Kentucky Outlasts Indiana To Snap Skid
FRANKFORT, KY – All good things must come to an end.
The Indiana All-Star boys basketball team found that out in tough fashion Sunday afternoon.
Host Kentucky survived blowing a big second-half lead and then outlasted the Hoosier squad 111-110 in double overtime at the Frankfort Convention Center.
Kentucky, with the win, snaps a 17-game losing streak to Indiana in the annual two-game series. Indiana had won 23 of the last 24 games prior to Sunday with Kentucky’s last win coming by a 95-78 count back in 2008.
Indiana, which had posted a 94-89 victory Saturday night in Indianapolis, trailed 82-66 with 8:30 to play. The Hoosier squad stormed back to tie the game at 96-96 to force overtime. Mack Smith led the rally as he scored 13 points on a trio of treys and four free throws in a key stretch. Smith also hit a shot and a free throw in the final minute to tie the game.
Each team scored five points in the first extra session to make it 101-101. The hosts held on for the win after hitting two free throws in the final minute after a technical foul was whistled on Mack Smith of the Indiana squad. Jake Ohmer, who scored a game-high 30 points for Kentucky, hit a pair of free throws with 38.3 seconds to play after the technical to make it 111-108. Indiana had a chance to tie it again, but a 3-point try by Jalen Adaway was off the mark and Grant Smith put back in the offensive rebound at the final horn for the 111-110 final.
The game, which was tied 19 times and featured 13 lead chances, was knotted at 44-44. Indiana led by as many as nine points in the opening half.
Warsaw graduate Kyle Mangas netted four points for the Indiana squad. The guard did not attempt a shot from the field, but was 4-4 from the free throw line. He also had three rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes of playing time.
Mangas, who is headed to play at Indiana Wesleyan University, was the 11th Warsaw player to make the All-Star team and the first since Nic Moore in 2011. Mangas finished his prep career fourth in career scoring at WCHS with 1,450 points, trailing only Mr. Basketball Award winners Kevin Ault and Jeff Grose and runner-up Moore.
“No one on the team was too happy with the loss,” said Mangas in a phone interview shortly after the marathon contest. “It’s a big deal because we wanted to keep the winning streak going. Everyone was pretty upset.
“It was a pretty crazy game. We had a lot of turnovers and some rebounding issues and got down big, but then got out on the break and got going to come back late.”
Kris Wilkes, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, led his team with 28 points. The UCLA recruit also had 14 rebounds.
Warren Central guard Mack Smith, who will play at Eastern Illinois, had 23 points for the Hoosier squad. Sasha Stefanovic, who will play at Purdue, scored 15 points and Logansport’s Jalen Adaway had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Grant Smith, who will join Mangas at IWU, had a big game. The former Connersville High School star totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Jake Ohmer poured in a game-high 30 points to pace Kentucky. Terry Taylor had 22 points and 17 rebounds for the winners.
Kentucky won despite an off game from Mr. Basketball Taveion Hollingsworth. He scored just eight points on 3-17 shooting from the field. Hollingsworth had 30 points in the contest Saturday night.
Indiana played the game with just nine players. Jack Nunge, a 6-10 forward who had 12 points and nine rebounds in Indiana’s win Saturday night, did not play as he had to leave the team to report to Iowa.
Indiana shot 36-92 overall from the field, including 10-31 from 3-point range. The Hoosiers were 28-38 from the free throw line and had 65 rebounds and 14 turnovers.
Kentucky finished 36-97 shooting, including a 14-39 effort from distance. The hosts were 25-34 from the line and had 63 rebounds and 15 turnovers.
Kentucky had a 20-13 scoring edge in points off turnovers and a 27-17 advantage in second-chance points.
The game was the first overtime contest in the series since 2003.