By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
Union Sweeps McGuinness on the Hardwood
Usually two schools with an enrollment disparity of 3,400 students will never cross paths on the hardwood. But Friday night, Bishop McGuinness took the journey up the Turner Turnpike to take on Tulsa Union. Union won both contests, but don't be surprised if the result is the other way around when both schools meet again in Oklahoma City Feb. 6.
Union Boys 42, McGuinness Boys 38
Union swarmed McGuinness with relentless defensive pressure and featured a ball control offense in the second half in a 42-38 victory.
Union held what seemed to be a comfortable 38-31 lead heading into the final period when they started to milk the clock. Centenary commit Justin Glenn scored with 5:06 remaining to register the first points of the quarter to give Union a 40-31 lead.
McGuiness stormed back. Michael Sosanya scored the first points of the quarter for the Fighting Irish with 2:21 remaining to shave the deficit to seven at 40-33. Jeff Merritt drained a triple with 1:31 remaining to cut the Fighting Irish deficit to four.
After T.J. Williams missed the front end of a one and one, Sosanya scored again with two more of his game-high 13 points. Union turned it over on a traveling call to give McGuinness a chance to tie or take the lead with a three, but 6-9 sophomore sensation Daniel Orton was called for an offensive foul.
With 15.2 seconds remaining, Texas A&M commit Derrek Lewis canned two free throws to give Union a 42-38 advantage. A three-point attempt by Alex Fuller missed with 2.3 seconds remaining to give Union the hard-fought victory over the defending Class 4A State Champions.
McGuinness was playing short-handed the entire contest. All five starters for the Fighting Irish played over 30 minutes in the loss. Help is on the way for the players who will be transitioning from football to basketball Monday, as the players are scheduled to report to practice just four days after winning the Class 4A State Championship in football. According to McGuinness head coach Tondrell Durham, the help is much needed.
"We'll be alright. We played a good team on the road and it was a tough loss when we were short-handed," Durham said.
Union's Tom Becker scored eight points in the first quarter and finished with 11 points of the Redskins, who are the defending state runners-up in Class 6A. Lewis also tallied 11 for Union, while Glenn, who missed his junior season with an injury, scored nine points.
Sosanya had 13 points and eight rebounds for McGuinness, while Merritt added 11. Orton scored just two points for the Fighting Irish, but had eight rebounds and seven blocked shots. As a freshman, Orton averaged seven blocks per game.
McGuinness: Sosanya 6-10, 1-3, 2- 13; Orton 1-3, 0-2, 3- 2; Merritt 4-7, 0-0, 2- 11; Wilson 2-5, 0-0, 2- 5; Fuller 2-7, 2-2, 3- 7; Labarthe 0-0, 0-0, 0- 0 TEAM 10-19, 3-7, 11- 38
Union: Ross 1-2, 0-0, 3- 2; Becker 4-9, 0-0, 1- 11; Lewis 4-14, 2-2, 2- 11; T.J. Williams 1-1, 0-1, 1- 2; Glenn 4-13, 1-2, 1- 9; Driver 2-6, 0-0, 1- 4; McKellips 1-2, 0-0, 0- 3; Wilcox 0-0, 0-0, 1- 0; Mitch Williams 0-0, 0-0, 5- 0; Wopart 0-0, 0-0, 0- 0; TEAM 17-48, 3-5, 15- 42
Three-point goals: Becker 3, Merritt 3, Wilson, Fuller, Lewis, McKellips
Union Girls 79, McGuinness Girls 48
Tulsa Union's hot shooting and size proved to be too much for the Bishop McGuinness girls to handle in a 79-48 loss to the Redskins Dec. 8 in Tulsa.
Sophomore point guard Destinee Frierson scored 11 of her 17 points in the first quarter and connected on all five of her field goal attempts to help Union race out to a 19-10 lead.
Senior guard Jessica Wood caught fire in the second quarter, going on a personal 9-2 run in the first 1:11 of the period on three consecutive treys to cut the Union lead to 21-19. Breyanna Winkler scored two of her 18 points to stop the run. Two three's by Lindsay Palmer, who led Union with a game-high 24 points, moved the Union advantage back to 30-19.
