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COACH SAYS WE ARE READY
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I DID NOT GET UP THERE TO SEE THE SCRIMMAGE ON THIS NIGHT. |
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The start of a new season for
our Kokomo Men's Wildkat team and we start off with Western, my old school,
and you better believe that this is one of those games where both teams
throw caution to the wind as you get some bragging rights for the rest
of the season. The Junior Varsity took the floor and played a good heads
up game beating Western's JV by the score of 46 to 32. There are some very
promising players on this Kokomo JV team that will bring fans to the doors
late in this season. Sebree had 23 points and he is just a freshman. Meriweather
had 10 points and Springer had 7 points. Reel and Orr had 7 points each
for Western.
The Varsity game got underway and you could see the seats starting to fill up as many fans came out tonight to see their teams play basketball. Right from the start you could see the intensity of both teams as Western put on a zone as their defense and Kokomo took the ball right to the basket. Kokomo has some good outside shooters and they showed it on this night. In the 3rd quarter of this game you could see the Wildkats start to pad their lead and they continued to do so even though Western made a couple of runs in the last 2 quarters. The scoring for Kokomo was spread out with 5 players in double figures.. Barbury had 10 points, Salinas had 11, Weir had 13, Bridgeport had 13, and Balantine had 19 points. The Wildkats made 29 field goals of 67 shots and made 18 of 21 free throws.The rebounds were Kokomo with 43 and Western with 30. The free throw line yeilded 18 of 21 for the Kats and Western made 23 field goals of 56 shots and 12 0f 20 three throws. Western was led by Reida with 13 points, Larrick with 12 points and Fields with 9 points. Western shot 22 free throws and made only 12. Kokomo had 20 fouls and Western had 17. Turnovers were Kokomo with 20 and western with 17. This was a great game to launch off our season with because you know that both teams want this game and they play to win. And the bench looks very promising with the youth ready to fill in whenever needed because they like to run that ball up the court and if there is no open man, katy bar the door because that ball is going right to the basket. Looks good, feels good and is good. "That's all brother". Again the final score tonight was Kokomo 83 and Western 61 |
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| Kokomo went south on this
Saturday evening to play a Fishers team, which each year, seems to have
a big team and ready to make it's mark in sports history. Our Junior Varsity
went right at Fishers and won the game by the score of 61 to 53. Kokomo
was led by Sebree with 20 points followed by Washington with 15 points
and Springer who hit a 3 pointer to send this game into overtime, had 11
points. Great win for our JV squad who really like to run that ball downcourt.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then our varsity took the floor. On this night which was kind of cold outside, our WildKats seem to be a little cold but able to warm up and knock off this Fisher's team, which at one time had an 11 point lead on our Kats. Kokomo has been and always will be a team that you have to believe in and tonight, we believe. After a first quarter score of Kokomo leading by the score of 22 to 17, Fishers made their run and at the half it was Fishers leading 38 to 34. At the 3rd quarter mark, Fishers led 53 to 45 with Kokomo starting their run. With the score having our WildKats ahead by one point, Fishers had a chance to go ahead if they hit both free throws. They missed the first one but made the second free throw tying the game at 62 all. Kokomo took the ball downcourt, and with just seconds remaining, went right to the goal but missed the shot. Bridgeforth was right behind and he tipped it in for the lead . Fishers had a chance to tie or go ahead but lost the ball and Kokomo came out the winner in this game. Kokomo used a game plan to go right at the Fishers team, with drives right to the basket. This created Fishers fouls and Kokomo made 11 of 12 free throws attempts to get right back into the game. At one time there were all guards out on the floor for Kokomo, and this gave them speed and good shooting offense, thus making Fishers try to defend them. Kokomo was led by Bridgeforth with 18 points, Balantine had 16 points and Barbary had 14 points. Kokomo led in rebounds with them having 34 and Fishers with 28. On 3 point shooting, Kokomo hit 8 of 15 and Fishers made 6 of 18. Kokomo committed 15 fouls while Fishers had 20. On turnovers Kokomo had 14 and Fishers had 10. This was a good game played well by both teams even though there were some times in the game when both teams looked sluggish.The final tonight was a victory for Kokomo by the score of 64 to 62. |
