Phil Cox Memorial Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Indiana had boots on the ground coverage to start the day on Saturday at historic Memorial Gymnasium for the annual Phil Cox Memorial Tournament. We watched the two semifinal games and the seventh place matchup before leaving to head south to New Castle for the Hall of Fame Classic. Here are game recaps from the three contests we covered at Kokomo High School.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kokomo 80 Merrillville 63</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensive pressure, both on and off of the ball was the difference early on for Merrillville as they jumped out to an 11-8 first quarter lead on Kokomo. However, shooting 3-13 from the free throw line in that opening period, along with turning the ball over too often, eventually caught up to the Pirates. The host Wildkats made their run in the second quarter, took a 36-25 lead into the halftime break, and never looked back. It was junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1561440' first='Korbyn' last='Hammel'] who sparked that second quarter run scoring 12 points in the period and then classmate [player_tooltip player_id='1561074' first='Baris' last='Moore'] took over in the third scoring 15 points. Kokomo went on to cruise to a 80-63 victory to advance to the Phil Cox Memorial Tournament championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1561074' first='Baris' last='Moore'] scored a team-leading 19 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1561440' first='Korbyn' last='Hammel'] added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Both [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2485720' first='A'Dayveon' last='Young'] added 13 points for the Wildkats. In the loss for Merrillville it was freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='2565742' first='Charles' last='Hardiman'] who led all scorers with 23 points. 6'6" junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2880789' first='Josiah' last='Jones'] added 18 points for the Pirates. [player_tooltip player_id='1539496' first='Kelvion' last='Brown'] pulled down 14 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Warren Central 55 Portage 37</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is really hard to overcome 21 turnovers while shooting just 27.9% from the field. That is what Portage ran into on Saturday afternoon. Credit goes to Warren Central's defense for how uncomfortable they made they Indians throughout this one. After Portage led 13-10 after the first quarter, the Warriors pretty much controlled the rest of the game. The missed shots, especially in the paint, mounted and the turnovers led to some easy scoring opportunities for Warren Central. Eventually, the Warriors ran away with a 55-37 victory to advance to the Phil Cox Memorial championship game where they will take on the host Kokomo Wildkats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2140392' first='JJ' last='Craig'], a talented sophomore guard, led a very balanced Warren Central offensive attack with 10 points. 6'5" senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1297060' first='Jevon' last='Guess'] added 9 points while [player_tooltip player_id='2053677' first='Ezekiel' last='Kirby'], [player_tooltip player_id='1540391' first='Keshaun' last='Harlan'], and Rayshaun Smith all added 7 points a piece. [player_tooltip player_id='2391218' first='O'Mari' last='Evans'] connected on five three-point shots and led all scorers with 17 points in the loss. [player_tooltip player_id='1297094' first='Michael' last='Wellman'], a Grace signee, finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Greensburg 52 Hanover Central 45</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game was all knotted up after the first quarter and going into the halftime break. Neither team could get much of a lead on the other as Hanover Central's star [player_tooltip player_id='2391211' first='Brad' last='Rohde'] battled early foul trouble and Greensburg pieced together some points led by the interior finishing of [player_tooltip player_id='2140314' first='Andrew' last='Bowman']. However, the Pirates let things slip away in the third quarter. Henry Maurer stayed hot from deep and the Wildcats got Rohde back in the game to make a difference inside. It was 41-33 Hanover Central heading into the final eight minutes. Greensburg answered with a 13-2 run to begin the fourth quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='1297041' first='Jack' last='McKinsey'] tied the game at 43-43 and then sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2140380' first='Jacoby' last='Miller'] buried a three-point shot to give the Pirates the lead at 46-43. They never looked back from there as they took seventh place in the Phil Cox Memorial Tournament with a 52-45 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1297041' first='Jack' last='McKinsey'], a senior guard for the Pirates, led the way with 15 points and 6 rebounds. [player_tooltip player_id='2140314' first='Andrew' last='Bowman'] added 13 points and 5 rebounds while [player_tooltip player_id='2140380' first='Jacoby' last='Miller'] chipped in 10 points which included that late, go-ahed three-point shot. Henry Maurer led all scorers with 19 points in the loss for Hanover Central. [player_tooltip player_id='2391211' first='Brad' last='Rohde'] finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->