Published: February 07, 2009 11:51 pm      

HOOPS: Half-court shot nearly beats Kats

Kokomo hangs on to register its 10th win of the season

Lebanon freshman Trey Hendrix’s buzzer shot of 42 feet needed to be about 41 feet, 11 inches Saturday night in Memorial Gymnasium.

Because of that extra inch, Kokomo basketball fans smiling this morning.

Hendrix’s shot bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded leaving the Wildkats with a pulsating 43-42 victory — their fourth straight win that bumps their record to 10-6.

“I really thought he’d make it,” said Lebanon coach Tom Johnson. “He practices shots like that. [Saturday morning] after practice, he hit two half-court shots.”

When asked how many he tried, Johnson said “two.”

For the second straight night, Kokomo looked to be the stronger, bigger, better team but had to fight for its life to salvage a win.

“What we did well again was that we found a way to win,” said Wildkat coach Brian McCauley. “We just have to work on free throw shooting, continue to rebound, set better screens, improve our passing and develop a better offensive flow.”

Had the Kats lost this one, it would have been because of Hendrix, the team’s leading scorer at 14 points per game. He’s listed at 5-foot-8, but likely dreams of being 5-6. He looked like a sixth grader the first half and an assassin the final 11 minutes when he scored a game-high 15 points.

He nearly had 18 points and a ride off the floor on the shoulders of his teammates.

After a scoreless first half, Hendrix scored off a drive to bring the Tigers to within seven points (29-22) with just over three minutes left in the third. He followed with a 3-pointer from 25 feet and another from nearly that far at the third-quarter buzzer.

Midway in the final quarter he hit yet another long-distance 3-pointer that brought the Tigers within a point (39-38), then with 1:27 remaining, his two free throws gave the Tigers a 40-39 lead.

What followed was a frantic 87 seconds.

After a Kokomo miss, Hendrix used a perfect 30-foot fastbreak bounce pass to Jack Day and his layup at :57 gave Lebanon a 42-39 lead. Kokomo’s Alan Arnett hit a free throw at :50 to trim the deficit to 42-40, before Kokomo forced a turnover.

Then with :27 showing, Arnett drove the lane, scored and was fouled. He added the free throw for a 43-42 lead. Kokomo worked to limit Hendrix’s access to the ball, but with :12 left, he drove, missed the layup and Patrick Hopkins claimed his individual-game school-record 18th rebound.

Hopkins was fouled but missed the front end of the bonus and Lebanon rebounded. Under heavy pressure, Hendrix was called for traveling at :05 and Arnett was fouled at :02. Again, a missed free throw allowed Lebanon possession and a timeout.

On the game-ending play, Day threw a halfcourt pass. Hendrix made the grab, dribbled once and let fly from just in front of the scorer’s bench. The shot was perfectly on line, just a touch long.

McCauley said the obvious plan was to keep Hendrix from catching the pass — without fouling.

“[Hendrix] is a tough kid with a lot of moxie,” McCauley said. “For him to get a wide open shot like that wasn’t great defense. We had hesitation on a switch and it nearly cost us.”

Kokomo hit just 17 of 46 shots from the floor and 5 of 14 from the line. Hopkins’ 13 points, 18 boards and three blocks were instrumental in the win. T.J. Weir hit 4 of 8 3-pointers for 12 points and Arnett closed with eight — including the game-deciding three-point play.

“Patrick had a great rebounding night,” McCauley said. “He had a lot of strong two-hand rebounds and that’s what was needed to pull the win out.”