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Kokomo took a little ride over to Muncie Central tonight. Many times we have come back home with a loss, but tonight we sent our "BELIEVE IT" players and coming home was great. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and they won their game by the score of 45 to 41. Washington and Sebree both had 15 points for the Wildkats. The varsity took the floor and they were ready to prove to themselves and the fans that they are for real and Muncie Central was going to be taken care of. This game was mostly Kokomo's except for a 3rd quarter meltdown where they allowed Muncie to get back into the game. But on this night , they would show the fans that you don't give up and that is what they did. Sparked by Balantine's 23 points and great play by the team and with good players coming off the bench, Kokomo took over the game again and went to the showers with a win. Kokomo was led by Balentine and who for the night ruled the boards and with Houston Clark coming in with T. Catlett and playing a vital part of the offense and defense. Kokomo had 40 rebounds to Muncie's 27. The fouls were Kokomo having only 8 while Muncie had 19. Turnovers had Kokomo with 16 and Muncie with 8. Kokomo shot 22 out of 48 field goals and 20 out of 26 free throws. Kokomo attempted 12 shots from 3 point land and made only 6. Muncie made only 3 out of 22 attempts. The scores at the stops were 18 to 13 in the 1st quarter; 36 to 27 at the half; 48 to 45 at the 3rd quarter mark and the final was 70 to 64 in favor of our WildKats. |
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"BELIEVE" |
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Long time power of Indiana basketball, The Marion Giants came to Memorial Gym to take on our WildKats and the fans were ready for them as was the team. In the Junior Varsity game, our team took care of business defeating Marion by the score of 45 to 31. As the varsity game started up, the fans in the stands were primed for a great game by both the teams and they were not disappointed. Marion took their game right at Kokomo and was able to have the advantage at the end of the 1st quarter 18 to 13. At the end of the 1st half , Marion still led by the score of 28 to 22. But when our boys came out to play the 2nd half, you could see the desire to take this game over and that they did. Kokomo started the 2nd half with a 12 point run and that put Kokomo ahead for good by the score of 34 to 28. They continued to be able to apply enough pressure that Marion couldn't get the ball to their star player and that was the strong part of their game. The fans came off their seats as Balantine on a fast break found Swain under the basket and Swain made the most of it as he stuffed that ball on a very strong dunk. Kokomo was led in scoring as Barbary had 16, Balantine had 16, Weir had 15, and Swain had 12. But scoring was not the only thing this team did as they put the pressure on Marion causing 17 turnovers, and most of those resulted in WildKat points. The scores at the stops were 18 to 13, Marion, 28 to 22 Marion, 42 to 37 Kokomo, and the final was 66 to 50 Kokomo. Kokomo made 7 of 17 3 point shots and Marion made 2 of 16. Rebounds went to Marion by the count of 32 to 29. Fouls committed were Marion with 13 and Kokomo with 11. Boy it was fun to watch our young men play a great game.The fans as they left the Gym were talking it up, and ready for the next test for our WildKats.
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Kokomo went to Lafayette on this cold snowy evening to take on Lafayette Jeff. Our Junior Varsity started things off with a 44 to 33 win. Springer had 13 points for Kokomo. The Varsity took the floor and this game was due to be a regular shootout as Jeff tries to hit the 3 pointer most of the time. They had a little problen tonight as Kokomo pulled their defense out to guard against that play and it worked some. But Jeff in their own gym is hard to beat and it would take a great amount of effort to beat them. And Kokomo did put forth the effort in a big way as the scoring tonight was spread out. Balantine led in scoring with 19 points and Swain had 18 points and Salinas had 14 points. Weir had 11 points, Bridgeforth had 7 points, and Barbary had 6 points. Kokomo made 28 out of 63 fg attempts and they hit 15 out of 17 free throws. Kokomo had 14 fouls and Jeff had 15. Rebounds went to Kokomo 50 to 30 due to Jeff trying 3 point shots with no one under the basket. Kokomo had 17 turnovers while Jeff 10. Kokomo made only 4 out of 12 3 point shots while Jeff made 11 of 39 attempts.The scores at the stops were 23 to 19; 43 to 27; 54 to 51 at the 3rd quarter mark and 75 to 72 as the final.
