By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
McGuinness' Orton Leads Irish to Victory over OCS, Blake Griffin
Is it March yet?
In a March-like atmosphere at a packed house at Bishop McGuinness High School, the Fighting Irish downed defending Class 2A State Champion Oklahoma Christian School 52-41 Dec. 15 in the first day of the McGuinness Festival.
OCS features Blake Griffin, a 6-9 commitment to Oklahoma and a consensus Top 100 player nationally. With Oklahoma's new head coach Jeff Capel in attendance, Griffin struggled to get on track thanks to McGuinness' 6-9 sophomore Daniel Orton.
Orton's presence was felt immediately in the contest. Orton followed up a miss by All-State performer Michael Sosanya with a thunderous follow-up dunk to send the McGuinness faithful into delirium just 30 seconds into the game.
Midway through the first quarter, Orton again injected more life into a deafening student body section for McGuinness. Orton drove the lane and hammered yet another two-handed slam to give the Fighting Irish an 11-6 lead.
Orton's second rim rocker was part of a 12-0 run by McGuinness in the opening stanza. Senior point guard Andy Wilson, who dished out seven assists in the game, hit two buckets during the run.
The Fighting Irish extended their run into the second quarter. Carter Labarthe, Alex Fuller, and another Orton two gave the Fighting Irish a 20-2 run overall and a 25-8 lead. Tucker Phillips of OCS connected on a field goal with 2:01 remaining in the second to give the Saints their first points of the quarter.
George Overbey did his best to bring OCS back, going on a personal 5-0 run over the last 2:01 in the second quarter to close the gap to 27-15 at intermission.
A hotly-contested battle almost turned sour in the third quarter. Orton and Griffin were called for double-technical fouls after some words exchanged turned into some pushing and shoving. It originally appeared that Orton was ejected for two technicals, but after a five-minute official's conference Orton was allowed to stay in the game.
According to Orton, he and Griffin have no bad blood off the court. Both players participated on the Athletes First club in the summer, an AAU comprised of players from Oklahoma.
"We're friends off the court. We just got into the intensity of the game," said Orton, who has received heavy recruiting interest from Maryland, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State thus far.
On the ensuing inbounds play after the stoppage, Sosanya sprinted down the floor on for a breakaway two-handed dunk to give McGuinness a 38-18 lead.
OCS fought back like a champion. The Saints went on an 11-0 run over the remainder of the third. A Wilson Holloway dunk off an offensive rebounded highlighted the run for the Saints, while Overbey's three-point play cut the deficit to 38-29.
In the fourth quarter, McGuinness squashed any further attempt of a comeback. Alex Fuller converted a three-point play to cap off a 7-0 run over the first 2:18 of the final stanza.
Overbey scored eight points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 14 points for the Saints. Griffin scored 12 points and just 3 of 11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds for OCS.
Fuller led the way for McGuinness with 14 points, while Sosanya and Orton both chipped in with 12. Sosanya had nine rebounds, while Orton had eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
"We got a win over a good team tonight, and we needed a win badly. We showed good emotion and played hard," said McGuinness head coach Tondrell Durham.
Notebook
Davis' LaQuentin Black did not have any difficulty transitioning from football to basketball. Just a week after scoring three touchdowns in a Class 2A semifinal loss to Vian, Black tallied 28 points in a 51-40 victory over Wayne.
Midwest City's Xavier Alexander is off to a hot start this season. The George Washington signee is averaging 25.4 points per game as the Bombers are off to a 5-0 start. Midwest City defeated Norman 63-34 thanks to Alexander's 21 points.
Super sophomore Xavier Henry scored 26 points for Putnam City in a 68-31 victory over Edmond North. Putnam City is off to a 4-1 start this season. On Dec. 7, the Pirates downed Dallas Carter, Texas. Putnam City lost the following night to North Crowley, Texas, 74-53.
Union Sweeps Holiday Hoopla
Tulsa Union defeated Tulsa Washington in the boys' championship game of the Holiday Hoopla Tournament at the UMAC in Tulsa, 56-44.
Derrek Lewis, a Texas A&M signee, scored 22 points to lead the Redskins, while 6-4 guard Tom Becker added 14. Jamere King scored 22 to pace the Hornets, including five baskets from behind the arc.
The Union girls also won its version of the Holiday Hoopla Tournament, with a 37-36 victory over Claremore.
Jessica Roberts led the way with 14 points. Her pass to freshman Carrington Fox led to the game-winning back with 49 seconds left in the victory for Union.