Clarke closing in
At halftime, Clarke has 23 points, needing just 11 more to break Ty Harman’s career scoring record. Clarke punctuated the half with a running 3-pointer over three Adair defenders.
Clarke is 9 of 15 from the floor so far, 4-4 from the free-throw line and 1-3 from behind the 3-point line.
Starting late in the quarter, Verdigris’ student section is counting down Clarke’s march to the record. The Cardinals students chanted “11 … 11″ after Clarke’s three ended the half with Verdigris up 39-24.
Rotnei Clarke update
Through one quarter, Rotnei Clarke has 14 points. He missed his first two shots but has since gone 5 for 5 from the field and made 4 free throws.
Live from Skiatook, it’s the Rotnei Clarke show
I arrived at the gym just after 4 p.m. (for an 8 p.m. boys start, gates opened a few minutes ago at 5:30) and there were already about 75 or so Adair and Verdigris fans waiting for the night session to start. The outsiders were Eufaula fans, who were inside cheering their boys before the Lady Ironheads play Adair at 6:30 p.m.
Verdigris’ Clarke is 33 points behind Ty Harman’s career scoring record and figures to have no problem passing the mark tonight.
The anticipation is surely building here at Skiatook as the gym is probably about 1/3 full already. People are still streaming into the arena.
There certainly was no better choice of a site for this event than Skiatook, as the Bulldogs’ home gym is immaculate.
Check out the blog here for quarter-by-quarter updates tonight at least until Clarke breaks the record. Also, be sure to check out NewsOk tomorrow for video of Clarke’s performance.
A quick look at small-school state
So day 1 (and most of day two) is in the books at the small-school state basketball tournament. There weren’t any big surprises in Class A.
It’s also become apparent that the hardest class to pick the all-state team in is going to be Class A. There a lot of good, solid players in the class but there’s no one or two standouts like there are in Class B. Should be an interesting time tomorrow and in the next couple weeks talking to coaches and others and lookins at stats to see who it’s going to be.
I picked Thomas and Stringtown to win heading into the week and as of right now, I stand by those picks. Thomas doesn’t have any big standouts but has a lot of very good players; players like Justen Hunnicutt, Jeremiah John and Zeke Zoschke. They’ve also got one of the best if not the best coach in the class in Jim Petree. From what I saw of Garber yesterday, I can’t see them beating Thomas, though stranger things have happened.
In Class B, Chattanooga (or Chattanoga as the OSSAA program says) is certainly good. But they haven’t played the schedule that Stringtown has, they don’t have anyone taller than 6-3 to matchup with Stringtown’s 6-9 James Watson and Watson seems to have flipped the switch and turned into the dominant force that we all expected him to be this season. He has a chance tonight and tomorrow to play himself back onto the Super Five team. It will be interesting to see how Stringtown’s game tonight against Calumet goes. I’ve heard nothing but raves about the Chieftains’ Ethan Davis and enjoyed visiting with him earlier this week.
Check out the Oklahoman and NewsOk.com tomorrow morning for a tentative list on where the Class 6A-2A sub-sites will be next week.
Also, check back in on NewsOk tonight for breaking news on Verdigris’ Rotnei Clarke and his chase to the record. I’m here in Skiatook as Clarke stands only 33 points away from Ty Harman’s mark.
Class B girls recap: What a night!
By Zach West
zwest@oklahoman.com
I’ve been involved with small-school state basketball tournaments for nearly 10 years running now, and let me tell you, there aren’t too many days like the day Class B girls had on Thursday at Midwest City High School.
For starters, the day started and ended with huge upsets. In the opening game, Mason — who hadn’t been to the state tournament since 1957 — shocked No. 3 Seiling 35-33. Having seen a lot of small-school blowouts, especially in the opening rounds, I was convinced that would be the best game of the day, hands down.
Boy, was I wrong.
The day closed out with an instant classic, as Vici’s Hannah Guthrie and Kiowa’s Katy Clift staged an epic duel that came down to the last second. Two Guthrie free throws helped Vici finish off Kiowa - the No. 2 team in Class B – by a score of 52-50.
Not only was this a huge upset, but it even had a little controversy thrown in for good measure. After a Clift jumper hit back iron with time winding down (seemingly the only shot she missed all half), Vici’s Jonna Gregory grabbed the rebound, but was then called for traveling. The officials checked with the scorer’s table, however, and determined she grabbed the rebound with 1.4 seconds remaining – meaning that by the time she was called for traveling, the clock had run out. Game over.
