HOOPS: Wildkats finish the job

By MIKE BLATT
Tribune sportswriter

February 28, 2009 12:06 am

— BUNKER HILL — Sometimes, the hardest games to win are the ones you’re expected to win.
The Kokomo Wildkats had no problems with those expectations here Friday night as they ran past outmanned Maconaquah, 76-55 in the regular season finale for both teams.
The Wildkats never trailed, sprinting to a 9-0 lead out of the gate. The Kats were up 22-9 after a quarter, 40-21 at intermission, and hit their high-water mark early in the fourth period at 68-36.
Kokomo accomplished what it set out to do. First, the Kats won, lifting their record to 13-7, their best regular season mark since 2002-03. Second, Kokomo played with intensity and focus in a game that they might easily have overlooked. And third, Wildkat fans got a glimpse of the future as freshman guard D.J. Balentine earned game scoring honors with a career-high 17 points off the bench. He nailed his first three shots, all from behind the arc.
Despite the score, the 5-15 Braves never quit, and battled Kokomo to the buzzer. Mac managed to play the Kats almost even in the second half, thanks to some hot shooting by senior guard Brennan Dexter and junior wing Curtis Hyde. The pair combined for 22 points after the break, and the Braves were able to cut a 32-point Kokomo lead to 20.
Kokomo coach Brian McCauley was pleased with his team’s strong start.
“I thought we came out with good intensity and good effort,” he said, “and that’s important when you’re playing on the road. No matter where you’re playing, when you’re on the road you’ve got to bring your own energy. You’ve got to bring your own effort because you’re not going to draw it from the familiarity of the gym and you’re not going to draw it from a large [home] crowd.
“So I thought our guys came out with focus and energy and really got off to a good start,” he added. “[It was] 22-9 at the end of the first — that really set the tone.”
Despite the outcome, Maconaquah coach Luke Zartman found some bright spots in his team’s performance.
“I thought we came out and executed the game plan very well,” he noted. “We got some great looks in the first quarter. Unfortunately, the shots didn’t fall. But I thought the effort was there, the execution was there, and for as good a team as Kokomo is, to just be able to hang close with them for a while was a tremendous accomplishment.”
Although Kokomo pressed and trapped, the Braves committed just 10 turnovers for the game. But Mac just didn’t have the manpower to contain the Kats, especially inside, where Kokomo dominated the boards, 33-22, and outscored the Braves 14-4 on second chance points.
One key for the Wildkats was their unselfish play. Kokomo notched 16 assists in the game, led by senior center Patrick Hopkins’ five.
“When you have 16 assists in a basketball game,” McCauley said, “you have good ball distribution. Guys were finding one another, they were willing to penetrate and kick, and they were willing to make the extra pass. We had good ball movement for the most part. When you do that, you’re harder to guard. It’s fun basketball to watch and it’s fun to play.”
Senior guard Alan Arnett scored 10 points and was the only Kat besides Balentine to reach double figures. However, Brock Barbary scored nine, and T.J. Weir, Tyrone Brown, and Hopkins each added eight. Hopkins and Brown led the Kats with five rebounds each.
Dexter led the Braves with 15 points, including 12 in the second half, while Hyde added 14 and Nick George 10. Brad Carver took game rebounding honors with seven.