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| Kokomo headed out to play
The Noblesville Millers on this Tuesday evening and right away, we see
why they are rated high. Our Junior Varsity tooked it on the chin for the
first time losing their game to the Noblesville JV team
Our Varsity took the floor, determined to improve on their record and take down this good Noblesville squad and right away Weir took and made a 3 point shot and it looked like this would be a game deciding on who wants it most. But then Noblesville switched to a match-up zone and from there on, shots would be hard to take as the driving lane was blocked . At the end of the first quarter, it was tied but then the thing that most players and fans dread to see is a quarter without points and Kokomo only got 2 points the whole 2nd quarter. Noblesville continued to stay in their zone and they went up by 16 points before Kokomo made a big run. But after suffering such a hard blow in the first half, they just did not have enough comeback as Noblesville stayed ahead with good free throw shooting. Kokomo took 13 shots from beyond the arc and made only 3. Kokomo did get the rebounds but so did Noblesville as Kokomo brought down 34 while the Millers pulled down 31. Kokomo committed 16 turnovers while the Millers had 14. Kokomo fouled 14 times, mostly in the comeback period while Noblesville had 11. Kokomo was led by Balantine with 21 points and Weir had 10 points. The scores at the stops were 12 to 12 at the end of the first. Noblesville led at the half 21 to 14 and at the 3rd stop, 37 to 24. The final score was 52 to 46. { Kokomo will use this game as a tool to learn. You have to give the game your all and Kokomo will bounce back again Westfield in their next game}. |
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The Westfield Shamrocks came to Kokomo to take on our WildKats on this Tuesday evening and although it was cold outside, the gym was heated up by 2 teams ready to play basketball. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and they had a great game to watch with Kokomo winning 60 to 54. Sebree scored 22 points and Springer had 14 and the rest of the team played some great ball to get back on the winning trail. Our Varsity took the floor ready
to show the fans that the loss to Noblesville was not going to derail a
great season as they went right at Westfield with Westfield coming right
back at us. The 1st quarter was close with the lead changing hands several
times and our Kats ahead at that stop. Westfield scored a nice run during
the quarter but Kokomo still led by 11 at the half 40 to 29. The second
half was one with both teams trying to maintain their hard play with Westfield
working the ball underneath for scores made easy by their tall men. But
Kokomo would go back down and score and it looked at times like we might
put the game away but Westield would not give up and they would score within
seconds of the Wildkat scoring. I don't think I have ever seen a team score
that quick and that easy. Many times the Wildkats were just getting down
to defend and the Shamrocks had already scored. The scores at the stops
were 16 to 14; 40 to 29; 53 to 47; and 73 to 65 as the final score.Kokomo
won the battle of the boards 32 to 22. Kokomo committed 16 fouls and Westfield
had 17. Kokomo had only 7 turnovers tonight. Kokomo hit 6 of 11 3 point
shots Field goal shooting was 27 of 54 and free throw shooting was 13 of
20. All five of the starters scored in the doubles with Weir having 12,
Barbary with 10, Swain with 13, Salinas with 16, and Balantine with 11
points. The bench really did their job well tonight with Houston Clark
showing lots of desire and quick play.
