Class 6A boys basketball: Ja’Mon Valentine leads Choctaw past Moore into semifinals

The Class 6A boys basketball state tournament started Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center. Here's a look at what happened:

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Choctaw 58, Moore 56

The shrieks from Choctaw’s crowd pierced the air in Lloyd Noble Center after Ja’Mon Valentine sank the 3-pointer from the right wing.

The junior guard could have sent the game into double-overtime with that shot, but his heroics were only beginning.

As the seconds ticked off the clock, Moore’s boys basketball team had an opportunity to break the tie, and Valentine said no.

The Yellowjackets’ fans hadn’t stopped screaming when he intercepted a pass and rushed toward the basket again. This time, he advanced into the paint, floated toward the basket and tossed the winning layup through the hoop.

Valentine fell to the ground. His friends lifted him in front of the student section. On the opposite side of the gym, someone in the crowd referred to him as a king.

The way Valentine sealed Choctaw’s 58-56 overtime victory against Moore would have been a storybook moment in any state tournament, and the context of the game added extra magnitude to his clutch performance.

“It’s like (a) childhood dream right there,” Valentine said, grinning before wiping his face with a towel. “When you go outside practicing those type of shots, it’s like what you want. That’s your dream right there. That was my dream.”

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It’s a dream for all of the Yellowjackets as they’re headed to their first state semifinal game in program history. West fifth-ranked Choctaw hadn’t even made the state tournament since 1967, and the journey continued Thursday night in improbable fashion.

East sixth-ranked Moore opened the game on a 9-0 run.

Choctaw (20-8) could barely make a shot, going 18.2 percent from the field in the first quarter. At halftime, the Lions (19-7) led 25-13.

When Valentine made that winning basket, none of those factors mattered.

Valentine led Choctaw with 20 points as he, William Smith and Camren Hunt formed the dynamic trio that fueled the comeback. Smith, an Oklahoma State football commit, finished with a team-high eight rebounds while Valentine and Hunt each added six.

Darian Grant had a tremendous night for Moore, leading all scorers with 29 points and contributing eight rebounds. Late in overtime, Grant made a tip-in to give the Lions a 54-53 lead. He followed with a pair of free throws, but Valentine had the final answer.

“We just had to execute the game plan, try to get the best shot possible,” Valentine said. “Just get the ball in my hands and let me get the last shot.”

Next, Choctaw gets a chance at defending champion Edmond North at 9 p.m. Friday.

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Owasso 54, Deer Creek 39

Brian Montonati has watched the process unfold from the perspectives of father and coach.

Jalen Montonati, his freshman son, has devoted himself to basketball.

“It’s every day, man,” Brian Montonati said. “Sometimes, it drives me nuts how hard he works because he lives in the gym.”

Other days, the Owasso coach doesn’t mind.

He can see the extraordinary results.

They were clear Thursday evening, when Owasso’s boys basketball team stormed into the Class 6A quarterfinals and knocked off Deer Creek, 54-39, to reach a semifinal matchup with Broken Arrow. In his state tournament debut, Jalen dropped 27 points in front of a crowd that included OU men’s basketball coach Porter Moser.

Brian didn’t hide his amazement that a 15-year-old kid could handle the nerve-racking situation, but it’s also nothing new for Jalen, an uncommitted but highly touted recruit. In the summer, the 6-foot-7 guard played AAU basketball with the likes of Moser, Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton and Kentucky coach John Calipari in attendance.

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“We’ve kind of prepared him for this,” said Brian, who played at Oklahoma State. “... Having the amount of pressure that he had on himself before the season started, man, he’s delivered.”

Although Jalen went 2-for-8 from the field in the first half, he found a different way to score, consistently reaching the free-throw line. The freshman went 10-for-11 at the stripe, starting the game 9-for-9.

He also recorded five rebounds, two steals and a block as the East fifth-ranked Rams controlled the matchup defensively, taking the Antlers out of their typically prolific 3-point game.

“I played for Eddie Sutton, so I don’t know any other way but to play defense,” Brian said. “It’s the backbone of winning games that you shouldn’t win, in my opinion.”

