Kokomo is on a 14-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Marion is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Kokomo Wildkats will welcome the Marion Giants at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Kokomo's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.
Last Saturday, Kokomo beat Lebanon 67-57. The 67-point effort marked the Wildkats' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Kokomo got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Korbyn Hammel out in front who went 6 of 12 on his way to 17 points in addition to six assists and six boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Zion Bellamy, who posted 16 points and four steals.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Marion). They claimed a resounding 79-34 victory over Wabash. Given the Giants' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 90th, while the Apaches are ranked 276th), the result on Saturday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Marion's win came from a few key players Kokomo will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tim Jones, who went 8 of 16 on his way to 22 points along with seven boards and three steals. The game was his fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Amar Rogers, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 21 points and three steals.
Marion smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January.
Marion's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Kokomo, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: Kokomo has been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 38.6% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Marion, though, as they've only made 28.1% of their three-pointers this season. Given Kokomo's sizable advantage in that area, Marion will need to find a way to close that gap.
Kokomo was able to grind out a solid win over Marion in their previous matchup back in March, winning 65-52. Will Kokomo repeat their success, or does Marion have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
