By Alex Kirby
Contributing Writer
INDIANAPOLIS – Nick Kitcoff came up big in the fourth quarter Jan. 26, hitting a trio of 3-point baskets as host Pike (8-5) outlasted rival Ben Davis, 78-68, in an Indianapolis westside battle between coaching brothers Billy and Curtis Wright.
“He helps us spread the defense, and guys do a good job of penetrating and getting the shots we want,” Pike coach Billy Wright said of Kitcoff, who finished with a team-high 18 points.
With a large portion of the Wright family visiting from Richmond, Billy Wright improved to 4-0 against his younger brother.
“We came out extremely focused and executed very well,” Curtis Wright said of his Giants’ successful start. “Unfortunately, we had some breakdowns in the second, and it was more of the same in the third and fourth quarters.”
Ben Davis did, in fact, start out red-hot from the field with junior Greg Rice scoring 10 of his game-high 37 points, including the first of seven 3-pointers, in the first quarter. Pike struggled with turnovers early on, and the Giants capitalized with some quick shots in transition.
The Red Devils rallied to get within one at 11-10, but Ben Davis closed out the quarter with a 9-0 run to take a surprising 20-12 lead.
The second quarter was a different story, however, as the turnovers that had plagued the Red Devils started to give the Giants some problems. Pike distributed the ball very well as Chandler Thomas and Jeremy Turner each had five points in the quarter, with Jared Holmes and Kentel Peoples adding four apiece.
Turner, who finished with eight points, ended up leaving the game in the third quarter after feeling sick. Billy Wright said he did not know what happened with Turner, only that he started feeling ill after the halftime break.
Despite the change in momentum, Pike couldn’t retake the lead and trailed 35-34 at the break. Billy Wright had seen enough, and he had a serious talk with his team in the locker room.
“There were a few intense words at halftime,” he said.
Whatever those words were, they certainly had an effect as the Red Devils came out of the break and made a statement, jumping out to a quick four-point lead 41-37. But Ben Davis’ Deven Williams went on his own 6-2 run with back-to-back threes to tie it at 43-43.
That, though, was as close as it got in the second half.
Pike opened up the final period with a 10-0 run that featured Kitcoff knocking down back-to-back treys after being left wide open in the corner both times. The Giants made it interesting down the stretch as Rice hit four threes in the fourth quarter to get BD as close as seven, but there would be no miracle.
There was a scary moment early in the fourth quarter when Aaron Zinnerman of Ben Davis plunged all the way over the scorer’s table in pursuit of a loose ball that was headed out of bounds. The game was stopped for about five minutes while trainers tended to Zinnerman, who ended up only suffering a cramp.
The senior ended up returning to the game several minutes later.
For Ben Davis (3-10), it was its sixth loss in a row and 10th in eleven games. The Giants next travel to Terre Haute South for a Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference game Feb. 1.
Pike also gets back at it that night with a home game against Conference Indiana foe Bloomington North.
Hit
the high-tech hardwood by sharing your thoughts on our Boys Basketball message
board.
Processing your request, Please wait....
