Westfield became a 'runaway train' in fourth quarter to oust Homestead in IHSAA regional

LOGANSPORT – Homestead coach Chris Johnson probably described the fourth quarter of Saturday afternoon’s Class 4A regional semifinal at the Berry Bowl about as perfectly as possible.

“It was a runaway train,” Johnson said, “that we just couldn’t get stopped.”

The co-conductors were Westfield seniors Cam Haffner and Braden Smith, who stunned the fourth-ranked Spartans 64-53 after trailing by 10 points with under 6 minutes to play. The Shamrocks, playing in their first regional game in program history, rode the wave of a 27-6 fourth-quarter run right into Saturday night’s regional championship against Kokomo.

IHSAA scoreboard: Who is advancing to tonight's regional finals?

“I didn’t have a doubt in the world,” said Haffner, who scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. “I knew once we started to hit our shots, everything was going to come together.”

There are few teams that can get hot and stay hot like Westfield (22-6). The Shamrocks, who were 0-for-11 from the 3-point line in the first half, trailed 47-37 with 5:25 left after a 3-pointer by Andrew Leeper. Then, something clicked.

“We were almost at that breaking point where it was getting to be too late,” Westfield coach Shane Sumpter said. “We knew we had to speed them up because we knew they were going to spread us out. We had to do something different and we were able to generate a couple of turnovers.”

A ramped-up defensive effort helped. So, too, did the passing of Smith, the shooting of Haffner and big plays from Alex Romack, Nic DePasquale and sophomore Trey Buchanan. A driving shot by the 6-5 Romack, a three-point play from DePasquale and a no-look assist from Smith to Romack pulled Westfield to within 47-46 with 3:45 left.

At that point, the train had officially left the station.

Fletcher Loyer, who finished his high school career with 27 points, finally broke the nine-point Westfield run with two free throws. But Haffner rose up and drained a 3-pointer on the next possession, then gave Westfield its first lead, 51-50, on a jumper with 2:32 left.

“Get him the ball and move,” Smith said of the mindset during Haffner’s fourth quarter.

Romack got a steal and scored on Homestead’s next possession. Then Smith found Buchanan in the corner for a 3-pointer. Buchanan did not hesitate, knocking it down to the put the Shamrocks ahead 56-50 with 1:49 left.

“We’re not a pressing team,” Johnson said. “So once they got the lead, we know it was going to be tough.”

Homestead got as close as 58-53 on a 3-pointer from Leeper with 46 seconds left, but Westfield scored the final six points to put it away. It was the second consecutive loss in the regional semifinals for Homestead, which fell to eventual state champion Carmel last year.

Romack had 16 points and five rebounds for Westfield and Smith added 13 points, six assists and six rebounds. DePasquale had 11 points. Kyron Kaopuiki had 10 points for Homestead (22-6).

Smith and Loyer, both headed to Purdue next season, exchanged a handshake and hug before the game. Both are considered among the frontrunners for IndyStar Mr. Basketball.

“It’s sad to end it that way,” Loyer said. “But they made some tough shots. We led pretty much the whole game, but they made some shots on us and we didn’t capitalize on offense. We have to be a little better, but we can’t look back now.”

There was also a fourth-quarter rally in the first game at Logansport. Kokomo came back from a seven-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to earn a spot in the regional final with a 45-40 victory over Fort Wayne Snider.

Kokomo’s fourth-quarter run coincided with the return of 6-11 sophomore Flory Bidunga, who was saddled with foul trouble for much of the morning game. Bidunga scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Wildkats (18-7).

“He’s a difference-maker,” Kokomo coach John Peckinpaugh said. “They had a good game-plan on him. We didn’t expect them to go box-and-one on him. We weren’t very effective and I didn’t do a good job of mixing it up. But we got him deep post touches in the fourth and kind of separated ourselves.”

Kokomo has not won a regional — or played in a regional final — since the 2010-11 state runner-up team.

Zavion Bellamy also had 11 points for Kokomo, which was 6-for-18 from the 3-point line against Snider’s zone. Karsen Jenkins had 15 points and Aiden Lambert 10 points and 12 rebounds for Snider, which was 1-for-17 from 3 in the second half and 5-for-32 from the field overall after halftime.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

KOKOMO 45, FW SNIDER

Kokomo 13 11 6 15 - 45

Fort Wayne Snider 11 13 9 7 - 40

Kokomo (18-7) – Beard 1 0-0 2, Zavion Bellamy 4 1-2 11, Kirby 0 0-0 0, Spear 3 1-2 8, Bidunga 5 1-2 11, Zion Bellamy 2 0-1 6, Bennett 0 2-4 2, Hardimon 2 0-0 5. Totals: 17 5-12 45.

Snider (18-8) – Brown 1 0-0 3, Jenkins 5 4-6 15, Billingsley 1 0-2 2, Davis 3 0-0 7, Lamber 3 4-4 10, Lee 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 8-12 40.

3-pointers: Kokomo 6 (Zavion Bellamy 2, Zion Bellamy 2, Spear, Hardimon). Snider 4 (Brown, Jenkins, Davis, Lee).

WESTFIELD 64, HOMESTEAD 53

Homestead 10 18 14 11 - 53

Westfield 9 11 14 30 - 64

Homestead (22-6) – Loyer 9 5-8 27, Kaopuiki 3 2-3 10, Swing 2 0-0 5, A.Leeper 2 0-0 6, G.Leeper 2 0-1 4, Schiltz 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18 8-14 53.

Westfield (22-6) – Smith 5 2-2 13, Haffner 8 1-2 19, Dorton 1 0-1 2, DePasquale 4 3-3 11, Romack 6 4-5 16, Buchanan 1 0-0 3. Totals: 25 10-13 64.

3-pointers: Homestead 9 (Loyer 4, A.Leeper 2, Kaopuiki 2, Swing). Westfield 4 (Haffner 2, Smith, Buchanan).

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA: Westfield beats Homestead in clash of Mr. Basketball favorites