The Coca-Cola Old School Sectional tipped off Tuesday with Taylor’s narrow victory over Eastern and Kokomo’s blowout win of Maconaquah at Memorial Gym.
Tonight, the burner gets turned up higher for the semifinals. The Wildkats face Taylor at 6 p.m. in a clash of Tuesday’s winners, and the stragglers finally get in the action as Northwestern and Western write chapter two of this season’s rivalry when they meet at 8.
That second game has the ingredients for a thriller since Western won the Mid-Indiana Conference game by just two points when the rivals met on Nov. 30. In addition, both are coming off a string of narrow wins since they met last month.
Kokomo (7-0) vs. Taylor (1-6)
The Titans are looking to erase a disappointing 0-6 start to the season, a streak which was snapped after Tuesday’s 55-49 win over Eastern.
“We were definitely pleased to get the first one out of the way and get a little sense of accomplishment going there,” Taylor coach Andy Lewman said. “We’re just looking to build on that, going day by day. I felt like we played in some close games and had a couple opportunities in the first six games to crack the win column, and we just didn’t get it all finished. It wasn’t pretty on [Tuesday] night but we survived. But in a tournament setting, that’s what you’re shooting for. We’re excited to be playing [tonight].”
In order to pick up their second win in as many outings, the Titans will have to beat the Class 4A No. 8-ranked Wildkats on their home floor, a program Taylor is 0-14 against all-time.
“It’s one of those deals where we know we’re going in as the underdogs,” Lewman said. “One of our goals is to prove we belong where we’re at. It’s one of those things where I feel like we have some pieces on our ballclub that make us a team that plays good basketball on any given night. Hopefully [tonight] we’re able to be in a situation where we can be competitive and knocking on the door at the end.”
Senior Challen Hodson leads the Titans with an 11.6-points-per-game average. Nick Hoover adds 10 ppg, while Nathan Gotshall had a breakout game of 21 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s win over the Comets.
Kokomo coach Brian McCauley sees this tournament as a great chance for his team to have to prepare for a multitude of styles in a short amount of time.
“We know this is a big week for us,’” he said “Any time you have an opportunity to play in a tournament and simulate a sectional-type week is a great opportunity for your team. We’re trying to utilize the opportunity to see what it takes to win three games in a week and have the right focus, intensity and frame of mind.”
Junior Taylor Persons and senior LaBradford Sebree both average 16.1 ppg to lead the Wildkats. Junior post Erik Bowen added 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per outing.
A victory for Kokomo would give McCauley 100 wins for his career. He is in his seventh season as a varsity head coach, all of which have been at Kokomo.
Western (5-2) vs. Northwestern (4-1)
The Mid-Indiana Conference rivals step out of the league in a clash of teams that are winning at the wire.
Western has won four straight games since losing to Lebanon. The Panthers beat Eastern by two points, Rossville by three (in overtime), Hamilton Heights by eight, and Frankfort by four.
Northwestern meanwhile has won three straight since losing to Western, and by even narrower margins. The Purple Tigers beat Taylor by a deuce, topped Mississinewa by three points, and edged Maconaquah by two.
“It should be a really good matchup,” Western coach Bart Miller said. “We were able to build a pretty significant lead on them the second half of the first game, but they never stopped fighting and got it down to one point with 30 seconds to go. Our guys did a great job of showing some resiliency and being able to execute plays that needed to be made at the end of the game to solidify the win for us.”
Northwestern coach Jim Gish said that when the teams met last time, he expected a balanced Western attack, but was surprised that they had even more weapons to turn to than he’d realized.
“They have five solid scorers and a sixth guy that can definitely contribute in the scoring column,” Gish said. “It really makes it tough in the defensive area. How do you want to play them and take away their top two or three threats because they still have other people who can score.”
Point guard Evan Warden leads Western at 14.8 ppg, followed by shooting guard Des Balentine (11.4), center Ronnie Smith (10.4), forward Austin Townsend (10) and wing forward Austin Weaver (7.4).
Gish noted the Panthers shoot a high percentage on offense, and get even more effective when they rebound on the offensive end. Gish said Western is shooting more than 80 percent on second-chance shots.
“We have to definitely limit them to one shot,” he said. “We have to make it a one-and-done because they shoot at such a high percentage. They just have a really astronomically high percentage from the field.”
Northwestern is led by guard/forward Trenton Brazel, who is ripping the nets at 23.8 ppg. Also, wing Graham Ortmann averages 10.2, and post Chase Johnson adds 7.8 and 11.7 rebounds.
