Maconaquah Schools

Varsity vs Kokomo High School Braves fell to 2-10 on the season. Coach Burrus Quotes: "What a tough weekend for the Braves. We battled Kokomo. After trying to outrun Peru we came out and tried to slow down, and lock up a very athletic Kokomo team. Early, we were very successful. We were down 15-13 to Kokomo after one quarter. We were down 37-24 at the half. Kokomo did open the game up during the 2nd half. We continued to battle. I thought we were able to score and get some good looks against Kokomo. We ran some backdoor looks because of how aggressive their defense was. Jack Gochenour was tremendous. He finished with 34 points. He was able to get to the rim, draw fouls, and hit some big shots. Caiden Richards did a great job running our team. Caiden has really improved his ball handling throughout these first 12 games. He is a very well-rounded player. Brody Kubly came in and hit a 3 that was big in the first half. Brayden Stamper got in late and scored his first varsity points. Tyler Adams came in and battled the Kokomo big kids. I was really happy with how we came back after a physical, emotional game with Peru. I like how this team can play different styles on defense. We really had Kokomo contained for about 12 minutes of the first half. We tried some different looks on defense and offense after the score got away. Our kids tried to execute. We got some really good stuff that will pay off against other teams down the road. We now have 10 games left. A lot of these games left are against some really good teams. We will be looking to see how we can apply what we have learned from all these different experiences. 1. The scrimmage against Homestead. Ugh!!! 2. The opener at Eastern. We learned a lot that night about handling pressure. Opening game is tough on the road. 3. At Northwestern. We had to go through getting better but varsity teams keep coming. We couldn't keep our lead. 4. Wabash- Our closest loss. We played a great defensive game. We knew we were improving. Tough loss, though. 5. At Logan- Huge team. Really good guards. We battled them till the end. We played one of our better games. 6. Oak Hill- Next... 7. Caston- The comeback. We were down 20 and cut it to one posession. We took a lot out of Caston. Really good team. 8. North Miami- We were able to get North Miami because we got down 15-3 and didn't quit. Great to win one! 9. Whitko- Just couldn't hit. Defense was good. We knew we could have won that game. Frustrating. 10. Taylor- Our worst shooting game of the year. The Taylor loss led to the Tipton win. 11. Tipton- One of those regular season wins you don't forget. We put together 4 quarters. Kids were determined. 12. Peru- Tale of two halves. Scored 23 points first half. 48 points second half. Too big a hole. We were coming though. 13. Kokomo- Great to get to play there. These 12 games have grown this team. Kokomo was really good. If we played them in early December they may beat us by 50. These guys are improving every game, every week. We'll see what these next games look like. I hope you stay with this group. They are heading in the right direction. Western-Home Hamilton Heights-Home Cass- Home Carroll-Home At Southwood At Sheridan Northfield-Home At Manchester Plymouth- Home At Rochester We will keep working till the end." Gochenour 34pts 1reb 2st 1ast Richards 8pts 1reb 2ast 1st Kubly 3pts Ambrose 2pts 1reb 1ast Sims 2pts 5reb 1st 1ast Stamper 2pts Helmuth 1pt 2reb 2ast Zeiser 1reb Merritt 1reb 1st 1ast Cole 1reb 2st 1ast