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The Kats improve their record to 6 & 1. |
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Peru brought their show to town to take on the Wildkats at Memorial Gym where they have never won a game. The Junior Varsity got the show going with a good game beating Peru's Junior Varsity 54 to 31 with Springer scoring 14 points followed by Sebree with 13, Meriwether with 9 and Tinder with 7 points Kokomo and Peru took the floor next for the Varsity Game and the fans knew that this was a good test for our Wildkats and Peru fans were hungry for that first win at this gym. The 1st quarter and the 2nd quarter were played with both teams taking charge and keeping within distance of each other. But the 2nd half was Peru's half as they worked the ball great, shot well and rebounded . Peru used a 12 to 4 run to take command of this game and Kokomo fans were on the edge of their seats waiting for that surge but it just did not happen. Kokomo shot only 36% hitting only 18 of 50 shots. Peru shot 57 % hitting 21 of 37 shots. Kokomo outrebounded Peru 29 to 19. Kokomo hit on 8 of 23 {3 point }shots while Peru made 4 of 10. Peru hit their free throws and Kokomo performed badly missing several attempts. Kokomo had 22 fouls to Peru having 14. Kokomo had 14 turnovers to Peru having only 7. Our Wildkats were led by 18 points from Balantine , Barbury with 9, Swain with 7, Weir with 10, and Salinas with 5. This game could of come out different if we could of hit our free throws and had not hurried our shot selection. The scores at the stops were 19 to 13; 31 to 30; 43 to 37, and the final being 67 to 53. |
| The final score tonight was Peru 67 --Kokomo 53. The Wildkats are 6 and 2 after this game. |
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Kokomo took their game west to McCutcheon where the games are always close, and after getting beat the night before, Kokomo wanted back on the win train. The Junior Varsity took the floor first and they won 43 to 28, with Springer leading the way with 12 points and Washington having 10 points. The varsity game got underway
and right away McCutcheon got off to a 5 to 2 lead but Kokomo came back
with a 13 to 2 run and at the end of the 1st quarter it was Kokomo leading
15 to 7. The 2nd quarter was about even with Kokomo still leading by a
score of 29 to 20.. McCutcheon kept changing their defense to stop our
wildkats but Kokomo was able to adjust. It seemed like everytime McCutcheon
would score, our Wilkats would come right back and score , many times getting
fouled and making the free throw. The scoring at the stops were 15 to 7;
29 to 20; 49 to 38; and the final score being 73 to 58. THe Wildkats were
led in scoring by Barbary with 15 points while Balantine had 13, Weir had
7; Bridgeforth had 12; Swain had 9 and Salinas with 6. The bench supplied
some great basketball and that is good. Kokomo hit only 4 of 13 shots beyond
the arc, they had 11 turnovers, and they had 13 fouls. Kokomo attemped
54 shots, and made 29 of them. Kokomo made 11 of 14 free throws.
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Kokomo's record now is 7 wins 2 loses. |
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New Castle took a long road to Kokomo on this Friday evening and they are on record as a team who likes to shoot the 3 point shot. The Junior Varsity game started first and it took the whole game to decide the winner as Kokomo won with a free throw with 2 seconds remaining. Tinder led the scoring with 9 points and Sebree had 8. The Varsity game got underway
and the 1st quarter was even at 9 each. The second quarter was about even
too as both teams tried to defend against the other. But when the 3rd quarter
started, you could tell that Coach had changed his game plan a little as
Kokomo went on an 18 to 0 run before New Castle was able to open their
eyes. You would think that this would of been the winning march but New
Castle did not give up and they went back into their beyond the arc shooting
and blended that with some hard drives to the basket and it looked like
maybe we had woken up a sleeping giant. But Kokomo was able to match points
on most of the drives and Kokomo won this game by the score of 62 to 49.
The scores at the stops were 9 to 9;;25 to 23;;43 to 29;;and 62 to 49.
The scoring was led by Balantine with 22 points, Barbary with 10 points,
Salinas with 11 points and Swain with 8 points Weir had only 2 points but
he ran the offense with steady play. The bench once again played a major
role in this game. Kokomo made 5 of 11 shots beyond the arc, while New
Castle made 8 of 11. Kokomo made 20 of 35 field goals and made 17 of 22
free throws. Kokomo pulled down 27 rebounds and New Castle had 20. Kokomo
had 10 turnovers while New Castle had 13. This game tonight was won with
desre, and great team play.
