Westfield’s overtime win against Kokomo this week ranks as important to the Shamrocks.The 73-68 win sent Westfield into the new year on a high note while ending a four-game slide against teams that are a combined 27-7.“It was good to be back to playing winning basketball,” said Westfield coach Joe Pearson. “Kokomo is a pretty good basketball team, so we were pleased with the way things turned out.”The Shamrocks (3-4) led 51-39 heading into the fourth quarter, only to see the Wildkats outscore them 21-9 over the final eight minutes to forge a tie. Westfield had a chance to win near the end of regulation but converted only one of two free throws. In overtime, the Shamrocks knocked down 7-of-10 from the line to pull away.“We were struggling in the fourth quarter. (The Wildkats) were pressuring us, and they were very physical,” Pearson said. “We didn’t handle that very well, but we played well in the overtime. We scored immediately, and after a lead change we were able to knock down our free throws.”Zach Malley led the Shamrocks with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Jeff Howard — who came into the game averaging 8.3 points — scored 16, points, grabbed eight rebounds and hit 8-of-10 foul shots.“Zach has had a couple pretty good games in a row,” Pearson said. “I thought those two played well. They had to battle against (Kokomo’s Indiana Wesleyan-bound Patrick Hopkins), who is a good player.”The game also saw the return of Westfield’s Jordan Meinen, a double-figure scorer a year ago who had missed five games because of various injuries. Meinen scored 12 points on four 3-pointers and hit three treys in a row in the third quarter to give the Shamrocks a comfortable lead.“It was nice to see him back and contribute like that,” Pearson said. “(Tuesday) night was the first time this season we’ve had all of our players together, at least in some form or another. I thought that was big for us as well.”