Outlaws eyeing 3-peat after dispatching rival
Jan. 21—Playing for their third straight Stephens County Tournament Championship, the Marlow Outlaws are eyeing the 3-peat after dispatching their rival in the Comanche Indians by winning 51-29.
Parker Boyles, who had a big first game of the tournament, had a big first quarter that saw him score six of the 12 first stanza points, including the initial two buckets of the game.
Dillon Ellis, from Comanche, got the first basket for the Indians. Still, Boyles hit his final bucket of the quarter to go a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and take the 6-2 lead.
Senior Avrey Payne then took over from there, scoring four points on two buckets. His team held a close lead at 12-9 over Comanche going into the second quarter.
Kaden Harris helped Marlow to an 11-4 advantage in the second quarter as he contributed all of his seven points in the game right before halftime to extend the Outlaws' lead.
Myles Ellis, for Comanche, had all four second quarter points for the Indians. Payne got the other four points for the Outlaws to put the 23-13 lead over Comanche heading to the second half.
Another big quarter for the Outlaws was in store. Blayd Harris had five of his 11 on the game on two shots and Payne had 10 points to contribute and add to the 40-19 lead over Comanche.
Dillon Ellis and Hunter Lassley had the six points of the third quarter for the Indians. Still, their best quarter came in the fourth during which they tried to mount a comeback against the Outlaws.
Regardless, the Outlaws secured two buckets from Blayd Harris and outscored Comanche 11-10 to secure the victory and send them to the Stephens County Tournament Championship.
Payne led the scoring with 18 points and was one of two Outlaws with double figures. Blayd Harris had 11 points and Boyles had eight points to round out the top three scorers.
Corbin Bowen and Myles Ellis had seven points apiece while Dillon Ellis had six. With those numbers, the Indians went to 6-7 on the season while the Outlaws improved to 13-2.
Comanche will now take on Waurika in the third place game. The Indians will play at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 21 and try to get back to .500 on the season with a victory.
Marlow and host Velma-Alma will play in the title game for the third time in the last four years. That game will take place at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at Velma-Alma High School to wrap up the Stephens County Tournament.