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Our Wildkats are 8 and 2 for the season. |
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Carmel brought their red wood trees into Memorial Gym and man are they tall. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and this game was a good one with Carmel taking it 44 to 43. Tough loss for our JV team but they can be proud of the way they almost knocked off the Carmel Greyhounds. Kokomo was led by Washington with 14 points and Springer with 13 points. The varsity took the floor next and was a close game until the 4th quarter with Carmel's size being a big factor. Carmel led throughout the game and too many bad calls made it tough to get back in this game. Anytime you have someone pull you down and no call, that is hard to overcome. The Wildkats took it right at the Greyhounds and they were led in scoring by Balantine and Swain with 13 points each along with Barbury with 9 points, Weir with 6 points and Salinas with 4 points. Kokomo hit on only 4 of 14 beyond the arc and they were outrebounded by Carmel 25 to 19. Kokomo had 14 turnovers and 12 fouls. They shot 37 times and hit only 14 of them. |
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The season so far has Kokomo with 8 wins and 3 losses. |
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Our Kats went to Frankfort to play the HotDogs and our Junior Varsity took it right to Frankfort's Junior Varsity and won their game by the score of 51 to 26. Sebree led the scoring with 18 points while Washington had 12 and Meriwether scored 8. Our Varsity took the floor to finish off the night with another good showing and another win, but something happened on the way to the floor from the locker room. We think that maybe they might of went through a maze because in the 1st quarter, they seemed to make a lot of turnovers that they usually don't make. They did not seem to be ready to play and except for a run in the 2nd half, scoring by putting the ball in the basket did not exist. Even when Frankfort missed 5 straight free throws, our Kats would rebound and then go down and miss shots that they usually hit. Kokomo outrebounded Frankfort 34 to 29. Kokomo had 16 fouls while Frankfort had 18. Kokomo had 17 turnovers and Frankfort had 10. Kokomo hit on 14 of 36 field goal attempts and made only 13 of 28 free throw attempts. On this night ,any team that had any fire in them would of beaten Frankfort, but our Kats were not one of those teams. Kokomo shot from beyond the arc 14 times and hit only 3 of them. Surely this was about the worse night of basketball playing that we have seen from our WildKats. Hopefully when Tipton shows up at Memorial Gym on Saturday night, our real WildKats will be there to greet them. |
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Kokomo Boys Basketball record so far is 8 wins and 4 losses. |
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Tipton Blue Devils came north to Kokomo to play our Kats and what a good night this was. The Junior Varsity took the floor first and that team is going to do well by the time they get to be seniors. Our Junior Varsity was prepared for them though and we took that JV game by the score of 40 to 35. Kokomo was led in scoring with 11 points and Meriwether scored 9 points. Our Varsity game got started and right away Tipton tried to put the nails in the coffin by scoring 8 straight points before Kokomo wised up to there being a game played on the floor. Kokomo took charge and controlled the tempo until the end of the 3rd quarter and then the game was tied at 44 points apiece. It was anyone's game in the last quarter as Tipton came back with some great shooting everytime Kokomo tried to stretch the lead out. The scores at the stops were 16 to 12 end of the 1st; 27 to 25 at the half and 42 all at the 3rd stop. Good free throw shooting and taking the game right at Tipton sealed this game in favor of our Kats. Kokomo hit on 21 of 50 field goal tries, and hit 10 out of 13 free throws. Kokomo hit on 6 of 12 3 point shots. Kokomo out rebounded Tipton 38 to 27. Both teams had 14 fouls each. This was a good game as Tipton has a great team who knows how to play the basic basketball the way it is supposed to be played. Kokomo was led in scoring by Balantine with 28 points and Salinas scored 8 points. |
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The WildKats for the season are 9 wins and 4 losses. |
