Memorial and Deer Creek combine for two wins, two losses on championship day

ustang 49, Memorial 44 The Memorial Lady Bulldogs played in the loftiest game featuring an Edmond team on Saturday when they were upended by a late Mustang rally in the Girls’ Championship of the Bruce Gray Invitational. Mustang used their gargantuan roster featuring Cur’Tiera Haywood, Kyra Misuraca, Jaycee Freshour and Caitlyn Phillips to take an early lead, but a Katelyn Levings 3-pointer stole the first half. Kaitlyn’s shot gave Memorial momentum and their first lead of the game just before stoppage. The momentum didn’t necessarily carry over, though. With all the aforementioned Lady Broncos measuring six-foot or above, Mustang clogged the lane and suffocated the Memorial offense. After holding the Lady Bulldogs to just six points in the third quarter, Mustang’s Mia Brown splashed a three as the quarter ended to give the Lady Broncs a single-point lead. Erin Erdoes would hit a couple big 3-pointers of her own, including one to cut it to a single possession with less than 30 seconds left, but Memorial was unable to overcome their low-scoring third and they dropped the championship match 49-44. Taylor Norman scored 13 points on 4-7 (57 percent) shooting from inside the arc, and Kendra and Katelyn Levings both finished with 9 points. Erdoes also ended Saturday with another 9 after she went a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range in the loss. The totals saw both Kendra and Katelyn Levings voted for All-Tournament Team honors. The sisters combined for 47 points and 21 rebounds in the final two games of the tournament. The sour ending to the Bruce Gray overshadows a great tournament from the Lady Bulldogs. They upended two separate Putnam City high school teams by a combined 28 points before finishing runner-up in a tournament for the second time this January. Memorial Boys Bash Westmoore Memorial 55, Westmoore 45 During the third-place boys game, and for the second time in eight days, the Memorial Boys Basketball team defeated Westmoore. Westmoore jumped out to an early 14-7 lead but a Peyton Caldwell 3-pointer that beat the first quarter buzzer evened it at 18-all. From there, a couple of wild plays helped the ’Dogs reach an unbeatable edge. First, with the score tied at 21 early in the second, Cameron Graves tried to find Jacob Thionnet for an alley-oop. There was just one problem: Graves’ pass went through the hoop, giving Memorial a 24-21 advantage. Then, after Westmoore again tied it (this time at 26), Thionnet went through the lane to finish an and-one layup. The free-throw was good, and Memorial took a lead that wouldn’t be surrendered again. Just before halftime intermission, Drew Tennial added his own crazy play. Tennial darted down the middle of the lane before he was met by Westmoore’s Jalen Breath. Instead of stopping, Tennial opted to go up — and over — 6-foot, 6-inch Breath, slamming in a one-handed dunk and sending Breath to the floor. Breath was called for a blocking foul, and Mustang’s head coach Scott Hodges received a technical for arguing the call. The slam gave Memorial a 10-point lead just before half, and the two teams mirrored each other in the final 16 minutes before ending the game 55-45, in favor of the ’Dogs. Tennial finished with a game-high 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in the win. Thionnet marked 15 tallies and 8 boards, and Caldwell added another 13 points on 42 percent shooting. The win boosted Memorial’s record to 2-1 over the course of the tournament, with their only loss coming against the highest-seeded Putnam City North on Friday night. Juniors Jacob Thionnet (33 points, 17 rebounds) and Peyton Caldwell (34 points, 5 steals) were both named to the All-Tourney Team. Creek Cruises to third with 64-54 win over PC North Deer Creek’s Lady Antler team grabbed their second win from a squad hailing from Putnam City on Saturday when Creek upended the Lady Panthers in the third-place game of the Bruce Gray Invitational. The Antlers bounced back after an uncharacteristic, low-scoring loss to a higher-ranked Mustang squad the day before. No Deer Creek girl reached double-digit points in the loss that denied them from playing in Saturday’s championship. Four Lady Antlers reached that same mark on Saturday, though, when Creek dashed through Putnam City North’s defensive unit. Skyler Vann (14), Adrianna Carrethers (13), Tatum Griffin (11), and Kendall Blackburn (11) all finished above the same, arbitrary score-mark on Saturday. Brynn Mouser had 7 more points on two made shots to round out the scoring. The third-place win helped both Tatum Griffin and Skyler Vann see placements to the Girls’ All-Tournament Team. Griffin grabbed 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals during the tourney, while Vann recorded 40 points, 17 boards and 5 blocks. Heartbreak, Again for Deer Creek in loss to Mustang, 48-45 Deer Creek boys played in the tourney’s first game of the day when they met Mustang at 10 a.m. in a contest decided by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Mustang’s Kyle Colquitte. Baron Hopgood splashed his first shot — a floater through the lane for an easy two points — and he followed it up with two more buckets to finish the first with 7 points. Starting in the second quarter, though, the game didn’t follow Baron’s silky jumpshot. After an injury in the Bishop McGuinness Classic derailed his first weekend of January, the same nagging ankle came back biting almost a month later. Hopgood gingerly went down with six minutes left in the second, and though he returned just before halftime, he was unable to find any more points for the rest of Saturday’s contest. Creek had plenty of adversity to share with Hopgood’s injury. Miles Slater struggled with foul-trouble that sidelined him, too, and the junior guard wasn’t able to record any real minutes until the fourth quarter. Slater made the most of those minutes in the fourth. Acting as he has all season, Deer Creek’s defensive identity tallied 6 points, 5 rebounds and a steal. Creek’s ability to have Slater on the floor in the fourth not only bolstered their defense — it enabled their offensive unit. Creek came into the quarter struggling to find points. Averaging only 10 points per 8 minutes, the Antlers were struggling to string together efficient offensive looks. Slater and Jack Tullis (3 points, 2 steals and an assist), were able to increase that offensive efficiency in their fourth-quarter minutes, though, when they led the Antlers to 15 points. The above-average quarter gave Creek a late, 45-42 lead. Then, Mustang’s Deshawn Franklin hit a tying 3-pointer with less than a minute left, and the Antlers were unable to get anything back from the ensuing trip to the free-throw line. Mustang inbounded the ball with 16 seconds left, and, after the ball bounced between Broncos, Kyle Colquitte buried a buzzer-beating 3 to win it 48-45. The shot meant Creek was handed fifth-place in their own Bruce Gray Invitational, and it was the second time in as many tourneys that the Antlers lost an exciting consolation final after their matchup against Memorial in the Bishop McGuinness Classic went to double overtime. Parker Johnson sat atop points scored for Creek in Saturday’s loss. He finished as the only Antler to reach double-digits with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Miles Slater was voted to the Bruce Gray Invitational All-Tournament Team after the game on Saturday. Slater was Creek’s sole-inclusion on the team after he recorded 24 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals across the entirety of the weekend’s games.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Edmond Memorial High School Athletics

MEMORIAL AND DEER CREEK COMBINE FOR TWO WINS, TWO LOSSES ON CHAMPIONSHIP DAY

AARON ALBERTSON

The Edmond Sun | 1/20/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Edmond Memorial High School Athletics