Published: January 26, 2008 12:41 am            

Kats’ 3-point accuracy keys upset win over Indians

The boys basketball teams from Kokomo and Anderson stared at each other for four minutes in the first overtime at Kokomo’s Memorial Gym Friday night, daring each other to make a move. Anderson held the ball, Kokomo held its ground.

The staredown wasn’t decided by which side blinked first, rather which side took the initiative.

After a scoreless first overtime where Anderson had the ball the entire time and missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, Kokomo took the lead in the second bonus session and emerged with a 58-55 double-OT victory.

“Coach said this was the biggest win we’ve had together and that’s definitely the truth,” said Kokomo guard T.J. Weir after emerging from the postgame talk with Kokomo skipper Brian McCauley. Kokomo moved to 7-7 on the season and 2-2 in the North Central Conference. Anderson fell to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in the NCC.

McCauley said before the game, he told the players ‘‘‘guys, you’re going to get their best shot.’ And the guys responded so well because Anderson is a very, very tough team and they don’t want to lose four in a row. We got their very best and we responded well and beat an outstanding team.

“The guys understood the magnitude of this game, the opportunity to beat a really solid, hungry Anderson team. When’s the last time Anderson lost four in a row? I don’t know, but I do know they have now and it’s because we responded so well.”

Anderson led 27-22 at halftime and 41-40 through three quarters. In the fourth, the teams traded leads four times before the Indians took a 51-47 lead on two free throws by Troy Taylor. Taylor was 4 of 4 from the stripe in the fourth quarter but twice in the final two minutes other Anderson guards missed front ends of 1-and-1 shooting opportunities. That helped set the stage for Colton Summers to be Kokomo’s first hero.

With Anderson holding a 53-50 lead, Summers nailed a running 3-pointer off one foot with :04 showing to send the Kokomo crowd into overdrive — the game into overtime.

“It was crazy,” said Weir, who had three triples in the fourth. “It was packed in here. Colton hit a crazy, unbelievable shot — that was huge.”

Anderson won the overtime tip and Kokomo retreated to a 2-3 zone defense. The Indians held the ball and stared down the Kats, who waited until 20 seconds remained before coming out defensively to force the issue. After a ball was deflected out of bounds as an Indian guard drove, Anderson had an in-bounds play with four seconds left but Jeremey Dupree’s long-range effort was off the mark.

That was exactly the kind of shot Kokomo wanted to see as the Kats worked to protect the middle during the entire overtime, and especially when the Indians inbounded the ball with four ticks left.

“They got the tip, we decided to make the move to force them to play on the perimeter,” McCauley said. “Seventy-five percent of their offense comes within the 3-point line so we decided to play the percentages and make them shoot a tough shot. Fortunately it worked out for us.”

In the second OT, Kokomo got the tip and struck first on a slashing hoop by guard Jacob Blackamore. Anderson’s Justin Fuller then tied the game at 55-55 with a rebound hoop. Kokomo’s Patrick Hopkins was fouled on the next possession. He missed his free throws but Kokomo’s Tyrone Brown popped the rebound loose and got the ball out to T.J. Weir, who banked in a triple — his seventh trey in eight attempts — with 1:35 left.

“We hit a lot of big shots,” Weir said. Along with his seven, He hit seven triples, fellow sophomore Summers hit four. “Tyrone Brown had a lot of big offensive rebounds for us down the stretch, Patrick [Hopkins] got a lot of big defensive rebounds, Pat had a lot of good assists to Tyrone. It was a good team win.”

Taylor had a look at a 3-pointer to tie in the closing seconds of the final overtime session but missed and Summers snagged the game-ending rebound.

Weir scored a career-high 23 to lead Kokomo. Summers added 13, Hopkins 11 and Brown eight. Hopkins added six assists and a game-high eight rebounds. Summers had six boards and Brown five. Brown also pressured Taylor into a key miss on a fast-break opportunity with less than a minute left in the second overtime. That preserved Kokomo’s three-point lead.

Kokomo played without guard Alston Andrews, who is still feeling the effects of a football injury. The Kats play at Harrison tonight.

Taylor led Anderson with 25 points including 19 in the second half. McGrady scored nine, Roshawn Nunn added seven and Dupree six. Five-foot-10 guard Fuller led Anderson with seven rebounds.

Anderson was frustrated with the loss.

“It was a game that we let get away and it was a game that we didn’t finish off,” Anderson coach Ron Hecklinski said. “That being said, when you don’t finish it off, the other team has to make the plays and they made the plays. They made some huge shots.”

        

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