Junior guard Hudson Linsenmeyer led West seventh-ranked Deer Creek with 14 points, but he managed only one 3 against Owasso. Instead, the Rams forced the Antlers into the paint, where they added 24 points.

But Deer Creek (18-9) couldn’t dominate there, either. Owasso (18-8) finished with 22 points in the paint with leadership from 6-foot-5 senior Brandon Mann, who provided 14 points and seven rebounds.

Although the Antlers made a couple of second-half surges, the Rams held on for their first state tournament win since 2013.

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Broken Arrow 55, Norman 44

Broken Arrow always had a response.

Whenever Norman narrowed the lead, the top-ranked East team quickly answered, and the surging squad didn’t need a singular hero.

Ethan Ellison lobbed the ball to Connor Dow for an alley-oop dunk. Justice Sutton made a layup underneath the basket. Dow took to the skies again, stuffing the ball through the hoop as Broken Arrow built its advantage.

With the lineup clicking, Broken Arrow defeated Norman, 55-44, to advance to a semifinal rematch with Owasso. The Rams handed Broken Arrow (26-1) its sole loss of the season at the area tournament, and senior wing Dow is motivated to flip the script.

“We’re definitely coming in with a chip on our shoulder,” Dow said.

After Owasso shattered Broken Arrow’s undefeated record, the Tigers could have crumbled. Instead, they regrouped for a 16-point win against a standout Putnam North team to reach the state tournament, and they continued that momentum against West third-ranked Norman.

Dow, an Oklahoma State signee, energized Broken Arrow with a couple of early 3-pointers. He went 9 for 14 from the field to rack up a game-high 22 points while adding four rebounds, one assist and two steals.

Dow’s second dunk elicited a roar from his student section.

“They took a spirit bus over here,” Dow said, “so it was really nice of them to come down and spend their day down here cheering us on.”

Before filing into the locker room, Broken Arrow’s players ran in a line past the students and slapped their hands, celebrating the opportunity to keep chasing their second state title in program history.

Earlier in the game, it was unclear if Broken Arrow would have that sweet moment. Norman (18-8) kept up with the Tulsa-area Tigers throughout the first half, heading into halftime in just a 25-21 deficit.

Caison Cole led Norman with 12 points and went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, but his team couldn’t catch Broken Arrow.

Ellison finished with 10 points, and so did Sutton, who provided a fourth-quarter spark.

“It was good,” Dow said. “He finally came alive back in the second half, so it was good to have him.”

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Edmond North 63, Tulsa Booker T. Washington 54

Dylan Warlick’s nerves might have increased, but he didn’t show it on the court.

As a sophomore, the star forward entered the state tournament with little pressure, ready to defy expectations and lead a young Edmond North squad to a championship.

This year, as a junior, Warlick could sense the heightened standards.

“After winning last year, everyone expects us to win it again,” Warlick said. “So it’s a little bit more nerve-racking.”

When the West top-ranked Huskies raise the bar, Warlick continues to deliver. Edmond North rolled into the state tournament with a 63-54 victory against East fourth-ranked Tulsa Booker T. Washington, reaching a semifinal matchup with Choctaw, and Warlick’s numbers popped on the stat sheet.

With game highs of 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, he once again thrived under the Lloyd Noble Center lights.

“I go out there and play, I prepare the same,” Warlick said. “But it’s like once I’m out there, I’m in my zone.”

Warlick laid the Huskies’ foundation, going 6 for 7 from the field with 14 points before halftime. Although his scoring waned in the second half, his teammates chipped in as the Huskies (24-2) distributed the ball. T.O. Barrett and Dontrell Yearby each added 10 points, Bryce Potts had nine and TJ Strong finished with seven.

But the Huskies couldn’t put their game on cruise control. At the end of the third quarter, Jamarri Simpson made a layup off a steal, trimming Edmond North’s lead to 45-39. Booker T. Washington quarterback Lathan Boone also led the Hornets on the basketball court, recording a team-high 15 points and making all four of his free-throw attempts.

The Hornets (15-10) had some spurts of energy throughout the second half, but the Huskies preserved their lead. Barrett and Potts each went 5 for 7 at the free-throw line, helping Edmond North stay in control down the stretch.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSSAA Class 6A boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal scores