By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
Holiday Hoops Round-up
Tournament of Champions - Tulsa
The Tournament of Champions took center stage at the Expo Square Pavilion in Tulsa, featuring a format with some of the top large schools in the state with some of the best smaller schools mixed in. It made for an exciting three days of basketball, with Jenks winning a second-straight title by handing Midwest City its first loss of the season.
Oklahoma State signee Nick Sidorakis normally grabs the headlines for the Trojans, but it was sophomore Bryson Pope leading the charge in the victory over Midwest City. The sophomore scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 59-49 victory. Sidorakis scored nine of his 15 points in the final stanza for Jenks, who moved to 5-0 with the victory.
Midwest City star Xavier Alexander was on the bench for most of the second half due to foul trouble. Alexander, who signed with George Washington, came into the final averaging 29 points over two tournament victories over Verdigris and Pawnee. Alexander scored just nine points against Jenks.
Sequoyah-Tahlequah took third place with a 73-63 victory over Class 2A Pawnee despite 37 points from 5-10 junior guard Keiton Page. Page, who has already committed to Oklahoma State, only had five points in the fourth quarter for Pawnee.
Chris Little scored 15 for Sequoyah-Tahlequah, while James Factor added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
East Central (Tulsa) used 22 points and 10 boards by Sidney Hadnott to take fifth place with a 63-42 victory over Victory Christian.
Junior guard Rotnei Clarke hit for 35 points in the seventh place game for Verdigris, but it wasn't enough as Stringtown rolled to an 82-71 victory. Orlando Brown had 28 points and James Watson added 25 for Stringtown.
Clarke is regarded as one of the top juniors in the region for Verdigris. Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida State, Washington State, and Tulsa have already offered Clarke, who averaged 34.2 points per game as a sophomore. Clarke scored 31 in a loss to Midwest City in the opening round and followed with 38 and 35 points, respectively, in the final two games of the tournament for Verdigris.
Ardmore Holiday Festival
Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City) won the boys title with a comfortable 69-39 victory over Class 6A Del City in the final. The Fighting Irish, who are the defending Class 4A champions, disposed of TCA-Addision (TX) and Guthrie to move to the final game.
Ardmore, who lost an 89-87 overtime heartbreaker in the semis against Del City, took third place with a 72-53 victory over Guthrie.
Fort Smith Northside (Ark.) defeated Rogers (Ark.) to take the girls title, while Bishop McGuinness finished third with a comfortable 63-50 victory over McKinney North (Texas).
Mid-America Classic - Ada
Mustang ousted Cache 66-57 to take home the girls title at the Mid-America Classic in Ada.
Elgin defeated Ft. Cobb-Broxton 38-29 to take third place.
Taylor Thompson of Cache named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Thompson set a new tournament scoring record notching 94 points in three games, an average of 31.3.
Bay Ball Classic - Delaware
Oklahoma Christian School participated in the Bay Ball Classic in Milford, DE over the holidays, finishing the third place in the Cape Ferry Bracket with an 86-50 victory over St. Mary of Long Island.
In the first round, Oklahoma signee Blake Griffin scored 32 points as the Saints downed Caravel Academy of Delaware, 66-50.
In the semifinals, OCS dropped a 74-63 decision to Bishop Loughlin of New York.
KSA Events Holiday Tournament - Orlando, Fla.
The Sand Springs girls took the pink bracket of the KSA Events Holiday Tournament at Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. with a victory over Roslyn, N.Y. in the finals.
Sand Springs defeated Ossining, N.Y., 52-37 in the first round before getting by Madison County, Ga., 44-37 to advance to the finals.
The Sand Springs boys lost in the first round of the to Mifflinburg, Ga., 51-42, before rattling off two wins to take fifth place.
Sand Springs defeated Grace King, La., and Sequoyah, Ga., in the consolation bracket.