BASKETBALL: Claremore, Verdigris, Catoosa squads compete in Port City Classic

Jan. 20—CATOOSA — Just when Victory Christian's chances of winning seemed sickeningly low, someone called the doctor.

Michael Doctor, that is.

The 6-foot-1 point guard banked in a floater with nine seconds remaining, giving the Class 4A No. 7 Conquerors a 46-45 victory over 5A No. 16 Claremore in the first round of the 57th annual Port City Classic boys bracket on Thursday night at the Catoosa Activity Center.

In addition to winning his team the game, the shot also catapulted Doctor to the top of the scoring leaderboard as he finished with 18 points and four rebounds.

VCS advanced to play Catoosa, a 69-61 winner over Sand Springs, in the semifinals Friday night while Claremore took on the Sandites in the consolation bracket. Stories for both of those games will be available this weekend at claremoreprogress.com.

Prior to Doctor's heroics, the teams experienced four lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter. Kort Seidel gave the Zebras their final lead at 45-43 when he hit his fourth 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining.

However, they never scored again. Chris Mason, a junior who has an offer from Tulsa, split a pair of free throws at the 0:49 mark to cut the Claremore lead to one, ultimately setting up the game-winner.

Mason struggled offensively with six points, all of which came in the fourth period, but he grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds — including five of the offensive variety.

Seidel, who finished with 16 points and three rebounds, missed a 3 from just within half court at the buzzer, but that didn't overshadow his overall performance.

After VCS embarked on a 7-0 run to take a 43-40 lead with 3:51 remaining, Seidel registered a fast-break layup off a steal before hitting what would be his final 3-ball to put the Zebras back in front.

The spurt was reminiscent of how he started the game, scoring the first five points via a layup and a 3-pointer. He hit another triple later in the first, increasing the lead to 16-7, and his penultimate 3 broke a 24-all tie early in the third.

Jase Lagers joined Seidel in double figures with 10 points and a team-high seven boards. His final points came on a three-point play with 1:52 remaining in the third, giving Claremore a 32-30 lead.

Will Jones had a notable outing as well with eight points and three rebounds, breaking a tie two times in the second half.

Caleb Farquhar was another prominent fixture for the Conquerors, for all of his 15 points came via the 3-ball. Three of those triples were in the second half for the senior, who also had four rebounds.

GIRLS — TULSA CENTRAL 43, CLAREMORE 36

It was undoubtedly a scary occurrence for Hope Bump.

The sophomore left the game with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter after experiencing a hard collision and fall while driving in for a layup under the basket. Claremore led 19-11 at the time with six points coming from Bump, and though she eventually returned at the 5:45 mark of the third, the damage had already been done.

Tulsa Central used her absence to steal the momentum, slowly trimming away at its deficit before taking three leads in the third period. Bump kept things from getting out of hand with four points in that frame, including a layup that gave the Lady Zebras a 27-26 edge, but consecutive baskets from Nakya Blakley sparked a Lady Braves run they simply couldn't overcome.

Central outscored Claremore 17-9 after Bump's bucket, using an 8-0 run to find separation and pull away for a 43-36 victory Thursday night in the first round of the 57th annual Port City Classic girls bracket at the Catoosa Activity Center.

With the win, the Lady Braves advanced to play Duncan, a 57-39 winner over Catoosa, in the semifinals Friday afternoon while the Lady Zebras played the county rival Lady Indians in the consolation bracket. A recap from that intracounty matchup will be available this weekend at claremoreprogress.com.

Despite missing nearly a quarter of action, Bump led Claremore with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jada Israel added nine points and eight boards, and Annabelle Vanaman managed six and two.

Central more than doubled its 14 first-half points with 29 points in the second half thanks to the contributions of Blakley and Montay Davis.

The duo combined for 21 points in the final 16 minutes, with Blakley finishing with 20 points and six rebounds while Davis chipped in 13 points and three boards. In fact, they scored the team's final 18 points after Nicoe Knighten hit a 3-pointer to put the Lady Braves ahead 25-22 in the third period.

Knighten tied Blakley on the glass with six rebounds.

Of course, 11 second-half turnovers didn't help the Lady Zebras' cause. They finished with 19 turnovers in all while Central had only 10.

GIRLS — VERDIGRIS 74, EDISON 16

Given how often the Lady Cardinals stole the ball, the Catoosa Activity Center could've been briefly renamed the Thieves' Market.

