By TRAVIS MILLER
RICHMOND — After seven years, the Kokomo Wildkats are North Central Conference boys basketball champions once again.
And with the effort the junior class put forth in Kokomo’s 61-46 victory over Richmond here Friday night, the Wildkats can think about repeating next year.
Junior forwards Cheyse Swain and Parker Salinas were dominant for the Wildkats against the undersized Red Devils. Both players scored 17 points while Swain added 11 rebounds to notch a double-double.
Kokomo shared the NCC title with New Castle, which defeated Anderson 65-57 to get its own share of the crown.
“What a win. This is a credit to everyone who has been a part of our program,” fourth-year Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. “Just a couple of years ago, we were sitting a 1-6 in this conference after this game and now we’re all the way back at 6-1. That’s a lot of hard work and the kids have battled, grown, and matured. It’s a step-by-step process and we also need to thank [JV coach Matt] Weaver, [varsity assistant Phil] Cox, and all the way down to our middle school program because many of these kids were middle schoolers when we started this.”
After a slow start by both squads, Kokomo pulled away with a critical 17-2 run that bridged the first and second quarters. That run turned a 7-5 deficit into a 22-9 advantage over the course of eight minutes. Salinas provided a big boost to the run, scoring twice off of offensive rebounds and also hitting a 3-pointer. Kokomo led for good from that point on, and the Red Devils never got within six points.
As usual when Kokomo is playing well, the Wildkats derived their success from sharing the basketball. Kokomo finished the night with 16 assists on 21 made field goals. Those assists were spread across seven players with T.J. Weir notching a team-high four. Kokomo also completely dominated the glass, outrebounding Richmond 41-19.
“We felt that we could attack Richmond inside either with dribble penetration, passing inside, or on the offensive glass,” said McCauley. “We did a great job of outrebounding them and creating second chances with 11 offensive rebounds. That is a big key when you can control those second chances.”
Richmond managed to cut the lead back to 25-19 by halftime, but that is when Swain took the game over. Swain completely dominated the third quarter, scoring 13 points and owning the glass as the Red Devils were no match for him. Swain personally outscored Richmond 13-8 in the quarter, helping the Red and Blue pull away to a 44-27 lead.
“Coach just said, ‘Cheyse, rebound,’ and that’s what I did,” Swain said. “I wasn’t out there by myself rebounding over five guys. T.J. was out there and we had Parker in the post, but my main focus was rebounding. When I rebound, I score. This was a team effort though with those 16 assists. Coach just said to leave it all out there like it was our last game and that’s what we did.”
Swain, who has also been a member of three consecutive NCC championship teams in football, joined seniors Weir, Brock Barbary and Braxton Shelton as players who have carried their success over to the basketball court. Weir also became the rare Kokomo athlete who has won conference championships in baseball, football, and basketball over the course of his decorated career. Weir finished Friday’s game with nine rebounds from his guard position, while Barbary scored 10 points.
