Boys' basketball: Wildcats make do without missing Kitchens, take South Callaway title

MOKANE - Suddenly missing their standout, the New Bloomfield Wildcats' surrounding cast more than proved its worth.

Senior guard Nick Hammann helped pick up the slack with a game-high 20 points to spur three players in double figures, sending No. 2 seed New Bloomfield to a convincing 73-58 victory over No. 1 Montgomery County in the championship of the South Callaway Invitational Tournament on Saturday night.

With senior guard Jak Kitchens - the Wildcats' leading scorer - forced to sit out the better part of three quarters after picking up a technical foul, Hammann directed an emboldened effort by the rest of New Bloomfield's roster. Junior guard Jalen Martin produced 17 of his 18 points in the second half and senior guard Kyle Emerson supplied 16.

Hammann and Emerson both connected on four 3-pointers as the Wildcats (12-3) secured their second South Callaway title in three years.

"This team - and I've been preaching this for a while, but I think they're truly starting to believe - is not a one-person team," New Bloomfield head coach Tim Gilmore said. "It's not a two-person team, nor a three-person team. There's 11 players on this varsity basketball team, and all 11 of them matter.

"You saw it tonight, just as everybody else saw it tonight. We had one of our better players out and everybody stepped up and did their job. No one tried to do too much, everyone stuck to their role and that's what it's about."

Kitchens had already tallied eight points when he was whistled for a technical foul with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second quarter and the Wildcats leading 21-12. Kitchens became tied up with Montgomery County senior guard Skyler Hutcheson and when Kitchens ripped the ball away, Hutcheson fell hard to the floor.

With the situation getting salty between the two teams, Kitchens and Hutcheson were assessed a double-technical. Gilmore explained afterward that he has a team rule that if a player is called for a technical foul, they have to sit out the rest of the game.

Just like that, Kitchens' night was done.

"Like I told him, rules are rules," Gilmore said. "I don't care if it's a championship game or the first game of the year, the rules are the rules and we've got to live by those rules."

New Bloomfield wasn't deterred by Kitchens' absence and was able to go into halftime with a double-digit lead. Emerson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with :08.2 to go, but the Wildcats came up with the rebound, Emerson curled around to the left corner, collected a pass and let fly with a 3 to put New Bloomfield up 27-16 at the break.

Montgomery County narrowed its deficit to eight points with less than 2 minutes to go in the third quarter, but the Wildcats answered with an 8-2 run over the last 1:40 to increase their lead. Hammann dropped in a 3 from the right wing with :20 remaining to give New Bloomfield a 45-31 advantage.

Montgomery County made it a 10-point contest, 53-43, on senior guard Tim Hall's layup with 4:30 left in the game, prompting a timeout by Gilmore. However, the Wildcats sealed their championship win by hitting 16-of-18 free throws over the final 3:52.

Despite missing most of the title game, Kitchens was still named the tournament's most valuable player. Martin and Emerson were both chosen to the all-tournament second team.

"Winning is great, but winning in this way is huge for us," Gilmore said. "We needed this, it's a confidence-builder for us, because there's going to come a time when Jak's in foul trouble or he's fouled out of the game, but you've got to step up and win the game without him.

"Hats off to these kids - they never pressed, they seemed like they were always mentally focused on what our task was and what our goal was. That's huge for them."

Senior guard Chris Harrison - a first-team all-tournament pick - and senior forward Johnny Shaw paced Montgomery County with 14 points apiece.