Two schools rich in basketball history are set to square off on Friday

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Boys sectional basketball resumes tomorrow night throughout the state of Indiana. At the Class 4A Lafayette Jeff Sectional, the host Bronchos will take on the back to back sectional champion Kokomo Wildkats.

When it comes to winning sectional championships, Lafayette Jeff and Kokomo have won a combined 140 titles. The Bronchos are looking forward to the opportunity of knocking out the Wildkats.

“We definitely want to take every opportunity we can to beat them because they are four ahead of us with sectional titles and we just really want to catch up to them and this would be a good time to do it,” said senior forward Keaton Hamilton.

“We've got a lot to prove. We're Lafayette Jeff, we have tradition, we're great kids and we come out here and work hard every day. We're just not going to lay down for anyone. We've won a lot of sectionals and Jeff is a basketball school. We're going to show it this coming Friday,” said senior guard Lucas Wallace.

Friday night's matchup can't come soon enough for Scott Radeker's team. After finishing the regular season with a 7-14 record, the Bronchos are ready to start over in the State Tournament.

“Right after the Hamilton Southeastern game we put 0-0 up on the board. We know our backs are against the wall, we know that no body gives us a chance to win. We're excited to come out and show these people, everybody the improvements that this team has made,” said Lafayette Jeff head coach Scott Radeker. “Will it be good enough to beat Kokomo? I don't know, but if we leave it all on the floor I know we're going to have a great chance,” said Radeker.

“They’re a really good team, they are 20-2 now so this is a really good opportunity for us to start our new season in the tournament and it would be a really good win for us,” said senior forward Peter Ripke.

Kokomo won the regular season matchup 45-35 on its home floor. If Jeff envisions playing in Saturday's Championship game, scoring in transition and rebounding the basketball will be key.

“The first game we ended up losing by ten and turnovers were definitely a factor in that game. I feel like if we can cut those turnovers down it will give us the best chance to win,” said Hamilton.

“The last three or four weeks we have not only been preparing for sectionals we have been doing box out drills and turnover drills. We can compete with any team in the state when we take care of the basketball,” said Wallace.

“We've had a really good last two to three weeks of practice so we know what we have to do to win this game,” said Ripke.