Um, needless to say, this did not please the Kiowa faithful, who let out a chorus of disbelief, obscenities and tears. The Vici side, however, erupted in jubilation. Understandable, seeing as how the best season in school history just got extended to the Big House.
Anyways, if those two games weren’t enough for you, the two in between were no slouches themselves. In the first, Tamara Brown helped Sentinel pulled off a semi-upset of Varnum. The same Varnum that beat defending champ Lomega by 20 in its last game. Brown absolutely torched Varnum to the tune of 22 second half points. Not too shabby, eh?
In the third game of the day, unheralded Cyril stood toe-to-toe with the very same Lomega for the better part of three quarters. Remember, Lomega has all starters returning from its state title team. But the upset wasn’t to be, as Lomega showed exactly why it is the defending champ – namely, depth.
Up by only three at the end of the third quarter, Lomega’s Britney Geis – the Raiders’ fifth leading scorer at only four points per game, mind you – drilled a buzzer-beater to stretch the lead to five. Lomega would never look back.
“That was the biggest shot of the game,” Lomega head coach Kevin Lewallen said. “If she misses that, we’re only up by three, and anything can happen.”
Instead, Lomega used that momentum to pull away to a comfortable victory.
Well, that’s a recap of the exciting day of games. If you missed it, well, that’s a shame because it was one heck of a good time.
Here’s some more tidbits that didn’t make it into the paper …
Stuck on the shot clock:
In 23 years of officiating, Rick Bales had never seen anything like it.
In the most amusing moment of the night, a fourth quarter shot by Cyril’s Shelbie Laughlin got stuck between the top of the backboard and the shot clock.
After a few moments of deliberating it was decided that A. the ball was out-of-bounds, and B. the only way to get it out was to knock it out.
So Bales began attempting what seemed like an extremely difficult shot angle. Despite missing badly on his first four attempts, he drilled it on the fifth, popping the ball free and causing the crowd to break out in applause.
“I was just hoping it would come out if I hit it,” Bales said, laughing. “I used to be a pretty good shot.”
A long ways to play Cowgirls and Indians:
While this is strictly an unofficial guess, Vici and Kiowa likely had the longest separation distance of the Class B girls match-ups. The towns are located on opposite sides of the state (Vici – NW, Kiowa SE) and are 268 miles apart, according to mapquest.com — a driving distance of four hours and 17 minutes. Thankfully, they just had to meet in the middle at Midwest City High School.
The transfer that saved Norman
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
I’m sure when Norman girls high school basketball coach Matilda Mossman walked off the court tonight after Norman defeated Del City 60-50 to advance to the 6A state tournament, she thought something like “thank goodness for that transfer”.
The transfer of the Ramon sisters, who came to Norman from Mustang before the beginning of the season, has saved Norman’s season.
Lacy Ramon, the older of the two, scorched Del City for 25 points, 14 in the second half to make Norman the hottest 6A team entering the state tourney. She scored 23 in the regional final a week earlier.
Ramon has already won a state title in her sophomore year at Mustang, and went to the finals as a junior. Perhaps more important than her numbers is that experience and leadership.
If not for those Ramons, I say 6A No. 5 Norman wouldn’t have made it to that game, much less beat the No. 4 team by 10.
So, coach Mossman, I’ll say it for you. Thank goodness for that transfer.
Check out stats and highlights from that game and others at NewsOK.
ESPN? Please.
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
When Blake Jackson, our multimedia reporter, suggested I play a game of HORSE in a video with Verdigris guard Rotnei Clarke, I knew it was a good idea.
But I never envisioned ESPN, the king of sports media, copying Blake’s work. Analyst Bill Walton played a game of HORSE with actor Will Ferrell, who plays in the movie “Semi-Pro”, which is set to release Friday.
The least Walton could have done was give me a call, shoot me an e-mail, heck, even put a disclaimer on his video!
Sure, ESPN has a few more resources and technological advantages than we do here at The Oklahoman. And sure, Bill Walton shooting hoops with Will Ferrell probably gets a few more hits than my video with Clarke. I’ll even concede that Walton is a better reporter than yours truly, and he probably had better questions for Ferrell in their interview.