“When you talk about Northwestern, you’ve got to start with Trenton Brazel; excellent player in the perimeter and down in the post, he’s an excellent leader for their team,” Miller said. “You got Chase Johnson, 6-foot-7, inside, you’ve got to keep him off the boards. He makes some excellent post moves.
“Outside they’ve got some nice compliments with Graham Ortmann, Logan [Galbraith]. [Jacob Wagner] does a nice job for them along with [Blake Oakley]. They’ve got bench players that come in and give them quality minutes. They’re a well-rounded team that can present problems for you inside and out.”
Sports
Related Photos
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High riser: Kokomo guard Tayler Persons attacks the basket inside the paint around the defense of Maconaquah center Micah Pier Tuesday night in the teams’ Old School Sectional first-round contest. Persons and the Class 4A No. 8-ranked Wildkats face Taylor tonight in the semifinal round.
Discussion
Rivalries renewed in Old School Sectional semifinals
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Kats regain tennis throne
At 10:51 a.m. Saturday morning, the bulk of Kokomo’s girls tennis team sprinted from the viewing hill to the east entrance of the tennis courts to mob No. 1 singles player Morgan Mohr as she came off the court following her 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Eastern’s Courtney Clark.
The No. 3 singles match was still raging, but the team match was already won. The Wildkats had reconquered the throne from two-time defending champion Eastern and were once again champions of the Kokomo Sectional. -
Eastern boys track claims first sectional title since 1998
The boys track and field coach at Eastern High School from 1987 until last season, Paul Nicholson’s parting message to his team was simple: “Don’t deny the gift.”
That motto left such a lasting impression on the Comets’ returning athletes that they had it screen printed on their 2013 season T-shirts.
With Nicholson in attendance to celebrate with them, new coach Austin Roark and the Comets outlasted host Kokomo to win their first sectional title since 1998 Thursday night, topping the Wildkats by 3.5 points, 124.5-121.
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Eastern, Kokomo favored in boys track sectional
Some of the names and faces have changed, but the plot remains much the same.
The Kokomo boys track and field sectional, much like last year, will likely be a two-horse race between the host and three-time defending champion Wildkats and Eastern, a team looking to break through and win its first sectional title since 1998. -
Cole to jump at Miami University
Eastern athlete Grant Cole has only been a long jumper for two seasons, but being turned on to the event late in his career has landed him a scholarship to Miami University.
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Comets roar to sectional title
As the old adage goes, it’s harder stay on top than it is to reach the top.
Eastern’s girls track and field team entered the 2012 postseason hoping to put in a strong enough effort to claim the program’s first sectional title.
Having done so, the Comets entered Tuesday’s postseason opener — the Madison-Grant Sectional — with a much larger bull’s-eye on their backs than in previous years.
Eastern proved up to the challenge, scoring a landslide victory to repeat as sectional champions with 125 points. -
Dexter leaving Eastern
Eastern girls basketball coach Jeremy Dexter has stepped down from the Comet program after accepting the AD job at Churubusco last week. Churubusco is in Whitley County about 15 minutes west of Fort Wayne.
Dexter led the Comets to a Class 2A state runner-up finish this past season. -
Hunter edges Shrout in Thunder Car thriller
Two drivers who are no strangers to Victory Lane returned there Sunday night at the Kokomo Speedway. Meanwhile, a third driver scored just the second feature win of his career at the local oval to highlight the racing action.
Chris Hunter, the winningest Thunder Car driver in the history of the local oval, ground out a gritty win over defending track champion Jason Shrout to highlight the chilly night. -
Girls track sectional is tonight
Eastern’s girls track and field team is ready to chase some more championship hardware.
Two weeks ago, the Comets won their fourth straight Howard County meet. Last week, they won their fourth straight Mid-Indiana Conference meet. Now, the postseason is here, with the Madison-Grant Sectional tonight.
“We’re looking forward to taking the next step,” Eastern coach Michael Goodspeed said. -
Athlete of the week
Oyler led the way as Class 2A No. 5-ranked Eastern beat Cass (4-3) and Hamilton Heights (5-4 in 12 innings) to move to 6-0 in the Mid-Indiana Conference with one league game remaining.
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Page family bonds over martial arts
A mother and father to six children, Jason and Denise Page began to run into your typical challenges associated with such a large family back in 2008, once the oldest children reached an age where they started to have desires to be involved in sports and other extracurricular activities.
As the commitments started to pile up, it didn’t seem like there were enough hours in the day to accomplish all the pitstops and still have time left over to fellowship as a family.
Karate to the rescue. - More Sports Headlines
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