LEBANON — It didn’t take clairvoyance to deduce that Saturday night’s showdown between Class 4A No. 6-ranked Kokomo and Class 3A No. 3-ranked Lebanon in the Tigers’ Rosenstihl Gymnasium had the makings of a close affair.
The Wildkats entered the contest 5-1 on the road this season and riding an eight-game winning streak, while Lebanon, a winner of four straight, was merely unbeaten on its home floor in its last 19 outings.
Something or someone had to give, and in the end, it was Lebanon. Kokomo emerged from Boone County the 65-62 winner of a tightly contested, wildly competitive matchup.
“Tough teams find a way to win on the road, and this team showed toughness [Saturday],” said Wildkats head coach Brian McCauley. “What a great job by our guys showing poise mentally. It was just phenomenal. I’m proud of them.”
This one wasn’t decided until the final gun. After 31-plus minutes, 12 ties and 13 lead changes, Kokomo (16-3) found itself knotted at 60-all with the Tigers with 1:27 remaining in the final period.
After Tayler Persons, who led the Kats with 18 points on the night, scored a deuce to break the tie and make it 62-60 Kokomo at the 32.8 mark, the Wildkats built the lead to 64-60 with 12.3 seconds left via two D.J. Balentine free throws.
After a quick hoop by Lebanon standout Trey Hendrix, who led all scorers with 24 points, with 4.5 ticks left narrowed the Kokomo edge to 64-62, Kat guard Tony Moses made one of two freebies for a 65-62 advantage with 3.0 left on the clock.
Hendrix then had one last look, a halfcourt heave that, apropos to the closeness of the contest, found glass, iron and hardwood, in that order.
Game over.
“Lebanon is a very good team and our guys are excited,” McCauley said. “They are very tough on their home floor and [kept] finding open guys. We had a lot of calls that didn’t go our way, which was frustrating, but our guys battled. We got contributions from a lot of guys.”
Kokomo put three players in double figures: Persons, Balentine — whose 17 points moved him past Charlie Hall and into fifth on the Kats’ all-time scoring list at 1,170 markers — and LaBradford Sebree (10 points.)
“LaBradford played a steady game all evening,” said McCauley. “He played great defense and ended up in double figures, and Tayler was really good about attacking the basket through Lebanon’s zone. Our offensive balance was great and we took care of the basketball.”
Kokomo committed just seven turnovers on the night, on its way to shooting 48.1-percent from the field (25-of-52). The Kats outrebounded Lebanon 28-23 and used the offensive glass to outscore the Tigers 17-8 in second chance points.
“It’s easy to take for granted how good these kids can be, and I try not to do that,” McCauley summarized.
The loss left Lebanon at 17-3 on the year. Kokomo hosts Logansport on Thursday.