Kokomo’s boys basketball team had plenty of reasons to feel good Saturday night.
The Class 4A No. 9-ranked Wildkats beat Lafayette Jeff 45-35 at Memorial Gym to complete a weekend sweep of a pair of Sectional 7 opponents, improve to 6-0 overall and extend their home-court winning streak to 18 games. In addition, the Kats received a visit from Hall of Fame coach Basil Mawbey after the game.
Mawbey, who led Kokomo to a state runner-up finish in 1989 and took Connersville (1983) and Lewis Cass (2003, Class 2A) to state titles, was recognized at halftime of the game.
Mawbey told the Kats that he liked what he saw.
“That was great,” Kokomo swingman LaBradford Sebree said. “Coach Mawbey coached my dad [Brad, a 1990 Kokomo graduate]. He was telling us we have the potential to be another state team because we have everything it takes, we just need to keep our focus.”
Current Kokomo coach Brian McCauley also appreciated the postgame talk. McCauley played for Mawbey-coached Kat teams.
“He is a guy who has been at the top,” McCauley said. “For him to come in and give us some insight on what it takes, that means a lot and we really appreciate that. I think our kids really listened to what he said.”
Kokomo threatened to blow out Jeff, jumping to a quick 7-0 advantage and going on to lead 15-5 after the opening quarter, 23-13 at halftime, 31-15 midway through the third quarter and 38-23 early in the fourth quarter. But, Jeff followed with an 8-0 run to draw within seven (38-31) with 5:01 left.
The Bronchos had chances to draw closer, but failed to take advantage. Sebree then took control, snapping the Kats out of their brief funk. He scored six points over a 78-second stretch to give the Kats a 44-33 lead with 1:06 remaining.
“Being a senior, when other teams make a run, I feel like it’s a little bit of my place to kind of counteract it and stop it and just lead my team,” Sebree said.
Kokomo took a similar path to victory against Marion on Friday night. In that one, Kokomo build a 32-15 halftime lead, then saw Marion close to within two in the final minute. The Kats emerged with a 57-55 win.
“We got the win [against Jeff], that’s the most important thing,” Sebree said. “At times we played good — in the first half, like [Friday] night. I think in the second half, our offense got a little stagnant but like Coach always says, we found a way.”
McCauley called it a “grind-out win” and pointed to the Kats’ defense as the key. Kokomo held Jeff to 34.4 percent shooting from the field and forced Jeff into 18 turnovers.
“This time of year, you really have to be tough to defend well and I think we’ve put together some good defensive games,” McCauley said.
Sebree led the Kats with 14 points and six rebounds and he also had two steals. Tayler Persons had 12 points, four assists and four steals. Hakim Burnett had seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. And Erik Bowen chipped in seven points and six boards.
Quarin Hood led the Bronchos (3-5) with 12 points.
“I liked the way our kids battled and hung around. We didn’t give in to them,” Jeff coach Scott Radeker said. “It’s just too many turnovers. Some were forced by them, but there were some where we just threw the ball at our guy’s feet and nobody was guarding us. ... Until we learn to have a little more focus and a little more concentration to make a fundamental play, then we’re not going to be able to win games like this.”
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Related Photos
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ATTACKING: Kokomo guard Hakim Burnett goes up for a basket as Lafayette Jeff guard Devin Haney gives chase during the first half of Saturday night’s game at Memorial Gym. Burnett had seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Class 4A No. 9-ranked Kats’ 45-35 win. KT photo | Kelly Lafferty
Discussion
No. 9 Wildkats fend off Lafayette Jeff
Unbeaten Kokomo impresses former skipper Mawbey in win
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GASKINS: Hibbert’s block was thing of beauty
For the better part of the NBA season, ESPN devoted all kinds of time on SportsCenter episodes to replays of two dunks. Anyone who watches any ESPN at all surely knows the two to which I’m referring: 6-foot-11 DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers posterizing 6-3 Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, and 6-8 LeBron James of the Miami Heat hammering home a dunk over 6-2 Jason Terry of the Boston Celtics.
Day after day, ESPN commentators lavished endless praise, which quickly grew tiresome. The dunks were strong, but Jordan and James were much taller and heavier than Knight and Terry and the dunkers also caught perfect alley-oop passes with the defenders in poor positions to defend. Still, ESPN commentators loved these plays.
I kept wondering if a great defensive play would receive the same kind of love. -
Coons, Walker, Glassburn reach Victory Lane
When the dust settled Sunday evening at the Kokomo Speedway, a pair of drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the past at the local oval found themselves there once again while a talented up-and-comer hit the hallowed ground for the first time.
Jerry Coons Jr. had his way in the sprint car feature and Craig Walker seemed to get faster as the laps wound down to win the Street Stock main event, however Kokomo High School sophomore Kory Glassburn had to scratch and fight before scoring the first feature win of his career in the Thunder Car A-main. -
Field is set for Indianapolis 500
After being bumped from the starting field while sitting on the qualifying line on pole day, Josef Newgarden turned the fastest time on bump day, assuring himself a spot in the Indianapolis 500.
The field of 33 cars will have one final opportunity to practice on Friday before next Sunday’s 97th running of the 500.
One year ago the Sarah Fisher Racing Team withdrew Newgarden’s entry on the first day of qualifying and had to qualify on bump day. This year the team decided not to make another qualifying run and got bumped. -
Athlete of the week
Cole led the small-school Comets to the Kokomo Sectional title, their first title since 1998.
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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. - More Sports Headlines
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