Giants prove worthy of No. 1 spot

By PEDRO VELAZCO
Tribune sportswriter

December 15, 2007 12:08 am

— The Marion Giants ascended to the top spot in the Class 4A poll this week and looked nothing short of top flight in a 69-51 victory over Kokomo Friday night in Memorial Gymnasium.
The Kats pushed the Giants in the first 10 minutes, opening a 24-14 lead early in the second quarter, but then Marion kicked into a gear the home team couldn’t match. The Giants ripped off a 16-0 run in the second quarter to go from 10 points down to six points up at 30-24 and never looked back against their North Central Conference foes.
The Giants improved to 4-0 (1-0 NCC) on the season while Kokomo fell to 2-2 (0-2 NCC).
Sparked by Scott Wood’s hot hand, Marion ripped off its 16-0 run aided by five straight Kokomo turnovers. Wood, a 6-foot-5 junior wing, hit three treys and had a dunk in that span. He finished with a game-high 27 points including eight 3-pointers.
“I thought we had some guys that stepped up and made some big shots. Then Scott Wood made his huge baskets in the second quarter, really got us going and just played an outstanding game,” Marion coach Joe Luce said.“… When we went to our man [defense] we slowed them down. Offensively it helped us get better.”
With that, Marion sped past Kokomo, leading the rest of the way. It nullified a dream start for Kokomo.
Fueled by center Patrick Hopkins’ strong passing and post play, the Kats raced to a 19-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and scored the first five points of the second frame on a Hopkins hoop and a trey by Colton Summers. Hopkins had five points, three assists, three rebounds and a block in the opening quarter. Over the same period, the Kokomo defense frustrated Marion.
“We came out and really did a nice job defensively,” Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said. “We hounded Wood and [Marion guard Julius] Mays and made it difficult for them to catch the ball. They were disorganized and trying to figure out what we were doing defensively.
“Offensively we started extremely well. We got the ball inside, Patrick Hopkins made some tremendous passes and got Tyrone Brown underneath the basket for some easy layups. We got some high-percentage shots and knocked down a couple shots and boom, we’re right where we need to be.”
Then the game turned. With Kokomo up 24-16, Hopkins committed an offensive foul and left the game briefly with his second personal. It was the first of five straight Kat turnovers. Wood pounced with two straight 3-balls, and a steal and a dunk to tie the game.
“When you get careless with the basketball Marion does a tremendous job scoring with their defense,” McCauley said, recounting Wood’s highlight reel. “All of the sudden we go from up 10 to tied. That was kind of a run that broke us. From there we were playing uphill the rest of the night.”
Marion led 37-28 at halftime. Kokomo trimmed the lead to seven points to start the second half but got no closer. Wood hit 3-pointers in each quarter — banking in his final triple in the fourth quarter to push the Marion lead to 59-43.
“He does that every day,” Luce said of Wood’s hot shooting. “I see it all the time. He’s a very good basketball player, one of the best players in the class of ’09, and you’re just starting to see glimpses of it.”
The Giants ended any doubt with an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter to push the lead from to 22 at 65-43. Jay Edwards scored eight points in the run, scoring on two alley-oop dunks, a transition hoop from Mays and a steal and a slam to close the outburst. Edwards finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. JaRob McCallum came off the bench to add 13 and Mays had eight points and five assists.
“They’ve got four outstanding offensive players, and Lamar Jackson who is a tremendous guy who knows his role of defending and rebounding,” McCauley said. “They’re a tough team and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in Conseco come March.”
Hopkins scored a dozen points for Kokomo. T.J. Weir led the Kats with 13 while Brown got inside the Marion defense for 10.
“I was really pleased with our effort,” McCauley said. “These games are making our team better. They’ve got to understand we battled the No. 1 team, the best team in the state. The guys have to be proud of their effort. They are doing a nice job of competing and we have to keep building on that.”

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