12/9 Recap: Kingfisher, Muldrow and Bishop Kelley prevail
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The second weekend in December is always one of the most exciting times for Oklahoma for high school hoop fans. Tournaments dominaite landscape, creating cross state matches and battles between top teams in different classes. The games
New faces, similar results
Head Coach Jared Reese has fostered a juggernaut in Class 4A. It started in 2017, when led by a pair of sophomores they entered a star studded Class 4A team as dark horses. Fort Gibson had been a machine out east, Central had recently won a title and still had star Elijah Landrum from that title winning team, while Harrah was anchored by Oklahoma Sooner/North Carolina Tar Heel Brady Manek. After three days of games it was the sophomore duo of Jett Sternberger and Trey Green under the tutelage of Reese that lifted the Gold Ball in the Big House. The addition of Bijan Cortes (Oklahoma) and Matthew Stone (North Texas) helped elevate the 4A powers into one of the best teams in the state, regardless of Class for the next four seasons. They would claim two more 4A State Titles, play for another and would’ve been firmly in the mix in 2020 if it wasn’t for COVID-19.
Now those Yellowjackets heroes have all moved onto to college, but Reese and his core coaching tenants of smart off the movement, unselfish passing and timely shooting remain. So far, the results indicate that even with five new faces, they’ll have a great chance to make it back to the Big House and defend their crown. Earlier this week they used a big second half to have a comfortable win over fellow top 5 ranked 4A squad Tuttle. Then yesterday in the opening round of Cleveland’s tournament they ran Skiatook out of the gym.
The nature of their offense encourages a balanced attack, that truly makes them a team that the sum of the parts are already greater than the whole. Junior Xavier Ridenour Xavier Ridenour 6'2" | CG Kingfisher | 2023 State OK was the standout of the day with 17 points. The junior often got down hill off dribble handoffs and showed good finesse when navigating traffic to score at the rim. He also hit a pair of three pointers as a spot up threat. Joining Ridenour as a driving creator was fellow junior Maddox Mecklenburg Maddox Mecklenburg 6'3" | CG Kingfisher | 2023 State OK , who also was successful at getting downhill with a mixture of scoring and kicking it out to open shooters. Kingfisher would win 64-18.
Collins and Muldrow roll to comfortable victory
Another 4A program with big aspirations also played in Cleveland yesterday afternoon. The first quarter for the Bulldogs from Eastern Oklahoma was a close battle with 5A Piedmont. In the second quarter, Muldrow’s defense tighten up, their shots started to fall from deep, especially from Fisher Qualls. The senior wing had 19 points at the break, proving that he has a flame thrower from beyond the arc.
Joining Qualls in making Muldrow run are guards; senior Konnor Wright and junior Trenden Collins Trenden Collins 6'1" | SF Muldrow | 2023 State OK . Wright is more of the traditional floor general, that while capable of getting his own shot is also very good at creating for others. While Collins is a big time athlete, with elite quickness that allowed him to get wherever he wanted when attack and also lock up the opposition. The Bulldogs played a lot in the halfcourt but Collins did get loose in the third quarter on the break and uncorked an impressive contested slam, that showed why he’s one of the better athletes in Oklahoma’s junior class.
The Bulldogs face a sterner test today, as they’ll be challenged by the aforementioned Kingfisher Yellowjackets.
Comets soar past Warriors
Bishop Kelley built a 36-28 lead to end a first half that was back and forth. While the Webster Warriors were able to cut into that lead at various points, the Comets would prevail with a 73-62 victory. Senior guard Justin Wormell led the way with 27 points for BK. While a strong shooter, the shot making ability of his teammates opened up driving opportunities for him. He took advantages of those, especially in the second half with big contested finishes in the lane. With a stronger frame and the finishing touch he showed on Thursday night, Wormell has a chance to be a complete scorer this winter for the 5A Comets.
For Webster, Senior lead Tray Davis scored 28 points. With a mixture of long range bombs, and aggressive drives to the rims. Another standout for the Warriors was sophomore Karmonie Waldon. The lead guard has grown leaps and bounds over the last month and had a very impressive first half. He has a herky-jerky playing style that allows him to be an efficient driver, where he scores himself or sets up his teammates. Second half cramping issues slowed him down, but he’s a younger name to keep an eye on in the 918.