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Anderson came to town, although their fans didn't, as they brought the lowest number of fans I have seen in years. Our Junior varsity was up to the task and they took care of Anderson's JV by the score of 52 to 31, behind the scoring of Sebree with 14 points and Washington with 16 points. Our Junior Varsity's Season record so far is 11 wins and 2 losses. The Varsity took the floor and the Kokomo fans were ready to finally see a very dominate game win over Anderson. But an odd thing happened. Someone forgot to tell the Anderson team that they were destined to lose this game. Also someone forgot to notify the referees that they should do their job. After Anderson hit their first 4 shots and Kokomo missing their first 5, our WildKats were deep in a hole and couldn't climb out of it. This writer has in my almost sixty years of following basketball, seen some bad referees but tonight in my opinion they stunk. Right in front of the referee and the crowd, Kokomo was manhandled by Anderson and no fouls were called. That, in my opinion, set up the rest of the game and that is not right. Refereeing is a art but tonight dirty picttures were being drawn. That is my opinion only, thank you. Kokomo did not help the situation as they just could not get over the hump. Kokomo shot 19 times from beyond the arc and hit only 2 of them. They hit on 18 of 53 field goal attempts and made only 14 of 22 free throw attempts. They led in rebounds with 35 to Anderson's 30. The turnovers were even with 17 each. Fouls were Anderson with 19 and Kokomo with 10. To put this game in a nutshell , Kokomo just did not have the patience, nor the eyes in this game. They were beaten down the floor by Anderson who looked like the team of the old days. Maybe we have learned from this game that any team no matter what their record is, can beat any other team on any given night. The final score of this
game tonight was Anderson 57---Kokomo 52
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Kokomo took their game to Harrison on this Saturday evening and they were still stinging from the previous game loss to Anderson. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and they won their game by the score of 46 to 40 with Sebree scoring 17 points and Washington scoring 12 Our Varsity took the floor and
had a slow 1st quarter that ended with a great 3 pointer from Salinas to
get them fired up. The 2nd quater ended about the same way but 5 points
were scored in a hurry after the Harrison player missed the front end of
a one and one. Kokomo tried to stretch the lead but Harrison just would
not give in. Kokomo pulled down 25 rebounds to Harrison's 31. Kokomo had
18 fouls to Harrison having 16. Kokomo had 15 turnovers while causing Harrison
to have 21. Kokomo hit 21 of 45 field goal attempts and they hit 8 of 11
free throw attempts. Balantine had 22 points ; Weir had 9 points and Barbary
had 9 points. Good game by the Kats and Coach will have them ready for
the next game.
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Kokomo's season record so far is 10 wins and 1 loss. |
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Huntington North stood in the way of our Kokomo Wildkats on this cold, snowy evening and it was time to move them out and establish a march to the NCC championship. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and they took care of their end winnuing by the score of 46 to 34 behind the play of Sebree with 20 points and Washington with 12 points. Our varsity then came out and once the game got started it was very evident that our team was not warmed up tonight as in the 1st quarter they were about as cold as it was outside. North dominated the 1st quarter and they led at the end of the 1st quarter by the score of 17 to 11. Our Wildkats started to get a little warmer in the 2nd quarter and at the half they hunged onto a 28 to 27 lead. During that first half the Wildkats were hampered with foul throuble as both Barbury and Balantine were in trouble enough that they kept the bench warm for most of that 2nd quarter. The 3rd quarter was about even as the Wildkats still led 41 to 39 at the 3rd quarter stop. The final quarter was one that was still within reach of both teams and once Salinas made a jump shot to put Kokomo ahead 52 to 50, then it was mind games after that. North decided that with about a minute and half remaining they would work it around for one good shot. Kokomo went into a zone and then North called another time out with 53 seconds to go and when they came back onto the floor, Kokomo went into a man to man and finally was able to take the ball away and they held onto it for the win. Kokomo made 17 of 37 field goal attempts and sank 15 of 16 free throws. They outrebounded North by the count of 22 to 19. Kokomo had 17 fouls while North had 15. Kokomo had 8 turnovers to North having 9. Kokomo made only 3 of 9 from beyond the arc. Kokomo was led in scoring by Weir and Swain with 13 points each. Barbary and Bridgeforth had 7 points each. This win leaves Kokomo with a chance to tie or to win the NCC if they win at Richmond. Good Game on a cold night . . |
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Kokomo's season record so far is 13 wins and 5 losses with 2 games remaining |
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| Reported By TRAVIS MILLER |
