Five Takeaways: Edmond Santa Fe versus Deer Creek
No. 3 Edmond Santa Fe defeated Deer Creek 44-39 on Friday night. The Wolves were previously upset by the Antlers 53-48 on Jan. 22 at home. Upon watching the game, I formulated a few takes. Here were my five biggest…
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Continue ReadingNo. 3 Edmond Santa Fe defeated Deer Creek 44-39 on Friday night. The Wolves were previously upset by the Antlers 53-48 on Jan. 22 at home. Upon watching the game, I formulated a few takes. Here were my five biggest observations from the Santa Fe win:
Santa Fe can dominate the boards
I don’t know that I’ve seen a team dominate a half the way the Wolves did I the first half on Friday night; Santa Fe held Deer Creek to just seven first-half points. The Antlers only hit two field goals in that time. A big reason for this is rebounding. Even if Santa Fe missed, a rebound was so sure-fire that you could count on almost every Santa Fe possession to produce points on the board. Even more so, Deer Creek was only able to take a shot or two, at most, each possession before the Wolves took it and ran with it.
Santa Fe can melt down
Friday night, Santa Fe went from holding its opposers to seven points in the first half to leading by just two with two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Santa Fe’s propensity to underperform late in games has been a struggle for the Wolves as of late. In Tuesday night’s loss to Memorial, the Wolves were neck-and-neck with the No. 1 team in the state through three quarters, before letting the Bulldogs seal the win. The Wolves are confident, however, that they can improve in closing games, said senior guard Jaylen O’Conner. The Wolves left Deer Creek by the skin of their teeth and hope to learn from their mistakes.
Deer Creek has a lot of heart
On the flip side of what could be viewed as a Santa Fe meltdown late in the game, Deer Creek displayed not only one of the biggest in-game turnarounds I’ve seen at the high school level, but also one of the best shooting performances. Senior Zack Tretheway knocked down three 3-pointers in the second half and led all scorers with 15 points, all of which came in the second half.
“(Deer Creek) has the ability to score in bunches because they have so many kids that can hit the 3,” said Santa Fe Head Coach Josh Williams. “And they did that, hit some big shots, they’ve got some kids who can do that.”
Deer Creek can’t afford to play catch-up
You cannot allow yourself to be held to two field goals in the first half and win games, no matter how well you close out. Deer Creek can be a very, very scary team and most coaches on the West side of the state realize that. But the inability to score with the basketball will haunt you. On most nights, 39 points won’t add to your win column. In fact, no team in 6A has won a game with less than 41 points this year (yes, I looked through every game that’s been played this season).
Jaylen O’Conner is turning the heat up
Santa Fe senior Jaylen O’Conner has been playing phenomenal as of late for his team. He’s the second-leading rebounder on his team and has led the Wolves in scoring in both of their games this week. He was a perfect 7-of-7 on free-throws in the fourth quarter to keep the game just out of reach in the gritty moments. He also played fantastic defense in the first half and was a big part of Santa Fe’s low-scoring allowance early on. Head Coach Josh Williams also commended O’Conner’s recent play after the win.
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