Vanoss boys knock off No. 1, No. 2 teams

Feb. 7—It was a good weekend for the Vanoss High School boys basketball team.

The Wolves held on tight to defeat Class A No. 1 Caddo 59-57 in a thrown-together matchup Friday night inside the Vanoss Activity Center.

And then Vanoss traveled to Roff on Saturday and turned black the Tigers — ranked No. 2 in Class B — 40-36 in an afternoon clash between the two local rivals.

Vanoss, ranked No. 3 in Class A, improved to 19-2 with the sweep. Caddo fell to 16-2 and Roff slipped to 19-5.

Vanoss head coach Jonathon Hurt said he'd like to bottle up those two performances from his team and carry them far into postseason play.

"I would like to see us play like this at the state tournament in March," he said. "It was a good weekend for us and two good wins against two really good teams."

The Vanoss girls' weekend was pretty good, too. The Lady Wolves shocked Class A No. 2 Caddo 59-37 and used a big second half to surge past Roff 48-20.

The Lady Wolves improved to 20-1 on the year. Caddo — which local basketball fans got to witness win the 2022 Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic — lost two games in a row after winning 20 straight to start the season. Class A No. 19 Tushka stopped Caddo's long winning streak with a 47-38 home win on Jan. 27.

The Vanoss girls were coming off a 25-15 loss to local rival Stratford.

"That's a big response by a team that was kind of cruising through the year. We really hadn't been playing that well," Hurt said. "It just says a lot about the kids we have in the program. They could have laid down and felt sorry for themselves but instead, they came back and beat one of the best teams in Oklahoma."

BOYS

Saturday, Feb. 4

Vanoss 40, Roff 36

Vanoss led by double digits early in the third quarter and after a Brayden Cannon steal that turned into an assist and layup by Carter Perry, the Wolves led 37-29 with 4:01 left in the game.

The Tigers clawed their way back into the contest. Roff got consecutive baskets by Cade Baldridge (a free-throw line jumper), Dylan Reed (a 14-foot jumper) and a basket inside by Tallen Bagwell that cut the RHS deficit to 37-35 with 54.6 seconds remaining in the game.

Roff had a chance to tie or take the lead after a missed free throw by Cannon, but couldn't convert.

Cannon then hit three clutch free shots down the stretch to help the Wolves secure the win.

Cannon scored 10 points, including five in the fourth period. It was his 3-point basket at the 7:19 mark in the third quarter that stretched the VHS lead to 28-18.

Nate Sheppherd hit three 3-point baskets and scored a team-high 11 points in the balanced VHS attack.

Layne Thrower also scored 10 points for the visitors, eight coming in the first half. Vanoss held a slim 15-14 lead at halftime.

Perry, the Wolves' leading scorer, was limited to four points in the game.

Reed scored nine points for the Tigers. Bagwell and Easton Riddle were next with six points each. Riddle buried two first-half 3-pointers.

Roff sank just 6-of-13 free throws in the contest, while the Wolves made five free shots in eight tries.

Friday, Feb. 4

Vanoss 59, Caddo 57

After Nate Shepperd buried his third 3-pointer of the game at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter, the Wolves had forged a seemingly insurmountable 44-22 lead.

However, things got crazy in the fourth quarter.

Carter Perry sank a 3-pointer early in the final period and Vanoss still led 55-38. But Caddo finished the game on a 19-4 run and nearly stole the victory.

The Bruins scored 13 straight points to get within 55-51 after a 3-point basket by Carson Culbreath at the 4:09 mark of the final frame. During that stretch, Caddo took advantage of technical fouls called on Perry and coach Hurt.

Braden Tyson got a steal and layup with 2:45 left to get the visitors within 57-56. Caddon then erased every bit of its big deficit when Culbreath hit one of two free throws with 1:30 remaining to knot the score at 57-all.

Perry then broke the tie when he drove toward the basket, bounced off a Caddo player, spun around and hit a tough bank shot to put Vanoss ahead 59-57. That bucket turned out to the be game-winner.

Caddo had one last-gasp chance after a timeout with just over two seconds remaining, but an errant inbound pass ended the contest.

Perry scored 18 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers to pace the VHS offense. Logan Hulbutta followed with 14 points. Layne Thrower also hit double digits with 11 points.

Nate Sheppherd nailed three 3-pointers and added nine points for the home team.

DJ Dill led all scorers with 20 points but the Caddo playmaker fouled out with 4:43 left in the game. He knocked down three 3-point baskets. Culbreath also hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 11 for the Bruins. Kolby Benhardt followed with eight points.

Vanoss made only 9-of-17 free throws in the game, while Caddo ended up 9-of-24 (37.5%) from the stripe.

GIRLS

Saturday, Feb. 5

Vanoss 48, Roff 20

To the Lady Tigers' credit, they played high-powered Vanoss tough for a half. When sophomore Sophie Eldred sank a hook shot after a drive down the lane with 1:12 left in the second quarter, Roff trailed just 19-15.

The second half was all Vanoss. The Lady Wolves outscored Roff 9-1 over the final 2:22 of the third quarter to carry a 35-18 lead into the fourth period. Vanoss limited Roff to just two points — a pair of free throws by Cailey Hall — over the final eight minutes.

Madi Faust was a force in the paint for Vanoss, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. Avery Ellis followed with 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Freshman Livi Ellis turned in a solid effort, finishing with six points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

Chloe Eldred led Roff with six points and 10 rebounds. Breana Britt sank a pair of 3-pointers and also had six points.

The Lady Tigers made just 1-of-10 field goals through the final two quarters and committed 10 of 17 turnovers in the second half.

Friday, Feb. 3

Vanoss 59, Caddo 37

This highly-anticipated showdown between two of the top teams in Class A quickly turned into a one-sided affair.

Caddo led 12-9 after a free throw by Emily Robinson at the 3:05 mark of the first quarter before the Lady Wolves took off.

Coach Jonathon Hurt watched his team go on a pivotal 17-0 run and after Caidence Cross stole the ball, hit a layup and converted an old-fashioned three-point play, Vanoss had surged to a 26-12 lead at the 6:21 mark of the second quarter.

Cross ended the second quarter with a 3-pointer and Vanoss outscored Caddo 23-10 in the frame to forge a 42-22 halftime lead.

Vanoss shot a blistering 16-of-23 (69.6%) from the field in the first half.

The Vanoss lead grew to as many as 27 in the third quarter.

Madi Faust turned in a dominant performance for the Lady Wolves. She scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting. She also had five rebounds and three steals.

Avery Ellis also reached double figures with 13 points, including three 3-point field goals. She added six boards.

Cross was next with nine points.

Caddo playmaker Emily Robinson, who was the Mid-America Classic MVP, scored 21 points to pace the Lady Bruins. She had one 3-pointer. Jaycee Nichols was next for Caddo with eight points.