Kats look to learn from loss in preparation for Westfield

Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 7:00 am | Updated: 5:08 pm, Mon Dec 28, 2009.

By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments

Coming off the first loss of the season, the tenth-ranked Kokomo High School Wildkats look to turn that negative into a positive Tuesday when they face the Westfield High School Shamrocks at Memorial Gym.

“We need to make sure that we’re becoming better defensively, but it was a tough loss, but in the sense that we can learn from it,” Kokomo Wildkats coach Brian McCauley said. “It will make us better come tournament time. If we can learn from it, it would be a positive thing.”

Kokomo (5-1) lost to the Noblesville High School Millers 46-52. After being down 40-24 early in the fourth quarter, the Kats went on a 12-0 run to get as close as 40-36. Sophomore guard D.J. Balentine led the Kats with 21 points, 17 of them in the second half.

The Westfield Shamrocks (4-2) are on a three-game winning streak with wins over Lafayette Jeff High School in overtime, Tipton High School and Taylor High School.

“We had a tough game against them last year and they are just a very, very tough inside team,” McCauley said.

The Shamrocks’ Jeff Howard grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 11 points in his last game beating Taylor 55-42. Junior guard Maurice Fuller scored 18 points in the game.

“They just really had their way with Taylor, so they are playing well right now,” he said. “They were able to see us against Noblesville and they have had quite a bit of time off in preparation for us.”

This will be the Kats’ third game during the winter break and the Shamrocks have not played since December 19. McCauley says it has been a transition for the Kats during the late December games.

“We haven’t been in school, so they have had some time off, so that throws off their normal routine,” he said. “And so we are going to really focus in practice to make sure we are prepared for Westfield, who is a dangerous team.”

The Kats are 1-1 all-time against the Shamrocks. Last season, Westfield defeated the Kats 73-68 in overtime. In the 2007-2008 season, the Kats beat Westfield 64-58.

Other games Tuesday:

Western at McCutcheon

Miami County Tournament with Maconaquah and Peru

Other games Wednesday:

Taylor at Sheridan

Miami County Tournament with Maconaquah and Peru

Hamilton Heights Classic with Hamilton Heights