With an opportunity to cut down the nets on the line, nerves can fray quickly even in a clash of relative equals.

Saturday night in the final of the Class 4A Kokomo Boys Basketball Sectional, it was Lafayette Jeff that displayed nerves of steel, and it was the Bronchos who got up close and personal with the rim after the game.







Their reward for steely focus was to take a set of scissors to the nets and take home souvenirs.

The Bronchos charged back from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to emerge with a 67-61 victory and the sectional hardware. The victors survived two scares from the Kats, first when Kokomo raced to a 13-3 lead in the first quarter, and again when the Kats posted leads of 50-42 and 52-44 in the fourth.

“I thought we just weathered the storm twice,” LJ coach Scot Bunnell said. “The start of the game I called one timeout and said, ‘Guys, let’s figure this out.’ Second half, we took their best shot. I thought they threw a couple knockout punches at us and we responded, and we’ve got players that can make plays, and that’s what they did down the stretch.”

The Bronchos roared back in the fourth with their bread and butter all night — big 3-pointers. Jesse Berry hit one to bring the Bronchos to within 52-49, then Colin Bultinck hit one to trim the lead to two at 54-52 with 5:06 left. At that point, the Bronchos weren’t chasing anymore, they were casing.







Jeff hit a dozen triples on the night.

“Their shooting was very good,” Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. “A couple times, they just hit tough shots. They’re a good team, a very good team, and they’re capable of hitting though shots. The mistake we made was we gave them a few too many open looks that we could have got covered a little better.”

Jeff tied the game with a rebound hoop by Roddy Richardson, then went ahead on a drive and two free throws by Berry, who poured in 33 points to lead all scorers. With 2:51 left, Jeff was up 58-54.







“We were in the driver’s seat there in the fourth, and just made some mistakes offensively, turnovers, missed some shots, and they hit some shots, big shots,” McCauley said. “[Nick] Stacy was big for them. You know Berry’s going to be Berry, he’s one of the best players in the state in my opinion, but Stacy really got going.”

Berry had five triples and Stacy hit four, finishing with 14 points. Stacy’s three triples in the first half were a lifeline as Jeff stayed within striking distance. Kokomo led 30-28 at halftime.

“I thought we got a big boost from Nick Stacy,” Bunnell said. “I thought Nick’s 3s early just allowed us to hang in there. I thought the ball moved really well and we got open shots. It was a tough environment to make them in. Our guys showed that great toughness and togetherness and knocked them down.”







Jeff needed to hit from outside to offset a Kokomo team which clicked from the start and led at every quarter break. Kokomo got seven points from D.J. Balentine to establish a 15-9 lead after the first quarter, then the shorthanded Kats got a big lift in the second quarter from an unexpected source.

Freshman LaBradford Sebree hit three 3-pointers for nine points in the second quarter, and also grabbed three rebounds in the first half to help Kokomo post a two-point halftime lead.

The Kats needed to find alternate players since usual starter Cheyse Swain was limited to 3:38 of playing time due to a previous ankle injury. Kokomo also played without starter Parker Salinas for the third straight game due to an undisclosed reason.







Kokomo got strong play from starting guards T.J. Weir, D.J. Balentine and Brock Barbary. Weir and Balentine each scored 15 points while Barbary grabbed 10 rebounds. In the end though, Jeff’s defense took more and more away from the Kats, who were just 4 of 15 from the field in the fourth quarter.

McCauley praised his team for playing well despite being shorthanded in the sectional. He said the season started with a lot of unknowns. One thing he knew for certain by the time it ended: he liked what the Kats became.

“All in all, really the guys, they battled, they fought, they laid it on the line,” McCauley said of Kokomo, which won a share of the North Central Conference title. “It’s a great senior group, very competitive, but they’re winners, they’re champions.”