By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
Stringtown Bombs Boynton-Moton
Six dunks including an alley-oop off the backboard, seven blocked shots, 57 first-half points. enrollment 80. That is not a misprint. Who says small schools can't play big-time basketball? Stringtown put the crowd of 2,600 at F.E. Sutton Fieldhouse in Midwest City on its feet numerous times during a 95-53 victory over Boynton-Moton in the first round of the Class B state tournament Thursday.
Stringtown features 6-7 senior Chris Washington, 6-8 junior James Watson, and 6-3 guard Orlando Brown, a trio good enough to give any team in the state fits. But it was 5-10 sophomore Tyrus McGee who filled up the nets in the first half. McGee connected on 6 of 7 from three-point range and scored all 24 of his points in the first half as the Tigers rolled to a 57-25 halftime lead.
To add to Boynton-Moton's misery, the Cardinals did not have an answer for either Washington or Watson. Both players had three dunks in the contest. Washington scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had four blocks. Watson paced the Tigers with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Orlando Brown chipped in 14 points for Stringtown, who moved to 25-4 on the season with the victory. The four losses have come to Dallas Skyline, Jenks, Tulsa East Central, and Tulsa Edison. All four schools are at least Class 5A with enrollments in the thousands.
If Stringtown has an Achilles heel, it could be their free throw shooting. The Tigers missed their first 10 from the line in the first half and finished the contest just 12 of 33 from the line. From four feet and nine inches further, they were 11 of 18 on the evening from three-point range.
Jerry Woods led the Cardinals with 13 points. Boynton-Moton, making their 31st appearance in the state tournament, finished at 21-7 on the season.
Stringtown 95
Boynton-Moton 53
Stringtown: Heard 5, O. Brown 14, McGee 24, Washington 23, Watson 12, E. Brown 3, Smith 7, Guest 3, Robbins 1.
Boynton-Moton: Woods 13, Hutchinson 2, Penn 7, Reagan 6, Johnson 6, Burris 4, Crane 3, E. Lang 2, Ogedengbe 1, Lawler 6, Stifner 3.
3- pointers: Boynton-Moton 2 ( Woods, Stifner ), Stringtown 11 ( Heard, O. Brown, McGee 6, Smith, Loftin, Guest ), Free Throws: Boynton-Moton 13-26, Stringtown 12-33; Total Fouls: Boynton-Moton 27, Stringtown 24.
`Fargo Five' Races Past Gracemont
All five Fargo starters scored in double figures and played at least 30 minutes as the Bearcats raced out to a 19-point halftime lead en route to a 75-53 victory in the opening round of the Class B state tournament at F.E. Sutton Fieldhouse in Midwest City.
Coming into the contest, the combination of Trevor and Trey Long were the ones to watch for Fargo. But it was 6-4 sophomore Luke Moyer that stole the show.
Moyer, who entered the contest with an average of 9.2 points per game, erupted for 18 first-half points as Fargo took control the game before the break.
From there, the Long brothers took over. Trevor, a sophomore, scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half. Trey, a junior, chipped in with 11 points in the contest.
Austin Stone and Ky Tune paced the Bearcats with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Fargo continues their search for their first-ever state title against Stringtown at 9:30 p.m. on Friday at "The Big House".
Gracemont junior Eric Gonzales scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the way for the Lions.
Fargo 75
Gracemont 53
Gracemont: Goucher 8, Britain 3, Gonzales 17, Edge 2, Stands 10, Allen 2, Morgan 3, Burns 8.
Fargo: Moyer 20, Trevor Long 15, Trey Long 11, Tune 12, A. Stone 17.
3- pointers: Gracemont 5 ( Goucher 2, Burns 2, Britain ), Keota 4 ( Moyer 3, Trey Long), Free Throws: Gracemont 6-15, Fargo 22-33; Total Fouls: Gracemont 23, Fargo 17.
Cashion Girls Blow Lead, Survive
After letting an 18-point lead evaporate in the first round of the Class A Girls State Tournament, Cashion calmly knocked down crucial free throws down the stretch for a 64-59 victory over Keota at Carl Albert Fieldhouse in Midwest City.
Sophomore guard Bailey Welch connected on 8 of her 10 free throws in the fourth quarter alone, including a pair with 1:25 remaining to tie the game 57. Keota's Kelsey Thomas drained a pair of free throws just 51 seconds earlier to give the Lady Lions their first lead of the game at 55-53.
Senior Aubrey Williams hit 4 of 6 from the line in the final 48.7 seconds to give the Lady Wildcats the lead, and eventually the victory.
In a physical contest, 52 fouls were called. Cashion hit 26 of 50 from the charity stripe in the victory. Welch was 12 of 18, and scored a game-high 24 points.
"We were glad it was a physical game," said Cashion second-year coach Chad Tichenor. "We felt our bench was deeper than theirs. Our game plan worked, but we didn't execute from the free-throw line."
