open. Not after they're open."
Peru coach Eric Thompson said he was proud of his team to be only down by three at halftime.
"To be only down three at halftime and not playing very well and they were playing pretty darn well, from a coaching standpoint for survival, I was pleased at where we were at," he said. "We just kept grinding away and hoped that our defense would force some turnovers, which it did. We started hitting our shots and that's what happened."
Both coaches agreed on what was the turning point in the game.
"(Taylor) got tired and their passes weren't as crisp and we were a little bit deeper than they were and were able to keep fresh legs and get a lot more turnovers," Thompson said.
Peru's win over Taylor was the Tigers' 11th win in a row. During the streak, the Tigers have defeated four area schools, including Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice.
Taylor had only two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Herr's 13 points. Vautaw added 11 points for the Titans.
Peru had three players in double-figures scoring and they were Terry Smith with 15, Zimmerman with 13 and Taylor Smith with 10.
Taylor (7-5, 2-2 MIC) next takes the court Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against (1-9) Clinton Central. Peru (12-1, 3-0 MIC) next plays at home against Western (8-5, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Scores by quarter:
Peru 14 10 9 15 = 50
Taylor 18 9 3 6 = 36
Other scores from Friday:
Frankfort 47, Kokomo 44
Western 55, Maconaquah 49
Eastern 61, Hamilton Heights 51
Northwestern 78, Lewis Cass 70
Saturday's games (7:30 starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton at Kokomo
Tri-Central at Western
Clinton Central at Taylor
Eastern at Northfield
Hamilton Heights at Sheridan
Lewis Cass at Delphi
Maconaquah at Logansport, 8 p.m.
Taylor aims at conference title as they prepare for ranked Peru
Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 7:00 am | Updated: 6:22 pm, Wed Jan 20, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
Coming off a weekend where they won their first Howard County Tournament championship in ten years, the Taylor High School Titans are looking for more hardware in the Mid-Indiana Conference championship.
It will not be easy though as the Titans (7-4, 2-1 MIC) welcome the Peru High School Tigers (11-1, 2-0 MIC), the third-ranked team in class 2A, to their home court Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s our shot at the conference,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “If we want a shot, we’re going to have to beat Peru and it’s nice having them at home.”
The Taylor Titans are optimistic about Friday’s game because of the way the team has played within the past two weekends.
Two weeks ago, the Titans had a shot at taking the conference lead with a tough loss at conference-leader Hamilton Heights High School losing 46-51 after leading after every quarter break. The following night, the Titans took now 13-0 Mississinewa High School Indians (3A-8) to overtime in what was that team’s closest game so far this year.
Then last weekend, the Titans defeated Western High School 75-67 to make it to the Howard County Tournament final where they defeated Eastern High School 72-59.
“I think we’ve played well for the last two weekends,” Fisher said. “We’re fortunate to get wins over two good teams this weekend in the county tournament. I think we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, especially offensively this weekend coming up against Peru.”
Peru has won 10 games in a row, including wins over Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice. The Tigers’ average margin of victory is 21.4 points.
“What’s tough about Peru is they are a very difficult defense to play against,” he said. “We’ll have to handle their switching man-to-man defense and their match-up zone and we’ll have to be able to not turn the ball over against that and get the shot we want is going to be important. I think our interior defense has to do well and we have to limit them to only one shot and those would be keys for us on the defensive end.”
In Peru’s last game against Maconaquah, the Braves decided to hold the ball for more than four minutes in the second quarter to disrupt the Peru Tigers. In the quarter, the Tigers scored four points and the Braves were held scoreless.
“That was the way Maconaquah attacked their defense by trying to give themselves a chance and that’s not a bad idea, but we won’t do it that way,” Fisher said.
Peru defeated Maconaquah 39-22. Peru senior Wes Zimmerman led the team in scoring with 15 points.
For the Titans, seniors Reomey Northington, Drake Herr and Cody Hinton have been impressive as of late. Against Western in the tournament, Northington scored 17, Herr scored 23 and Hinton added 17 points. In the championship against Eastern, Northington scored 22, Herr scored 13 and Hinton scored 4.
“Cody Hinton for the past couple weekend has kind of been our X-factor,” he said. “He’s kind of been the guy that has really scored well for us from the perimeter and gives us another dimension offensively.”
Other games Friday (7:30 p.m. starts):
Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC) at Frankfort (5-6)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Northwestern (5-5, 1-2 MIC)
Saturday’s games (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton (8-1) at Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC)
Tri-Central (6-7) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Clinton Central (1-8) at Taylor (7-4, 2-1 MIC)
Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC) at Northfield (4-6)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Sheridan (3-7)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Delphi (5-3)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Logansport (11-1, 2-0 NCC), 8 p.m.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
Coming off a weekend where they won their first Howard County Tournament championship in ten years, the Taylor High School Titans are looking for more hardware in the Mid-Indiana Conference championship.
