Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 11:45 pm | Updated: 12:13 am, Wed Dec 30, 2009.
By Peter Adelsen staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments
From what looked like a blowout, turned into a nail biter for the Kokomo High School Wildkats defeating the Westfield High School Shamrocks 73-65 at Memorial Gym Tuesday.
The first quarter featured six lead changes as Westfield tried to use its size to its advantage with 6’8” senior forward Jeff Howard scored six points and fellow 6’6” senior forward Michael Stockton scored four points in the frame. Kokomo responded with junior forward Parker Salinas scoring six points and sophomore guard Armon Bridgeforth scoring 5 points. The Kats led after the first quarter, 16-14.
The Kats began the second quarter on a 7-0 run to get a seven-point lead at 23-16. Westfield ended the run at 5:40 to go in the quarter when junior guard Maurice Fuller hit a three pointer, but that didn’t phase the Kats as they played team basketball to increase their lead to 13 points in the quarter. If the opening run wasn’t enough, the Kats ended the quarter on another 7-0 run to end the quarter with a 40-29 lead.
The third quarter was not as kind to the Wildkats as Westfield began to close the gap starting the period on a 7-3 run. Little by little the Shamrocks chipped away at the lead as Westfield got Kokomo out of rhythm. The Kats ended the quarter with the lead, 53-47.
The Shamrocks continued its come-back in the fourth quarter, but they could never get the lead. They got as close as one point down 62-62 with 2:02 remaining.
“We can’t let good teams hang around, or better yet, you can’t let good teams get a lead on you like we did,” Westfield coach Eric Rauch said. “We had our opportunities afterwards to close the gap, get it to one. And we just didn’t take advantage of it.”
Just a matter of second later at 1:50 to go Westfield’s Howard fouled out with 11 points. On the inbounds pass after the foul, Kats’ junior forward Cheyse Swain scored a quick layup to increase the lead to three at 64-61 and take all the momentum. Swain saved the momentum as he blocked a Westfield corner three-point shot with a half-minute to go to essentially seal the win for the Kats. From that point on it became a free-throw contest as the Kats defeated the Shamrocks, 73-65.
“We knew it was going to battle and we were going to play for 32 minutes,” Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. “I am real proud about how our guys maintained their poise and composure. “
The Wildkats had five players scoring in double figures. Salinas led the Kats with 16 points. He was joined by Swain’s 13 points, senior guard T.J. Weir’s 12 points, sophomore guard D.J. Balentine’s 11 points and senior guard Brock Barbary’s 10 points.
The Wildkats dominated the rebounding category by outrebounding the Shamrocks 32-22. Swain led the Kats in rebounds with 11 total, including four offensive rebounds.
“We had the two biggest guys on the floor and we didn’t put a body on people,” Rauch said.
The Shamrocks had three players in double-figures scoring and were led by Fuller’s 21 points. Stockton scored 18 points and Howard scored 11 points.
Howard led Westfield with six rebounds.
The tenth-ranked Wildkats (6-1) next take on the Peru High School Tigers on January 8 at Memorial Gym. Westfield (4-3) next faces Fishers High School on January 8.
Scores by quarter:
Westfield 14 15 18 18 =65
Kokomo 16 24 13 20 =73
Other scores from Tuesday:
McCutcheon 61, Western 58
Maconaquah 68, North Miami 64 (Miami County Tournament)
Peru 52, Whitko 35 (Miami County Tournament)
Wednesday games:
Taylor at Sheridan
Miami County Tournament with Maconaquah and Peru
Hamilton Heights Classic with Hamilton Heights
Showing posts with label Westfield-Washington High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westfield-Washington High School. Show all posts
Thursday, June 10, 2010
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
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
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