Published: March 07, 2009 11:53 pm      

HOOPS: Kats claw through

Weir’s heroics lead Kokomo to win in OT thriller

LAFAYETTE – In thrilling fashion, the Kokomo boys basketball team claimed its state-best 70th sectional title with a 63-60 overtime victory over McCutcheon in the Class 4A Sectional 7 championship game at Lafayette Jeff here Saturday.

T.J. Weir’s shooting line wasn’t one he’ll want to remember for long — he was 2 of 9 from the field and finished with eight points — but he doesn’t care.

After missing six straight 3-point attempts in almost 32 minutes of regulation, the junior Wildkat knocked down what to date is no doubt the biggest triple of his career with :01.9 remaining, tying the game in regulation at 55-all and sending it into the extra session.

Off a set play diagrammed in a timeout with :07.8 left, Weir triggered the play inbounds and got the ball back on the left wing. After a head fake to clear his defender, Weir stepped back behind the arc and drained the trey.

“My problem was I was thinking about [shooting] too much,” Weir admitted. “In the sectional finals I just had a little more oomph on my shot, but I just cleared my mind.

“I was sitting next to Alan [Arnett in the timeout] and I told him, ‘I’m gonna make this shot,’ and he said, ‘I know you are.’ That gave me a lot of confidence knowing that a senior leader has confidence in me.”

Kokomo (15-7) advances to the Marion Regional Saturday to face Marion (20-3) in the second game after Fort Wayne Snider (22-1) and Anderson (20-4) meet in the 10 a.m. opener.

“There’s some things we could have done differently to hold [the Kats] off, but you’ve got to give Kokomo credit,” McCutcheon coach Rick Peckinpaugh said.

“Weir made a big shot with that 3-pointer. We knew what was coming. We kind of left our feet on him one time and he did a nice job faking and staying behind the line. I guess that’s the game of basketball. I can’t fault our kids’ effort.”

The Wildkats owned the overtime, leading by four points on two occasions before Nick Wittgren hit his third 3-pointer to draw the Mavericks (10-12) within 61-60.

But Weir and Cheyse Swain, who made a key steal with :03.7 left to play, each sank 1 of 2 foul shots to ice the victory.

Weir’s heroics came after the Wildkats were nearly circling the drain.

Down 55-52 with Wittgren — a 78 percent free-throw shooter — at the line with the second of two foul shots, Kokomo caught a couple breaks. Wittgren missed the second freebie and the Kats worked to get a 3 attempt from Arnett, only to have the ball go out of bounds to Kokomo. That was all the opportunity Weir needed.

“It was a phenomenal shot,” said McCauley, who at 33-32 in his coaching career now owns his first sectional championship since 2005.

“A lot of people might say it’s luck, but luck is when preparation meets opportunity. The opportunity was there and [Weir] had to hit it, and he made a nice shot fake to knock it down.”

Brock Barbary led Kokomo with a career-high 18 points. He sparked a second-quarter charge with two 3-point field goals that saw the Kats outscore the Mavs 14-2 and grab a 32-20 lead at the 3:27 mark.

Kokomo shot a terrific 63 percent ( 14 of 22) in the first half and led 34-26 at intermission.

But the Mavericks fought back, finally catching Kokomo at 44-all with a layup by Cory Rush with 6:32 left in regulation, setting up the exciting finish.

McCutcheon was a much different team than the one the Wildkats beat 55-24 on Jan. 10. That night they were missing seniors Ethan Peabody and Wittgren, who scored 17 and 18 points, respectively, Saturday.

Wittgren alone had 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“Great job by my guys,” said McCauley. “I’m so proud of them — so proud. We were really facing adversity there.

“Give credit to McCutcheon. They certainly played well enough to win that game, and we were fortunate enough to win it. … We’ll take it.”

Arnett added 15 points while classmate Patrick Hopkins contributed a monster game of 10 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.

“This is probably the best feeling I’ve had in my life,” said Hopkins, a three-year starter who suffered along with everyone as the team lost its first nine games under McCauley in 2006-07.

Ironically, McCauley’s first victory as a varsity coach that year was 49-47 over McCutcheon.

“We’ve come a long way and coach McCauley has put us in the right direction, obviously, to go from 5-16 my sophomore year to winning sectional this year. He’s doing a great job and I can’t wait for next week.”

McCauley had fond words for his 6-foot-7 redhead. “The Big Red One,” he called Hopkins. “What a warrior, I tell you. I’m so glad he’s a Kokomo Wildkat. He’s been tremendous in the building of this program and he’s given a lot of effort. I love him.

“The first year together it was a tough, tough year, but we climbed the ladder slowly and surely. Somehow we found a way to win.”