| Midway through the first quarter of the Kokomo-Lebanon boys basketball game here Saturday night, Kokomo coach Brian McCauley was mad. He angrily called a timeout as the Wildkats continued to get beat on defense by the Tigers’ fastbreak, pressing attack. After an animated conversation with his players, something uncharacteristic from the young coach, the Kats took things to heart. “The guys would just not get back and it was pathetic,” said McCauley as he pulled no punches about his team’s early effort. “It was very frustrating and was pathetic about like our Frankfort game. So we called timeout, I chewed some butt, and they really responded from there.” Respond they did. Kokomo (11-5) turned a seven-point deficit at the end of the first quarter into a nine-point halftime lead. From there, Kokomo cruised to a relatively easy, 75-64 victory. It was the most points the Wildkats have scored in almost two months. “It’s a total team effort. You have to get contributions from everyone and that’s what we got [Saturday],” said McCauley. “You have a guy like Parker Salinas, who you look down and he was a silent assassin. He has 16 points and eight rebounds and he’s the last guy I mention.”Kokomo had contributions across the board. D.J. Balentine scored a game-high 19 points, Cheyse Swain had 13 points and three assists off the bench and Armon Bridgeforth added six points and five steals as he hustled well off the bench. Early on, however, Kokomo was sluggish. The Tigers used their quickness and the home crowd to race to an 18-11 lead after one quarter. After McCauley’s session of verbal encouragement, Kokomo’ defense clamped down, while the offense got on track. The Wildkats outscored the Tigers 22-6 in the second quarter and five different Kokomo players scored. “We had a good first and third quarter on both ends of the floor, but their defense forced us outside of our comfort zone and forced us into a lot of turnovers,” said Lebanon coach Tom Johnson. “Everyone that played for them was good. They had 23 points off of their bench and 1.29 points per possession, which is very good.” Lebanon (9-7) had its final lead of the game when Jack Day scored an inside basket at the 3:59 mark of the second quarter. That gave Lebanon a 24-21 lead, but Kokomo closed the half on a 12-0 run. Braxton Shelton, whom McCauley noted made a huge difference in the second quarter with his hustle, started the run with a rebound putback at the 3:01 mark. Balentine then gave Kokomo the lead with a runner in the lane and the Wildkats cruised from there. Salinas hit a 3-pointer one minute into the half to make it 15 straight points for the Kats. Lebanon finally responded and managed to close the lead to 47-43 by the end of the third thanks to 12 points from Trey Hendrix after he was shut out in the first half. Lebanon came no closer. The Wildkats started the final period on a 10-0 run as Swain took the game over with his physicality. Swain scored eight in the final quarter and twice found his teammates for open baskets on breaks. Bridgeforth was also a key as he had consecutive steal-and-score plays during the run. Kokomo returns home for a critical North Central Conference contest with Logansport Thursday night. Kokomo, Logan, Anderson and New Castle are locked in a four-way tie for the league lead. |
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Logansport was next on the Wildkat Schedule and we heard that Logansport was going to be tough to defeat. The Junior Varsity took the floor first and they took care on Logansport easily by the score of Kokomo 46--Logansport 29. Springer with 12 points and Sebree with 11 points led the team in scoring. The varsity took the floor and
when the game started it seem like this was going to be one of those games
where we needed to change our defense and also take care of the boards.
Logansport was very good at rebounding off a miss and putting it back in
the hole. Both Kokomo and Logansport looked like they both might heat up
the game with lots of shooting from beyond the arc. The 1st quarter was
tied at 18 points each but in the 2nd quarter Kokomo used a 11 point run
while holding Logansport to no points and that sort of helped in the end
score. Kokomo got a lot of good bench play as Clark was all over the rebound
stats bringing down 11 rebounds. Catlett provided that good great moves
to the bucket, and great defense. Bridgeforth and Braxton played good offense
and great defense. Kokomo was led in scoring with Barbary leading the way
with 24 points, followed by Balantine with 15, Salinas with 13, and Weir
with 12 points. Kokomo attempted 13 from beyond the arc making 8 of those.
Logansport made only 5 of 21 attempts. Kokomo led in rebounds with 40 to
Logansport's 26. Kokomo had 14 fouls and Logansport had 23. Kokomo had
a rough night with turnovers having 16 to Logansport's 6. Kokomo made 23
of 42 attempted shots and they hit 20 of 33 free throws. This was a great
game for Kokomo and puts them a little closer to the NCC lead.
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Kokomo record so far is 12 wins and 5 losses. |
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Time to go to Richmond and hope to at least gain a share of the NCC Championship. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and they had a close game winning it by the score of 50 to 47. Sebree led our Kats with 26 points while Washington had 12. The varsity took the floor and
right away Kokomo got the tip and Barbary scored with a trey but then the
usual 1st quarter problems started to come about and for a while it looked
like this might be one of those games where the winner would have to want
the win real bad. But the our WildKats started getting some ideas that
working the ball and watching for the open man would be the way to go tonight.