After a quiet first half, Keota star Sara Maxwell exploded in the third quarter. The 6-1 senior hit two straight three-point baskets to cut the Cashion lead to 49-45 after three quarters of play. Maxwell had 22 points, 16 rebounds, and five blocked shots in the last game of her prep career.
Keota had two starters foul out in the third quarter. Falecia Woods picked up her fifth foul with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter on a charging call, while junior Mandy Sutter also left with her fifth foul with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter.
In the first quarter, it appeared Cashion would be on their way to a blowout victory. Welch canned a trey to kick-start a personal 7-0 run to give the Lady Wildcats a 19-3 lead. Welch scored 15 points in the first half as Cashion went into the locker room for intermission with a 40-22 advantage.
Williams paced the Lady Wildcats with 14 points, while southpaw guard Sunni Hill added 10 points and nine rebounds for Cashion. The victory moves Cashion into a noon contest today at `The Big House' against Fort Cobb-Broxton. Cashion, now 21-3, are looking for their second state title after winning the gold ball in 2000.
Cashion 64
Keota 59
Cashion: Clark 2, Hill 10, Kunschik 9, Williams 14, Welch 24, Hadley 1, Davidson 4.
Keota: Maxwell 22, Sutter 7, Woods 6, Smith 5, Reed 8, Thomas 7, Nolan 4.
3- pointers: Cashion 4 ( Welch 2, Kunschik, Davidson ), Keota 5( Maxwell 3, Sutter, Smith ), Free Throws: Cashion 26-50, Keota 12-23; Total Fouls: Cashion 21, Keota 31.
Summaries of Other Games:
Class A Boys at Moore High School
Howe 69, Okarche 63
Howe's Jake Thomas scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as upset the top-seeded Warriors. Tyler Karr scored a game-high 23 points for Okarche.
Okeene 56, Cyril 54 (OT)
Zach London hit a lay-up with 2.4 second remaining in overtime to give Okeene the victory. Sean Fuller led four players in double figures for Okeene with 14. Chaz Gilliam scored 18 for Cyril.
Frontier 60, Pioneer 56
Despite Pioneer jumping out to a 20-0 lead, Frontier battles back to win. Frontier, who entered the tournament with a 17-10 record, has won three straight Class A titles. Garrett Diel scored 15 first quarter points and finished with 26 for Pioneer.
Beaver 60, Achille 54
Tye Richerson scored 30 points, while Josh Malone added 16 points as Beaver pulled a shocking upset over previously unbeaten Achille. Achille's J.R. Moody scored 27 points in the loss.
Class A Girls at Carl Albert Fieldhouse (Midwest City)
Fort Cobb-Broxton 59, Sentinel 37
Autumn Klugh tallied a game-high 22 for Fort Cobb-Broxton. Donna Cook scored 19 in a losing effort for Sentinel.
Howe 59, Seiling 42
Lindsay McCown scored 16 points and ripped down nine rebounds for Howe in the victory.
Okarche 41, Garber 38
In a game that featured 14 lead changes, Okarche used Katie Beebe's 12 points en route to the victory. Lori Semrad scored 16 in the loss for Garber.
Class B Boys at F.E. Sutton Fieldhouse (Midwest City)
Glencoe 51, Varnum 42
Kelly Fanning scored 21 points for Glencoe in the victory. Delaney Pennock scored 23 points for the Whippets in the losing effort.
Hammon 46, Earlsboro 45
Hammon's J.R. Moler canned a free throw with one second remaining to help Hammon score a huge upset over Earlsboro. Moler scored 10 points to lead the Warriors.
Class B Girls at State Fair Arena
Shattuck 53, Chattanooga 49
Jamie Sanchez scored 17 points, including two clutch free-throws in the final seconds as Shattuck pulled the upset.
Lomega 60, Pittsburg 56
Hillary Winter and Rachel Wilczek both tallied 17 points for the victors. Pittsburg's Jenna Harris scored 18 points, including 5 of 8 from three-point range for Panthers.
Dover 51, Cimarron 48
Taylor Turner scored 17 points, 13 coming in the first half, for Dover. Cimarron's Ashlynn Frey scored 17 in the loss for Cimarron.
Kiowa 72, Arnett 64
Katy Clift scored 28 points for Kiowa in the victory. Chelsea Word paced Arnett with 25 points.
Friday's Games at `The Big House' (State Fair Arena- Oklahoma City)
Class A Boys
1:30 p.m.- Howe (28-1) vs. Okeene (23-1)
6:00 p.m.- Frontier (18-10) vs. Beaver (24-4)
Class A Girls
7:30 p.m.- Howe (26-1) vs. Okarche (22-4)
Noon: Fort Cobb-Broxton (24-4) vs. Cashion (20-3)
Class B Boys
10:30 a.m.- Glencoe (27-2) vs. Hammon (24-5)
9:00 p.m.- Stringtown (25-4) vs. Fargo (28-2)
Class B Girls
9:00 a.m.- Shattuck (23-5) vs. Lomega (24-5)
4:30 p.m.- Dover (25-6) vs. Kiowa (27-1)
Scott Hansen: shansen17@cox.net
