Sheridan attacked the glass to beat Taylor 66-58 in boys basketball action Tuesday night at Center Court.
The Blackhawks had a decided height advantage and made the most of it, finishing with a 33-23 rebounding advantage with five different players contributing at least five boards. The Blackhawks had 13 offensive rebounds.
“I think that is the first game we’ve gotten out-rebounded by double digits,” Taylor coach Andy Lewman said. “We gave up [13] offensive boards — when you give up that many offensive boards, it’s very difficult to be in games, especially against a good-shooting team.
“We’re in a situation where we have to be doing the little things every night. We had some slip-ups [Tuesday] where we weren’t doing some of the things. We hit shots in the first half and we were able to try to keep it close until the second quarter — but we gave up a lot of points in the second quarter.”
Taylor led 17-16 after the opening quarter, but Sheridan started to take control with a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter. The Blackhawks pulled into halftime with a 38-29 lead.
Sheridan made 17 of 31 shots in the opening half and turned five of the misses into 11 second-chance points. Taylor shot the ball well in the half as well (making 13 of 23 shots) but had just two second-chance points.
“We knew we had to make sure we popped the boards. Taylor may be smaller, but they play hard and they crash the boards hard. They do it by committee,” Sheridan coach Cory Dunn said.
Taylor rebounded better on the defensive end in the second half and fought back into contention. The Titans closed to within three, 43-40, with 1:48 left in the third quarter, but the Blackhawks scored the final five points of the quarter to regain control.
Sheridan was up 58-47 with 2:55 left, but had to withstand one more Taylor charge. The Titans used an 8-1 run book-ended by 3-pointers from Nathan Gotshall and Challen Hodson to close to within four with :43.3 left, but Sheridan guard Tyler Jones slammed the door shut by hitting 5 of 6 free throws over the next 30 seconds to make it 64-55.
Jones finished with a game-high 28 points. Connor Stumm added 12 points for the Blackhawks. Bryan Powell had a game-high nine boards.
Hodson led Taylor with 15 points. Gotshall and Logan Barnes followed with 11 apiece and Calvin Wheeler had nine. Gotshall had seven rebounds.
The Titans showed good ball movement, especially in the first quarter when they had six assists on seven made baskets. They finished with 16 assists against just 10 turnovers.
“We’ve definitely improved offensively,” Lewman said. “I’m pleased with our progress. It’s starting to show out on the floor during games and that is a tribute to the hard work the kids are putting in in practice.
“I’m sure 59 percent in the first half is the best shooting half we’ve had for the season,” he added. “I think playing Friday, Saturday and Tuesday kind of took its toll on us as the game wore on.”
Sheridan improved to 9-3 while Taylor dropped to 4-11.
Sheridan has a game against Northwestern coming up Saturday.
“This is a tough stretch for us,” Dunn said. “We’ve been on the road a lot in the last four games, against some really good opponents [Tipton and Hamilton Heights], and I wasn’t taking Taylor lightly because their record is not indicative of how hard they play.”
Sports
Bigger Blackhawks dominate boards, beat Titans
Taylor cuts lead to four in final minute before Sheridan puts it away
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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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