Published: March 06, 2009 12:19 am      

Surging squads clash

Kokomo takes on Lafayette Jeff in sectional play tonight

For any high school basketball team, it’s all about peaking at the right time — that is playing your best basketball heading into post-season.

Coach Brian McCauley’s Kokomo squad is doing just that. The Kats (13-7) have won six of their last seven games with the only loss during that stretch being in overtime at Anderson.

The only problem, tonight’s Class 4A Lafayette Jeff Sectional foe, the host Bronchos, are even hotter. Jeff (17-7) heads into tonight’s game on a nine-game winning streak.

Harrison (9-12) and county rival McCutcheon (9-12) will meet in tonight’s 6 o’clock opener before the Kats and Bronchos take the court at approximately 7:45.

“Jeff is a very good team and it’s going to be a challenge,” said McCauley. “But, hey, we’re a good team as well. We just have to go out and execute our game plan, play hard, play smart and play together. If we do that, we can be a difficult team to beat.”

These two former North Central Conference rivals arrived at the doorstep of the post-season in somewhat similar fashion. Both teams got up off the floor to finish.

Jeff won its first five games, then during a stretch that included tough opponents and some internal problems, lost seven of 10 games.

Kokomo likewise fought through a difficult December. Injuries and a demanding schedule left the Kats staring at a disappointing 2-4 start heading into 2009. That was where it all changed. The Kats pulled out a miraculous overtime win over Frankfort Jan. 2 and that keyed 11 wins in their remaining 14 games.

“I’m proud of our team the way we battle back from some rough spots,” McCauley said. “We defined who we are as a team and we ended the season with momentum.

“In those last 14 games the one real disappointment was the [58-37] loss to Peru. It reminded all of us that you have to come out sharp and with a defensive intensity when you are playing a good team on the road. It’s a lesson that will come in handy [tonight], because that’s the way we have to approach this game.”

Most successful programs rely on senior leadership and talent and that was certainly the case for the Kats. Patrick Hopkins, Alan Arnett and Tyrone Brown have been starting fixtures, while Ben Yeoman has contributed on the practice floor daily and in spot game situations.

“Our seniors have been instrumental in the development of the program,” McCauley said. “It’s a group this is playing well together and one that doesn’t want to lose. They’ve given us a legitimate chance of winning a sectional.”

Jeff beat Kokomo 66-64 Dec. 20, but drawing any comparisons to that game and the one being played tonight is futile.

Jeff’s Brandon Williams, who scored 10 points in the game, is no longer on the squad and guard Jesse Berry, who didn’t score a point against the Kats before being sent to the locker room by coach Scott Bunnell, is now among the state’s scoring leaders at 26.9 ppg. Two key Jeff players who did play Kokomo the first time around are 6-foot-4, 270-pound Shane Wyant (15.6 ppg, 11.7 rpg) and Roddy Richardson (12.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg).

Kokomo missed the services of Hopkins in that first Jeff game after injuring an ankle the previous night at Marion. Parker Salinas also had one of his best nights of the season against Jeff (eight points and 10 boards) but has since seen limited playing time after breaking a finger.

There were other oddities in that first meeting. In losing, Kokomo shot a season-best 65 percent from the floor (26 of 40), while Jeff shot just 38 percent (24 of 63). The discrepancy in the number of shots points to a huge area of concern for Kokomo.

In that game Kokomo had 20 turnovers (eight on steals) and the Bronchos turned those mistakes into 25 points.

“If we have 20 turnovers [tonight] we’ll lose, it’s that simple,” McCauley said. “We have gotten better handling the ball the last 15 games but we just have to be stronger with the ball in our hands and be poised when we’re pressured.”

The Kats will also have to be poised in a close game situation — the Bronchos certainly have been. Jeff won all four of its overtime games this season and four of five additional games decided by three points of less.

Hopkins leads Wildkat scoring (12.1) and rebounding (9.1), while Arnett averages 11.9 points and is tops in assists at 2.7. Other players figuring in the rotation tonight include Brown, Salinas, T.J. Weir, Colton Summers, Brock Barbary, D.J. Balentine and Cheyse Swain.