Five Takeaways: Sapulpa vs Southeast
The final game of the day at Shawnee was the shocker of the day. Sapulpa struggled against a very young unranked Southeast squad. Southeast had a great showing with their young talent coming up huge. Get my five takeaways on the game.
Southeast’s Strong Start
Southeast got off to a fiery hot start on Thursday night against Sapulpa setting the tone early in the third quarter. I give Southeast a ton of credit for their play on the defensive end, which was the start of their run. They got going on offense with great ball movement leading to open shots.
The Young Players Shine for Southeast
Marcus Hines 2021 Southeast Guard stepped into three huge three-pointers in the first half. With him being a freshman it was impressive to see him making key players sparking Southeast. Hines is a small, slender Guard that will be a kid to follow going forward. It is way to early to project him. J’Lynn Counter 2020 Guard also hit some key shots. He is similar in build to Hines very small and boney. Counter has some of that gamer blood in him. He also showed great leadership for a player that is just a sophomore constantly encouraging his teammates and led by example hustling everywhere.
Smith has tough night
Julian Smith had a tough night as the defense from Southeast did a great job going after him. Although Smith had a tough night he scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to lift them to victory. Smith is a talented scorer that can lift Sapulpa to another level when he is knocking down his shots. I would like to see Smith look to improve those around him creating offense off the dribble at Point Guard. Smith has the talent to be one of the top players in the Oklahoma 2019 Class. He is coming off his first NCAA Division I offer and has posted great averages this season. Smith will look to have a big night on Friday night to lift Sapulpa into the championship game.
Who will step up?
Sapulpa needs a player to step up to help relieve the pressure on Smith. For Sapulpa to be a Class 6A state tournament team they need a player or two to step up and help with the scoring load.
What is next?
Sapulpa: The Chieftains take on a tough El Reno squad on Friday night in the semifinals.
Southeast: Southeast looks to rebound against a top ten Class 5A squad, Coweta.
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