What to watch for when Bartlesville hoops tourney tips off Thursday
One of Bartlesville High’s longest running annual traditions — the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Basketball Invitational — springs back into action Thursday.
The stage will be the Bruin Fieldhouse, which will host 24 games in three days, wrapping up Saturday night with the girls and boys championship games.
The format includes two concurrent eight-team tournaments — one for the girls and one for the boys. Four girls games and four boys games are planned each day.
Bartlesville teams will play the evening games, with the Lady Bruins taking on Tulsa Memorial, followed by the Bruin boys taking on their Ponca City counterparts in the day’s final contest.
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FIRST DAY SCHEDULE
Following are Thursday’s first-round matchups. (Note: The records are through last weekend, may not reflect all games and do not include this week’s Tuesday’s games.)
Boys —
Bartlesville (2-5) vs. Ponca City (2-6), 8:30 p.m.
Hirschi (Texas) (7-8) vs. Carl Albert (6-2), 5:30 p.m.
Southmoore (5-2) vs. Millwood (3-5), 2:30 p.m.
Stillwater (2-4) vs. Bixby (4-2), 11:30 a.m.
Girls —
Bartlesville (2-3) vs. Tulsa Memorial (1-2), 7 p.m.
BT Washington (4-1) vs. Stillwater (2-4), 4 p.m.
Del City (3-3) vs. Southmoore (0-6), 1 p.m.
Broken Arrow (2-4) vs. Millwood (3-2), 10 a.m.
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POWER QUOTIENT
The 2023 COP/Arvest spectacle features a grueling field that includes two No. 1 ranked teams in the state.
Following is a closer look.
BOYS: Carl Albert and Millwood both are ranked No. 1 in their Classes, 5A and 3A, respectively. The are in different brackets, meaning the only way they would play each other is in Saturday’s day place finals. Other ranked teams in the field include Southmoore (No. 10, 6A), Bixby (No. 13, 6A). Unranked OSSAA squads include Bartlesville, Ponca City, Hirschi and Stillwater. The only first-round matchup between ranked teams is Southmoore vs. Millwood.
GIRLS: The girls bracket features four ranked teams — BT Washington (No. 10, 6A), Broken Arrow (No. 14, 6A), Del City (No. 15, 5A), Millwood (No. 18, 3A). The four unranked squads included Bartlesville, Tulsa Memorial, Stillwater and Southmoore. The lone first-round matchup between ranked teams is Broken Arrow vs. Millwood.
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LADY BRUINS
If people just glance at Bartlesville’s girls’ record (2-3), they won’t see the full story.
The Lady Bruins grinded through perhaps the opening two-game schedule in the state, having to face No. 1-ranked Sapulpa and a very strong Bixby team.
Bartlesville lost by big margins in both games, but still averaged 47.5 points per game, a pretty strong offensive showing.
The Lady Bruins followed up with back-to-back double-digit wins in the Idabel Winter Classic, defeating Paris (Texas), 63-40, and Class 3A power Marlow, 50-38. Bartlesville finished off the tourney by losing by only 13 points to Idabel, the No. 1 ranked team in 3A.
The Lady Bruins are on a wide turn-around during stark contrasting fortunes the past five seasons. In 2017-18, Bartlesville charged to a team record 23-0 mark in the regular season and advanced to the state tourney. The next season, Bartlesville carved out an 18-8 record. But, the last three campaigns (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22) Bartlesville has been mired in single-digit win campaigns. In fact, going into Tuesday’s game at BT Washington, the Lady Bruins were on a 32-game losing streak in Frontier Valley Conference games.
Based on their start through the first give games this season, thee appears to be a new excitement and vibrancy growing in Lady Bruin basketball. This tournament could be a positive showcase for the program.
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BRUINS
It’s been a gauntlet of discovery the first seven games for the Bartlesville boys, who entered the season a sense of special expectations.
The Bruins have come close in putting it together in a couple of tough losses — and appear to be on the verge of figuring out what it takes to lift the program to the next level.
Bartlesville finished 1-2 in last week’s Tournament of Champions, but that included a close loss (six points) to Kingfisher, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A, and a tight victory against Roff, the Class B powerhouse. Edmond North handed the Bruins a lopsided defeat — although the Bruins made a 15-0 run in the second quarter to take a temporary sizable lead — in the TOC final round.
“I think they learned how hard it is to win,” veteran Bruin head coach Clent Stewart said about what is players took away from the TOC experience. “They learned how you have to play hard for 32 minutes. Against Kingfisher, I think we got a little fatigued. Against Roff, we did some good things in the end. We found out a way to do things against a good team.”
Early turnovers against Edmond North set a rugged tone for Bartlesville. The No. 1 ranked squad cashed in on Bartlesville’s early giveaways and grabbed the momentum. But, Bartlesville still hung within striking distance into the third quarter.
“I thought our kids competed hard, especially in the first half,” Stewart said. “Dayton McCall had a heck of a game.”
Edmond North’s physicality made the difference in the second half.
“It got away from us,” Stewart said. “We did some learning there.”
Bartlesville needs to boost its offensive firepower, Stewart said.
One of the keys to the Bruin success has been the offensive contribution of Michael Smith III. In both Bartlesville wins this season, he’s scored in double figures.
“When he plays hard and plays with energy he can be a game changer,” Stewart said. “He can bring us energy and intensity.”
Stewart expects Ponca City to play hard.
One of the interesting aspects of this matchup revolves around Bartlesville’s star guard David Castillo, who is averaging better than 25 points per game this season. Two seasons ago, Castillo — who was then a freshman — scored 43 points in a win against Ponca City, possibly a Bruin single-game record.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville tourney set to tip off on Thursday at Bruin Fieldhouse