Kokomo had a 17 to 2 run there in the 1st half that sort of put this game
in the win column. It was find the man that was open, get him the ball,
and be ready to put back if there was a miss. Kokomo had 16 assists for
the game. They led at the 1st quarter 12 to 8, at the half 25 to 19, at
the 3rd quarter stop 44 to 27 and finally winning the game 61 to 46. Kokomo
made only 5 of 15 treys attempted. Kokomo won the rebound battle 41 to
29. Kokomo had 16 turnovers to Richmond's 11. Kokomo had 16 fouls and they
hit on 21 of 48 field goal attempts. Kokomo made 14 of 16 free throws.
Kokomo was led in scoring by Swain and Salinas with 17 points each, followed
by Barbary with 10. This was a game that was won with teamwork and getting
the offensive rebounds.
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The WildKats are 14 wins and 5 losses for the season so far with 1 more season game remaining. |
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Ft. Wayne Elmhurst came to town with some solid credencials and they were ready to see if Kokomo could address them. Our Junior Varsity took the floor first and they showed what Kokomo basketball is about as they took care of business by the score of 46 to 37. Sebree led the way with 21 points and Washington had 10. Great assists from Springer with his sharp passing. Great team play by entire team as our Junior Varsity had a great season winning 18 while losing only 2. Things look good for Kokomo next year. Our Varsity took the floor and when this game started , Elmhurst started taking the ball right to the basket and they took care of second chance rebounds , and built a 19 to 11 lead early in the 2nd quarter. It was call time and coach told the team to be ready to crash the boards, get those defensive rebounds and score on transition at the other end. The game was tight going into the 4th quarter but Kokomo broke out to a good lead and held it till the final buzzer even though Elmhurst was able to tie the score. This was a great game for the fans to watch and a great booster for the sectionals coming up. The scores at the stops were 13 to 10 Elmhurst, 31 to 30 Kokomo, 46 to 44 Kokomo, and 71 to 64 at the final buzzer. Kokomo hit on only 5 of 16 from beyond the arc while Elmhurst had 8 of 22 shots. Kokomo was outrebounded 37 to 35. Kokomo had 13 fouls while Elmhurst had 22. Kokomo hd only 5 turnovers for the entire game and Elmhurst had 15. Kokomo hit on 22 of 56 field goal attempts and they made 22 of 33 free throws. Kokomo played without one of it's starters who was not in school that day and so could not play. Huston Clark took his place and played a great game at both ends of the court. Kokomo had great bench play from everyone on the team and this was a great game to watch and to win. The final score tonight was
Kokomo 71--Ft. Wayne Elmhurst 64
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Kokomo Wildkats against Lafayette Jeff for the Sectional Championship. Well, it was down to win and continue, or lose and go home. Kokomo took it right at Lafayette Jeff and led this game most of the time. Jeff had a few problems getting set but once it did, it was raining shots from beyond the arc. Kokomo did have a 8 point lead in the final quarter but Jeff still had it's firepower and once they got over the hump, it was their game to win. Kokomo hit on only 4 of 15 shots in that final period and that was not enough. The scoring for Kokomo was Weir and Balantine with 15 points each, followed by Barbary, Sebree, and Bridgeforth with 9 points each. Kokomo hit on 21 of 54 field goal attempts and made 11 of 16 freethrow attempts. Kokomo outrebounded Jeff 38 to 31. The fouls were Kokomo with 16 and Jeff with 14. Kokom had 14 turnovers in this game and Jeff had 13 turnovers. The score at the stops were 15 to 9 Kokomo, 30 to 28 Jeff, 45 to 42 Kokomo, and Jeff winning 67 to 61.. This was a good game for all as we know that it is a chance this might be the last one for the year. Kokomo did breat this year and the ones coming up is an impressive group. Add that to the desire and ability of those that played tonight and we see promise for Kokomo High School. |
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AND WE WILL TAKE THAT SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT YEAR. |
