It took an electrifying, buzzer-beating, second-chance bucket by Alan Arnett in overtime for Kokomo to beat Frankfort 73-71 Friday night at Memorial Gym. The victory snapped a four-game Wildkat losing skid.
Kokomo (3-4), which trailed by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, chipped away at the lead, finally catching the Hot Dogs at 53-53 on Arnett’s basket with 4:13 to go in regulation.
Frankfort (4-3) rallied to go up 59-54, but Arnett scored on a floater in the lane and Patrick Hopkins tipped in his own miss to bring the Kats to within one at 59-58 with 35 seconds to play. Frankfort’s Stevie Loveless, who led all scorers with 28 points, made one of two from the line to make it 60-58 at :23. But Arnett drove to the left side of the lane, pump-faked a defender, and sank a bank shot to tie it at 60 at :11. Frankfort’s Jay Sheets was fouled a second later, but missed both free throws and the game went into overtime.
Arnett, who scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, twice tied the game late before his winning put-back basket. Down 69-67 with 30 seconds to play, Arnett canned two foul shots and then hit a drive with 10 seconds left to forge a 71-71 tie.
After a turnover by Frankfort, Arnett rebounded a miss by Colton Summers and scored the winning layup as time expired.
For Kokomo coach Brian McCauley, the win was just what the doctor ordered.
“What a huge win for our team and our program,” he said. “I’m so pleased with the effort that the fellows put forth to find a way to win that game. It says a lot about a team when you can find a way to win. We dodged a couple of bullets, but we also made plays.”
For the Hot Dogs, a 24-7 third quarter advantage allowed them to rebound from a 31-23 halftime deficit to take a 47-38 lead after three quarters. But Frankfort let the game slip away, and coach Jason Good was not interested in moral victories.
“I thought we played really well in the third quarter,” said Good, “but then we got a lead and we started playing not to lose. We didn’t take care of the ball at he end. We felt like we should win, and that’s disappointing.
“Hats off to Kokomo,” he added. “I thought they did a fantastic job of pursuing loose balls. There were seven or eight plays in the game where we had made an initial stop on defense and all we had to do was run down the ball. Our guys thought it was going to go out of bounds or whatever, and Kokomo’s guys sprinted to it and got it. That’s the difference in the game. It gave them second chances and they usually scored on those.”
Indeed, the Kats outscored the Hot Dogs 21-9 on second chances, including Arnett’s game winner.
The other key for Kokomo was its bench strength. Despite losing starting center Patrick Hopkins to fouls at the end of regulation, the Kats were able to stay in the game. McCauley pointed to the play off the bench of Cheyse Swain, Brock Barbary, D.J. Balentine and Parker Salinas as key in the win. The quartet combined for 20 points, 14 rebounds, and five steals. Frankfort, by contrast, got just five points and four rebounds from its reserves.
In addition to Arnett’s 22 points, the Kats got double-figure scoring from T.J. Weir with 11 and Summers and Hopkins with 10 apiece. Tyrone Brown led Kokomo with eight boards and had the tough assignment of guarding Loveless most of the night.
Loveless, who had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with his 28 points, led the Hot Dogs. Sheets scored 19 points, dished three assists and nabbed three steals.
Tonight, Kokomo hosts a tough Noblesville team. The JV game starts at 4 p.m. and the varsity follows at approximately 5:30. Tip-off time was moved up to avoid conflict with the Indianapolis Colts playoff game. Meanwhile, Frankfort travels to North Central for another difficult contest against a 4A team.
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Senior guard hits buzzer-beater in OT to beat Hot Dogs.
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