It will not be easy though as the Titans (7-4, 2-1 MIC) welcome the Peru High School Tigers (11-1, 2-0 MIC), the third-ranked team in class 2A, to their home court Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s our shot at the conference,” Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. “If we want a shot, we’re going to have to beat Peru and it’s nice having them at home.”
The Taylor Titans are optimistic about Friday’s game because of the way the team has played within the past two weekends.
Two weeks ago, the Titans had a shot at taking the conference lead with a tough loss at conference-leader Hamilton Heights High School losing 46-51 after leading after every quarter break. The following night, the Titans took now 13-0 Mississinewa High School Indians (3A-8) to overtime in what was that team’s closest game so far this year.
Then last weekend, the Titans defeated Western High School 75-67 to make it to the Howard County Tournament final where they defeated Eastern High School 72-59.
“I think we’ve played well for the last two weekends,” Fisher said. “We’re fortunate to get wins over two good teams this weekend in the county tournament. I think we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, especially offensively this weekend coming up against Peru.”
Peru has won 10 games in a row, including wins over Eastern, Marion, Kokomo and Maconaquah twice. The Tigers’ average margin of victory is 21.4 points.
“What’s tough about Peru is they are a very difficult defense to play against,” he said. “We’ll have to handle their switching man-to-man defense and their match-up zone and we’ll have to be able to not turn the ball over against that and get the shot we want is going to be important. I think our interior defense has to do well and we have to limit them to only one shot and those would be keys for us on the defensive end.”
In Peru’s last game against Maconaquah, the Braves decided to hold the ball for more than four minutes in the second quarter to disrupt the Peru Tigers. In the quarter, the Tigers scored four points and the Braves were held scoreless.
“That was the way Maconaquah attacked their defense by trying to give themselves a chance and that’s not a bad idea, but we won’t do it that way,” Fisher said.
Peru defeated Maconaquah 39-22. Peru senior Wes Zimmerman led the team in scoring with 15 points.
For the Titans, seniors Reomey Northington, Drake Herr and Cody Hinton have been impressive as of late. Against Western in the tournament, Northington scored 17, Herr scored 23 and Hinton added 17 points. In the championship against Eastern, Northington scored 22, Herr scored 13 and Hinton scored 4.
“Cody Hinton for the past couple weekend has kind of been our X-factor,” he said. “He’s kind of been the guy that has really scored well for us from the perimeter and gives us another dimension offensively.”
Other games Friday (7:30 p.m. starts):
Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC) at Frankfort (5-6)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Northwestern (5-5, 1-2 MIC)
Saturday’s games (7:30 p.m. starts, unless otherwise noted):
Tipton (8-1) at Kokomo (8-3, 3-0 NCC)
Tri-Central (6-7) at Western (7-5, 2-1 MIC)
Clinton Central (1-8) at Taylor (7-4, 2-1 MIC)
Eastern (6-4, 1-2 MIC) at Northfield (4-6)
Hamilton Heights (9-3, 3-0 MIC) at Sheridan (3-7)
Lewis Cass (2-8, 0-2 MIC) at Delphi (5-3)
Maconaquah (4-6, 0-3 MIC) at Logansport (11-1, 2-0 NCC), 8 p.m.
Titans down Comets in county championship
Posted: Sunday, January 17, 2010 12:10 am | Updated: 12:22 am, Sun Jan 17, 2010.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
For the first time since the 2000 season, the Taylor High School Titans are Howard County Tournament Champions.
The Titans defeated the Eastern High School Comets on their home court Saturday 72-59.
It has been a tournament dominated by Northwestern and Western high schools for the past decade, but neither of those teams made it to the championship. They battled each other in the consolation game with Western winning 70-59.
In the championship game, the Comets jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Titans in the first quarter. Before the Titans could score their first points senior Reomey Northington, the Titans' leading scorer on the season, had to be taken out of the game after the air was knocked out of him with 6:14 to go in the quarter. Luckily for the Titans he returned with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Comets led 6-5 when Northington returned. From that point on, he scored 8 of the Titans last 11 points including a three-pointer at the end of the quarter. The Titans led after one quarter, 16-10.
The Titans added to their lead with a 10-3 run to begin the second quarter with a 26-15 lead. Eastern junior Wes Horner ended the run with a three-point basket with 4:38 to go in the quarter. The Titans later got an 11-point lead with 1:40 to go after two made free throws from junior Tyler Simmons. The Comets responded to end the quarter on a 6-2 run to bring the score to 33-26 Taylor lead at halftime.
The Comets made another push in the third quarter to cut the Titans' lead to three points with 6:08 to go after senior Brandon Hainlen made two foul shots. This was the closest the Comets would get. The Titans closed the third quarter strong to increase their lead to 55-41, including a shot from senior Drake Herr at the quarter buzzer.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter for nearly two minutes until Eastern's senior Joby Renbarger made two free throws with 6:15 to go in the game to cut Taylor's lead to 55-43. However, this would end up to be the second-highest scoring quarter in combined scoring with Eastern scoring 18 and Taylor scoring 17 for 35 points. Of those points, 17 were from the foul line. Eastern made five of nine and Taylor made 12 of 16. The Titans went on to defeat the Comets 72-59.
