By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In basketball terms, a “kill” occurs when a team gets three consecutive defensive stops.
For the Kickapoo Chiefs, a triple kill – nine straight stops – goes a long way in taking over a rivalry game in a hostile environment.
Kickapoo’s defense sparked a big second-half surge on Friday night. In a game that was Glendale’s to win through three quarters, the Chiefs took over and won 78-59 on the Falcons’ home court.
The Chiefs have now won five straight against their south-side rivals, but this one was far more competitive than the final score shows. Kickapoo trailed by four late in the third quarter.
“We locked in and played team defense,” said Chiefs coach Mitch McHenry. “We just didn’t take a whole lot of pride on either end of the court early on.”
Glendale freshman guard Amare Witham exploded for 25 points – including 13 in the third quarter – and had the Falcons poised for their first win over the Chiefs since 2018.
Witham, who is two points away from breaking Glendale’s single-season freshman scoring record held by Jordan Walton (’18), buried a 3-pointer late in the third quarter that put the Falcons up 46-42.
Kickapoo rose to the challenge.
The Chiefs responded with a 27-3 run – nine straight stops during one stretch – and cashed in Glendale turnovers for easy transition points.
“I thought we did a great job of getting out in the open court and playing with each other. We made the extra pass to each other,” McHenry said. “When you play like that in an environment like this, it’s pretty fun to watch your guys succeed.
“We needed a game like this. We needed a game in this environment. It feels good to end the game on a high note and play well down the stretch.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Glendale could only call so many timeouts. The Falcons’ four-point lead became a 69-49 deficit midway through the fourth quarter.
The type of turnovers added fuel to Kickapoo’s fire.
“Our kids fought,” said Glendale coach Brian McTague. “We had the lead, Ta’Veaion (Washington) gets hit in the eye and had to leave the game, and it kind of got away from us while he was out.
“Kickapoo, credit them. They got some open-court turnovers on us and we weren’t able to get back quick enough and defend. It just snowballed on us. Turnovers are one thing, but the open-court turnovers where you can’t get back and give up layups just buries you fast.”
With the victory, Kickapoo improved to 56-48 overall against Glendale in the all-time series. The Chiefs have won 11 of the last 14 matchups against the Falcons.
Kickapoo senior Brayden Shorter finished with a game-high 30 points, including 17 in the second half. Shorter had the highlight play of the first half with a two-handed dunk in traffic.
“I’m probably going to remember this game for the rest of my life,” Shorter said. “That was one of the most fun games I’ve ever played in.”
Shorter pulled extra duty for a Chiefs team that had multiple players in foul trouble throughout the game.
“He’s a pretty fiery guy and very competitive,” McHenry said. “He had to log a lot of minutes tonight because we were in foul trouble. For him to play the way he did, the entire game, was really impressive.”
Kickapoo improved to 14-7 overall and 7-0 in the Ozark Conference.
The Chiefs have now won 26 straight conference games. Lebanon, which won 70-57 on the Chiefs’ home court on Feb. 25, 2020, is the last OC team to beat Kickapoo.
Kickapoo went on to reach the final four that season.
“I remember that (Lebanon) game like it was yesterday,” Shorter said. “I just don’t want to be on the next (Kickapoo) team that’s going to lose a conference game like that.”
Glendale fell to 14-7 overall and 4-3 in league play. Despite the loss, the Falcons are on pace for their best season in five years.
“Our biggest strength is our competitiveness,” McTague said. “Our kids want to win. They hate to lose. Even when we’re not playing well, we still play hard, and that’s won us multiple games this year. We just keep fighting for 32 minutes. Tonight was uncharacteristic. We just couldn’t get the bleeding stopped.”
The future is bright, too. Glendale’s top three scorers – Witham, Washington and Payton Norris – are non-seniors.
“I’m proud of our kids’ effort,” McTague said. “It showed them they can compete with the best teams in the area. They thought we were going to win the game. They were super disappointed in how it ended, but it also gives us confidence that, ‘Hey, we have a high ceiling, too.’”
Kickapoo returns to action Tuesday night in a conference matchup at Bolivar. Glendale will play at Hillcrest the same night.
Kickapoo 78, Glendale 59
Kickapoo 17 16 20 25 — 78
Glendale 13 17 19 10 — 59
Kickapoo (14-7 overall, 7-0 OC) – Brayden Shorter 30, Trae Oetting 15, Jackson Shorter 11, Harrison Doennig 7, Mason Robb 5, Shaun Campbell 4, Landon Keisker 4, Drew Akins 2
Glendale (14-7 overall, 4-3 OC entering) – Amare Witham 25, Ta’Veaion Washington 13, Payton Norris 9, Owen Padgitt 4, Ian Farouki 3, Carter Killian 3 Cole Feuerbacher 2