Class 4A No. 5 Verdigris recorded 15 steals and forced 32 turnovers in all, leading to an easy 74-16 victory over Edison in the opening round of the 57th annual Port City Classic on Thursday morning. The girls took on Bishop Kelley, a 49-31 winner over Victory Christian, in the semifinals after press time Friday night. A story from that game will be available this weekend at claremoreprogress.com.

Maddy Daniels accounted for five of those steals, and she scored all nine of her points in the first quarter as the Lady Cardinals built a 27-0 lead. Kate Wiginton had three steals while Morgan Borgstadt and Ciara Daniel nabbed multiple as well with two apiece.

Borgstadt — who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks — scored nine points in the opening frame as well, and she went into halftime with 13 as Verdigris held a 43-6 advantage. The 6-foot-0 senior managed only five points in the second half, but that is only because her scoring efforts were no longer required.

The Lady Cardinals made a season-high 32 field goals in the win, surpassing the previous best of 22 that was set in a 50-20 win over Jay on Jan. 13. Only four of those shots were 3-pointers.

Verdigris had 11 players score in all, with all but one making at least one field goal. Brynlee Brown (11 points) and Grace Waters (10 points, six rebounds) joined Borgstadt in double figures.

Edison made only five field goals, four of which were 3-balls. Malasia Brown hit three of them to finish with nine points.

BOYS — BISHOP KELLEY 66, VERDIGRIS 55

When the Comets' Jack Hawkins hit a 3-pointer three seconds before halftime, Verdigris had no idea that shot would serve as the turning point of the game.

Hawkins carried that momentum into the second half as he quickly erased a 30-28 halftime deficit with another 3-pointer, and Bishop Kelley never trailed again. The Class 5A No. 11 Comets led 52-39 by the end of the third quarter and cruised from there to a 66-55 victory Thursday in the first round of the 57th annual Port City Classic at the Catoosa Activity Center.

Bishop Kelley advanced to play Edison, a 76-43 winner over Duncan, in the semifinals Friday night while the Cardinals played the Demons in the consolation bracket earlier in the afternoon. A recap from the latter game can be found this weekend at claremoreprogress.com.

The Comets swiftly grew their lead to double digits in the third, but consecutive baskets from Coy Lemons and Braxton Repschlaeger — the latter being a dunk — pulled Verdigris back within striking distance at 43-36.

Hawkins and Seth Taylor were too much, though, and their 15-3 run that spanned into the fourth quarter gave Bishop Kelley its largest lead of the game at 58-39.

Hawkins finished with 25 points and six rebounds while Taylor added 23 points and five boards. They combined for all nine of their team's 3-pointers.

It was a bittersweet return for the Cardinals' Cody Lechlider, who missed six games with a hip injury. He managed a team-high 19 points with four rebounds in the losing effort. Fourteen of those points came in the first half, and he was held scoreless in the second half until sparking an 8-0 run in the fourth with five-consecutive points.

Elsewhere, Repschlaeger had 14 points with five rebounds, and Tyler Willis snagged 10 rebounds to go alongside six points.

BOYS — CATOOSA 69, SAND SPRINGS 61

Catoosa's performance Thursday night was momentous for a couple of reasons.

For one, its 69-61 victory over Sand Springs in the first round of the 57th annual Port City Classic avenged last year's loss in the same round of the same tournament.

Secondly, it marked the program's first win against a Class 6A opponent since a 51-41 decision over Westmoore on Dec. 27, 2019.

Titus Miller was the catalyst for such achievements, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds with a 9-of-9 mark at the free-throw line.

Luke Beauchamp and Chris Brown joined him in double figures, registering 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Alijah Roper and Michael Foster paced the Sandites with 13 points apiece, and Kade Holland was close behind with 12 points.

The Class 4A No. 16 Indians advanced to the semifinals to play No. 7 Victory Christian, which bested Claremore 46-45.

GIRLS — DUNCAN 57, CATOOSA 39

It took a little while for the Duncan offense to settle down, but once it did, Catoosa was powerless to stop it.

The Lady Demons led by only four after the first quarter but erupted for 19 and 21 points in the second and third periods, respectively, outscoring the Lady Indians 40-18 during that stretch to pull away for a 57-39 victory in the first round of the 57th annual Port City Classic girls bracket Thursday at the Catoosa Activity Center.

Four players scored in double figures for Class 5A No. 13 Duncan, with Addison Siess leading the way with 14 points. Eight of those came in the second quarter.

Hannah Woods was next with 12 points, and Amiya Williams and Ariyah Harris added 10 points apiece.

For Catoosa, Zoe Brown scored nine of her 16 points in the third quarter. Tinsley Mitchell, who hit three of the team's five 3-pointers, finished with 13 points in the loss.