WEEKEND AREA HOOPS: WCS wins 11th; OUHS sweeps Dewey
Following is a roundup of weekend area basketball action.
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BOYS: OUHS 39, Dewey 32
A Saturday night special saw Oklahoma Wesleyan edge Dewey, despite a promising beginning.
Dewey led at the end of the first quarter, 8-2, but trailed 17-14 by halftime.
Oklahoma Union build slightly on its lead the second half.
But, one observation had to me made -- a week earlier Oklahoma Union had crushed Dewey by 30 points, 69-39 -- so this contest represented a massive improvement.
Jace Williams scored 12 points to lead Dewey, followed by Jeremiah Highsmith and Colby Miller with eight apiece, Clayton Evans with two and Ryder Muninger with two.
"We missed nine free throws," Dewey head coach Lance Knight observed.
Kaide Hill scored 15 for Oklahoma Union.
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BOYS: WCS 76, Bluejacket 17
Chances are the Wesleyan Christian School Mustangs (11-1) would have won anyway.
But, with Bluejacket down to just five players,the task became simpler.
Zander Week tallied 15 points to lead WCS, followed by Ty Cloud and Cooper Holley with 10 and nine points, respectively. Kyle Kelley scored eight, followed by Jarrett Jensen.
WCS will be back in action Monday in a rematch with Bluejacket and on Tuesday against Wright Christian. The Mustangs will finish off the week in a tournament.
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BOYS: Caney Valley 47, Dewey 43
This was a heart-squeezer from start to end.
Dewey went ahead quickly, 17-8, led by one at halftime, 22-21, and by four after three quarters, 31-27.
The CV Trojans unleashed a 20-point rally in the fourth period to surpass Dewey.
"We hit some shots when we needed to hit some shots and we hit some free throws when we needed to hit some throws," Trojan head coach Tug Brinker said. "It was their Homecoming and it was a great atmosphere. Coach (Lance) Knight does a good job."
Jeremiah Highsmith sank 22 points to try to lift Dewey to the victory.
The biggest challenges, especially in the first half, were trying to cover Highsmith inside and Jace Williams and Colby Miller inside, Brinker said.
Miller and Williams added nine points each, followed by Clayton Evans with two and Zaiden Masters with one.
"We were struggling to score," Knight said. "We had too many unforced turnovers. You have 21 turnovers and win. … We've got to find a way to finish.
Tate Longan scored 12 to lead the Trojans, followed by Maverick Condry and Logan Fowler with nine points each. Rocky Hester added seven points and Zack Ketchum scored two.
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GIRLS: Caney Valley 50, Dewey 28
How about that defense?
“In the first half we dusted off the old Caney Valley press and got after them quite a bit,” Caney Valley head coach Deric Longan said.
As a result, Dewey scored only eight points in the first two quarters and trailed 32-8 heading into intermission.
Caney Valley went back to its core defense in the second half to finish off the win.
“They knocked down a few shots,” Longan said. “They shot the ball pretty good in the fourth quarter.”
But, Caney Valley still surged to the 22-point win to improve to 10-3, the first area girls team to reach double-digit victories.
Jade Upton scored 21 points to lead Caney Valley’s points sheet, followed by Libby Thompson with 10 and Sammi Gilbreath with nine. Kensly Foreman added four points, followed by Myah Edwards and Maddox Hines with three each and Chloe Scherman with two.
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GIRLS: OUHS 47, Nowata 44
It all came down to the fourth quarter.
Nowata owned a promising -- if not a comfortable -- lead at the end of the third period, 32-22.KBut, Oklahoma Union -- whose record just a week earlier stood at 1-10, with its lone victory against a jayvee team -- came of age as competitive force.
The Lady Cougars exploded for 25 points in the fourth quarter to pull past Nowata (5-8), in front of a Homecoming packed house at Oklahoma Union.
Oklahoma Union (3-11) led near the start, 2-0, but fell behind and didn't lead again until 44 seconds left in the game -- on Kylie Corley's basket off a pass from Sami Sheafer.
Addie Elms also hit a ket bucket during this stretch. Jesalin Cole hit two free throws with 11 seconds left.
Sheafer and Cole finished with 14 points, followed by Ava Smith with 10, Tucker Yorman with five, Corley with two and Elms with two.
"In the fourth quarter we pressed," Oklahoma Union head coach David Lampton said about an adjustment that made a difference.
Nowata head coach Thad Hewitt agreed.
"They pressed us and it cause us to revert to some old habits," he said. "We're playing our seventh game in 11 days. We're tired, not only physically but mentally."
Trailee Watson scored 14 and Kennedy Nubel scored 14 each to lead Nowata, followed by Madi Barnes with 6. Ty Brown and Jordan Ashley added two apiece.
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BOYS: Nowata 47, OUHS 40
The Ironmen made it clean Nowata sweep Friday.
It was only a one point game in the third quarter, but Oklahoma Union couldn't overtake the hot-playing Ironmen (9-4).
Levi Krieder and Kaide Hill -- both seniors -- scored 13 and nine, respectively, for Oklahoma Union (7-7).
Nowata coach Nate Smith praised senior Skylar Stevens as a difference-maker.
"They (Oklahoma Union) play a good matchup zone," Smith said. "Skylar did a really good job of getting guys the ball. He had four assists and was a big part of our winning the game."
Kaleb Bashford poured in 16 points to lead Nowata, followed by Spencer Bullen with 11 and Stevens with 10.
This was the first meeting of the year for the two squads. Last year, they split their series.
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GIRLS: Olive 57, Copan 34
Copan turned in a stronger effort than it had earlier in the week against Shidler, Copan head coach Kristy Bryan noted.
"I was pleased with the way the girls came out," she said.
She praised the emergence of Zoey Secondine as a primary force, scoring 11 points and confiscating eight rebounds.
Kamryn Van added seven points, followed by Elyzabeth Odum with six, Kylee Cobb with five, Addy Hunter with two, Rylee Vanschuyver with two and Jayden Purdum with 1.
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BOYS: Olive 48, Copan 20
"We just kind of showed our youth," said Copan head coach Kolton Stacy, pointing to turnovers as a major factor in the loss.
Copan has been trying to deal with life without point guard Teagan Caron, at least the last few games. Stacy said he isn't sure whether Caron will be back in uniform for next weekend's Caney Valley tourney.
"They zoned us,"Stacy said about Olive. "Without Teagan, we kind of struggle in the zone."
Levi Vanschuyver topped Copan with eight points, followed by Logan Guess with seven, Kane Foreman with five, Shooter Brewington with five and Karson Woodworth with two.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Area high school basketball teams wage grueling weekend battles
