No. 7 Kokomo overpowers McCutcheon

KOKOMO — McCutcheon couldn’t overcome 17 turnovers and a big rebounding deficiency in a 64-34 loss to No. 7 Kokomo in a Class 4A Kokomo Sectional semifinal at Memorial Gymnasium.

Nate Deno hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead the Mavericks, who finished 6-17. But McCutcheon was outscored 18-2 on points off turnovers and 17-8 on second-chance points.

Taylor Persons scored 20 for Kokomo (19-4), the defending sectional champion and state runner-up. Evansville recruit D.J. Balentine scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half on four 3-pointers.

Kokomo will play the winner of the other semifinal between Logansport and Lafayette Jeff in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. championship.