BOYS BB: Kats win at New Albany; Taylor, Western, Tipton, TC post wins as well

Dec. 4—Kokomo's boys basketball team made a three-hour road trip to face New Albany on Saturday and the Kats came away with a 71-63 win.

The Class 4A No. 8-ranked Kats led 21-15 after the first quarter and 42-34 at halftime. The Class 4A No. 22 Bulldogs kept the Kats from pulling away in the second half as the lead never reached double figures.

Mr. Basketball candidate Flory Bidunga led the Kats with 25 points and 23 rebounds — his 53rd career double-double in 60 career games. The Kansas recruit also blocked six shots and dished two assists. He was 12 of 14 from the field with nine dunks and he made his only free throw attempt.

Fellow big man Karson Rogers also had an impressive game. He scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished a team-high five assists. He was 10 of 11 from the field and 1 of 2 from the foul line.

Also for the Kats (3-1), Baris Moore scored nine points and Reis Beard had six points.

Chris Lampkins ked New Albany (2-2) with 23 points.

Bidunga's 23 rebounds are the second most in the modern era of Wildkat basketball (since 1986); he holds that record with 24. His 17 defensive rebounds tied a personal high. He pushed his career scoring total to 1,130, which moved him past Brandon Wood (1,114) and Bruce Rose (1,124) for ninth in Kokomo history. He is one behind Tayler Persons and four behind Ron Hughes.

Kokomo is now 2-0 all-time against New Albany; the previous win was 58-56 in the 1959 IHSAA Final Four at Butler Fieldhouse.

Kokomo visits McCutcheon on Friday to begin North Central Conference play.

TAYLOR 50, WEBO 43

Taylor capped a 3-0 week with a victory at Western Boone. The Titans improved to 4-1 overall, having played all five games on the road.

The Titans' full-court pressure allowed them to build an early lead against the Stars. The Titans led 16-9 after the first quarter after forcing six turnovers in the final five minutes. They started the second quarter on an 8-2 run to go up 13, capitalizing on six more WeBo turnovers.

The Titans led 26-15 at halftime. The Stars closed to within seven in the third quarter, but the Titans pushed their lead to 14 early in the fourth quarter. From there, the Titans held off the Stars down the stretch.

Taylor had nice offensive balance. Javionne Harris scored 14 points, Drey McClatchey had 12, Christian Hall had 11 and Connor Binnion had nine.

Taylor hosts Northwestern on Friday for its home opener.

WESTERN 69, FRANKFORT 66

Logan Nelson scored 30 points to lead the Panthers past the Hot Dogs in a matchup of Sectional 22 teams at Case Arena. Nelson made five 3-pointers, five 2-pointers and was 5 of 5 from the foul line.

Nelson is averaging 21 points per game through the first two weeks of the season. He had a 32-point game against Twin Lakes on Nov. 25.

The Panthers (2-2) backed Nelson with balance in Saturday's win. Carter Biggs scored 13 points and Hudson Biggs and Aidan Quillen had 10 points apiece. Sam Thurston rounded out the scoring with six points.

Kye Kirby led the Hot Dogs with 36 points.

Western visits Class 2A No. 7 Tipton on Friday for a Hoosier Conference East Division game.

TIPTON 54, FRANKTON 40

Nolan Swan scored 23 points, dished three assists and took six steals to lead the Class 2A No. 7 Blue Devils to an impressive win at Frankton.

Tipton led 16-10 after the first quarter, 31-16 at halftime and 51-29 after the third quarter before cruising to the 54-40 final.

Also for Tipton (3-0), Grady Carpenter had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Jackson Money had 10 points and two assists.

Javon Miller led the Eagles (3-1) with 13 points.

Tipton hosts Western on Friday to begin Hoosier Conference East Division play.

TC 55, FRONTIER 52

Trenton Patz recorded a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead Tri-Central past Frontier 55-52 at Frontier.

The Trojans (2-1) had other standouts. Landon Grant drilled five 3-pointers for 15 points and Stetson Newcom had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Frontier (0-3) led 17-15 after the first quarter, but the Trojans outscored the Falcons 34-20 over the middle two quarters to take control.

TC hosts Eastern on Friday to begin Hoosier Heartland Conference play.

ALEX 55, EASTERN 50

Down 52-50 in the final minute, Eastern had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the game at Alexandria. The Comets came up empty on the possession and the Tigers made three free throws in the final seconds to win 55-50.

The first half was a tale of two different quarters. Alex outscored Eastern 17-6 in the first quarter and the Comets outscored the Tigers 17-5 in the second quarter. Alex regained control by winning the third quarter 21-14.

Carson Cuneo led Alex (2-1) with 25 points.

Corbin Snyder led Eastern (1-3) with 17 points and Colton Lindsay had 16 points. Perry Kochensparger and Canon Cook combined for another 13 points.

The Comets visit Tri-Central on Friday to begin Hoosier Heartland Conference play.

OLE MISS 54, NW 46

Mississinewa gained separation in the third quarter to knock off host Northwestern. The Indians led 10-8 after a quarter and 23-19 at halftime, then put up 21 points in the third quarter to take a 44-30 lead after three.

Preston Sims led Northwestern (2-2) with 16 points. Hayden Cook had a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards. Preston McCann led Mississinewa (2-2) with 13 points. Next for Northwestern is a game at Taylor on Friday.