McGuinness star Mary Beth Renz struggled offensively thanks to constant pressure defense by Union. Renz scored 14 points on 4 of 15 shooting. Renz is one of the top players in the state after averaging 19.5 points per game last season as a sophomore.
Senior Kelly Archer, who had 21 points in the season-opening victory over Putnam City North, only had three shot attempts and scored six points.
"We had a hard time getting Kelly the ball. She didn't touch it for the first five minutes of the game. That is something we are concerned about," McGuinness coach Jennifer Frakes said.
Wood led the Fighting Irish with 15 points in the loss. Renz added six rebounds to lead McGuinness.
Union shot 55 percent from the field in the victory and out-rebounded the Fighting Irish 40-23.
"I think we made Union look really good. They shot the ball well, and we didn't play all that well. That is not a good recipe for success," Frakes said.
McGuinness: Renz 4-15, 5-6, 3- 14; Archer 3-3, 0-2, 0- 6; Wood 5-10, 1-3, 4- 15; Rodgers 1-7, 1-2, 0- 3; Fuller 1-5, 0-0, 2- 2; Rischard 2-8, 0-0, 2- 6; Jackson 0-0, 2-2, 0- 2; Hirst 0-1, 0-0, 0- 0; Roy 0-2, 0-0, 0- 0; McConnell 0-0, 0-0, 0- 0; TEAM 16-52, 9-16, 11- 48
Union: Fox 2-5, 2-4, 0- 6; Frierson 7-10, 3-4, 1- 17; Palmer 9-16, 3-4, 1- 24; Winkler 9-15, 0-1, 2- 18; Miller 0-0, 0-0, 3- 0; Roberts 2-3, 0-0, 1- 6; Scheer 2-4, 0-0, 1- 4; Marshall 1-2, 0-0, 1- 2; Jefferson 1-2, 0-0, 0- 2; Norwood 0-2, 0-0, 0- 0; Reynolds 0-1, 0-0, 0- 0; TEAM 33-60, 8-13, 11- 79
Three-Point Goals: Wood 4, Palmer 3, Roberts 2, Rischard 2, Renz
Oklahoma Basketball Notebook
Broyles to Sit Out Hoops Season for Norman
Norman's Ryan Broyles has decided to sit out the basketball season after all. Broyles averaged 16.8 and 5.7 rebounds per game as a junior for the Tigers, who were one of the top Class 6A teams on paper heading into the 2006-07 season.
Broyles missed a scrimmage against Bishop McGuinness in November, which got the rumor mill rolling on his intentions for his roundball availability. Broyles originally said he was taking some time off after their football season, which ended in the first round of the playoffs in a loss to Norman North.
Broyles eventually decided to concentrate on recruiting rather than play basketball. Broyles is ranked as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation and has a Dec. 8 visit scheduled to South Carolina. Broyles has also made visits to Texas A&M, Michigan State, and Texas Tech. Oklahoma State, Tennessee, and Arkansas have also made offers to Broyles.
What a Mess at Tulsa Washington
Nate Harris was removed last week as basketball coach after a legendary run that included 10 state titles in his 25-year reign at Tulsa Washington.
Harris was suspended with pay Dec. 4 by Tulsa Public Schools. Initially, no reason was given for his suspension.
Harris, who has complied a 632-239 record in his coaching career, which started with stops at Mason and Tulsa Edison before moving on to Washington, has been reinstated as of Friday after a meeting with Tulsa Public School superintendent Michael Zolkoski and Washington principal Debi Boyles. As a result of the meeting, Harris will be allowed to return to his coaching duties but he will not return next season.
Harris, however, will not be on the bench Tuesday when Washington returns to the court for its next game as he serves a suspension for being ejected for two technical fouls. His removal after the season is unrelated to the suspension for his technical fouls.
The Oklahoma Eagle, a weekly newspaper in Tulsa, reported that Harris was suspended for receiving 17 pairs of orange and white Nike shoes, which Washington has received on annual basis since 1984. It apparently violates Title XI code within the Tulsa Public Schools system.