"Our kids have done a nice job for the last four games," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. "I really thought we were set to win this and I told (the team) that. We played well at Hamilton Heights and Mississinewa and then again last night against Western."
The Titans had four players in double-figures scoring and were led by Northington's 22 points. The other players in double figures were Herr with 13, junior Tyler Simmons with 12 and senior Seth Vautaw with 10 points.
The Comets had two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Renbarger's 18. Sophomore Joey Price scored 17 points.
"We got to hand it to Taylor in terms of winning the county championship," Eastern coach Duane Keisling said. "I thought they really took us out of some things that we tried to do and I think especially defensively they did a good job. They need to be congratulated on a good tournament win."
Taylor (7-4) next takes the court at home against Mid-Indiana Conference rival and third-ranked Peru Tigers (12-1) in Class 3A on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern (6-4) hosts conference foe Hamilton Heights (9-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Scores by quarter:
Eastern 10 16 15 18 =59
Taylor 16 17 22 17 =72
Western (7-5) and Northwestern (5-5) host conference foes as well on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Western hosts Maconaquah (4-6) and Northwestern hosts Lewis Cass (2-8).
Other scores from Saturday:
(4A-9)Carmel 56, (4A-16)Kokomo 45
Hamilton Heights 65, Western Boone 58
Logansport 68, Lewis Cass 61
(2A-3)Tipton 87, Twin Lakes 68
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
For the first time since the 2000 season, the Taylor High School Titans are Howard County Tournament Champions.
The Titans defeated the Eastern High School Comets on their home court Saturday 72-59.
It has been a tournament dominated by Northwestern and Western high schools for the past decade, but neither of those teams made it to the championship. They battled each other in the consolation game with Western winning 70-59.
In the championship game, the Comets jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Titans in the first quarter. Before the Titans could score their first points senior Reomey Northington, the Titans' leading scorer on the season, had to be taken out of the game after the air was knocked out of him with 6:14 to go in the quarter. Luckily for the Titans he returned with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Comets led 6-5 when Northington returned. From that point on, he scored 8 of the Titans last 11 points including a three-pointer at the end of the quarter. The Titans led after one quarter, 16-10.
The Titans added to their lead with a 10-3 run to begin the second quarter with a 26-15 lead. Eastern junior Wes Horner ended the run with a three-point basket with 4:38 to go in the quarter. The Titans later got an 11-point lead with 1:40 to go after two made free throws from junior Tyler Simmons. The Comets responded to end the quarter on a 6-2 run to bring the score to 33-26 Taylor lead at halftime.
The Comets made another push in the third quarter to cut the Titans' lead to three points with 6:08 to go after senior Brandon Hainlen made two foul shots. This was the closest the Comets would get. The Titans closed the third quarter strong to increase their lead to 55-41, including a shot from senior Drake Herr at the quarter buzzer.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter for nearly two minutes until Eastern's senior Joby Renbarger made two free throws with 6:15 to go in the game to cut Taylor's lead to 55-43. However, this would end up to be the second-highest scoring quarter in combined scoring with Eastern scoring 18 and Taylor scoring 17 for 35 points. Of those points, 17 were from the foul line. Eastern made five of nine and Taylor made 12 of 16. The Titans went on to defeat the Comets 72-59.
"Our kids have done a nice job for the last four games," Taylor coach Jeff Fisher said. "I really thought we were set to win this and I told (the team) that. We played well at Hamilton Heights and Mississinewa and then again last night against Western."
The Titans had four players in double-figures scoring and were led by Northington's 22 points. The other players in double figures were Herr with 13, junior Tyler Simmons with 12 and senior Seth Vautaw with 10 points.
The Comets had two players in double-figures scoring and were led by Renbarger's 18. Sophomore Joey Price scored 17 points.
"We got to hand it to Taylor in terms of winning the county championship," Eastern coach Duane Keisling said. "I thought they really took us out of some things that we tried to do and I think especially defensively they did a good job. They need to be congratulated on a good tournament win."
Taylor (7-4) next takes the court at home against Mid-Indiana Conference rival and third-ranked Peru Tigers (12-1) in Class 3A on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern (6-4) hosts conference foe Hamilton Heights (9-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Scores by quarter:
Eastern 10 16 15 18 =59
Taylor 16 17 22 17 =72
Western (7-5) and Northwestern (5-5) host conference foes as well on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Western hosts Maconaquah (4-6) and Northwestern hosts Lewis Cass (2-8).
Other scores from Saturday:
(4A-9)Carmel 56, (4A-16)Kokomo 45
Hamilton Heights 65, Western Boone 58
Logansport 68, Lewis Cass 61
(2A-3)Tipton 87, Twin Lakes 68
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