Kokomo Wins State Record 76th Sectional Championship. (Photo Gallery Included)
This game was intense long before the opening tip when the long lines of red, blue, purple, and white-clothed fans outside of Memorial Gym started to form. Every entrance to the gym had a line full of hundreds of people waiting to watch the Kokomo Wildkats take on NCC rival the Marion Giants in the IHSAA Sectional 7 Championship. If you were to Google “Hoosier Hysteria”, a picture of last night’s crowd would show up number 1 on the search results.
The Wildkats scored the first 8 points and never lost the lead for the rest of the game. The Kats led 20-8 after the first, 35-29 at the half, 57-44 at the end of the third, and then pulled away big in the fourth to win the game 85-51.
Kokomo’s Bidunga sat nearly the entire second quarter due to early foul trouble, but still finished just four blocks shy of a triple-double. His final stat line was 20 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 blocks. There were a few times Bidunga had some dunks in the final moments in the fourth that are hard to explain with words. Personally, I’ve never heard Memorial Gym that loud. These Kokomo fans love Flory and the energy he brings to the Kokomo team. Also, remember he’s a Junior. We’ve got another year with him.
Shayne Spear also had a fantastic game for the Kats. He was the team’s leading scorer with 24 points, 10 of which came from free throws where he shot 100% on the night. Spear was also 1 assist shy from a double-double with 9 assists. The senior did exactly what a senior should do in games like this. He kept his composure in big moments and knocked down shots when the Kats needed him to. Spear has been golden from beyond the arch for most of the season, but he’s also one of the leading players in assists.
Karson Rogers showed up in a big way on Saturday night as well. Karson, who is also Junior, has been playing his best ball in the last month. He pulled off a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Kokomo fans have to look at the Rogers and Bidunga combination as one of the most exciting things about this team for the rest of this season and next year as well. Rogers also showed extreme toughness in Saturday night’s win. He took an elbow to the eye in the second quarter, sat on the bench for 30 seconds, and then jumped right back in the game.
Other notable Kats include Patrick Hardimon who finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds and Zavion Bellamy held this entire offense in check with 7 points and 6 assists.
Kokomo will face off next Saturday at 7 PM in Logansport against Fort Wayne North Side in a one-game Regional. The Kats are trying to work their way back to where their season ended last year but as last night’s win showed, they are hungry for more.