But none of that takes away from the fact that his idea (or whoever it was that ripped us off) was completely unoriginal. The story behind their video is nothing more than two famous people who dressed up in Halloween costumes to shoot a few hoops, embarrassing themselves in process. It’s lame at best. Did Walton play high school ball with Ferrell? I think not. Did Walton hang out with Ferrell on the weekends, have dinner with his family on numerous occasions, and cry with him after losing in the state semi-finals? No way.
That’s what makes our video top notch, and original.
Thanks, Blake.
Oklahoma basketball’s hidden treasure?
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Not many people know about Rex Farmer. But there are a few premier high schools in Oklahoma that know him plenty well.
Farmer is a 6-foot-6 freshman forward that leads the Oklahoma City Storm, one of Oklahoma City’s two home-school teams. And by lead them, I mean almost single handedly propelled the Storm to wins over big teams this season, such as Star Spencer, Lawton Mac and Enid. The latter two are 6A school, while Star has been ranked in the top five in class 4A most of the year.
All that being said, I want to encourage an interesting discussion on this blog. Where would the Storm be if they were sanctioned by the OSSAA? Where would they be ranked, and in what class? Would they be playing at the Big House this weekend for a state title?
I think those are interesting questions. Before you answer, read my previous note on Farmer by clicking his name above, and consider that the Storm reached the finals of both tournaments it played in this year, against pretty salty public school competition.
As the playoffs come to a close, there is without a doubt a host of teams thankful they didn’t have to worry about Rex Farmer this post season.
“Wait, what’s a Ridgerunner?”
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
While my wrestling knowledge was more limited than I would have liked, I had an inkling about Grove’s greatness.
No, I’m not even going to come close to saying I thought Grove was going to win, but the Ridgerunners were very impressive at the 4A state duals. I saw when they defeated El Reno. When R.J. Bartley won the heavyweight bout, that team exploded as one, much like Midwest City did on Saturday night.
Off topic, how crazy was that scene? Who did the flip for the Bombers? I couldn’t see from my vantage point. I know they got in trouble about it from PA announcer Don Blasingame about respecting fellow competitors. The Bombers weren’t discrediting the 2A final that was still going on. I mean, MWC just won by a half point. How can you not celebrate?
Anyway, back to 3A. What to say about John Ward, coach of Grove? He doesn’t look or act like he belongs on the mats. But man, he made it work.
And how impressive was freshman Damien Hopper? You know, he may have been the most articulate and composed freshman I’ve ever talked to.
Here he was just minutes after becoming only the second state champion ever from Grove, he was acting all calm. I tell you, it was that calmness and consistency that led Grove to the improbable victory.
Cushing had been the team to beat all season and rightfully so. But under the bright lights, strange things can and normally do happen.
Of course, that’s not to take away from Jarrod Patterson. He cruises to the major decision and his third championship. Again, personal opinion, Patterson was MVP of 3A.
With that said, very excited about Tuttle. Matt Surber definitely deserved coach of the year and with most of his nucleus coming back, Tuttle in 2009??
How tight is that bond between Kingfisher, Clinton and Tuttle? Gridiron rivals became mat pals. Jakob Gaither, Elliott Hellwege, Cameron Gladd, Cole Gracey and Bobby Williams, they were all over the place cheering for one another. Great to see that bond.
My favorite thing about wrestling: the unreal echo of thousands of fans yelling “two” for a takedown or anything even close to resembling a takedown. I love it, that’s an infectious spirit that you can’t help but gravitate to.
Yeah, sometimes they’re wayyy off, but saying two is a little thing, but I think a great thing. So continue to chant on wrestling fans.
That closes out a wacky and wonderful weekend of wrestling. Be sure to check out Blake Jackson’s videos from the state tournament and look forward to Matt Patterson’s superb postseason honors.
I’ve been swimming with Samantha Woodward and down on the mats with Ladd Rupp on back-to-back weekends. It’s only logical that it’s time for me to hit the hardwood. So James Watson, Xavier Henry, Daniel Orton, Keiton Page, Rotnei Clarke, etc., look out, I’m coming.
“Not going away without a fight”
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
That clever little quote is my way of saying “let’s talk about 2A wrestling.” I admit to being bogged down by swimming that I wasn’t up to snuff going into this weekend’s tournament.
Well, bogged down is a horrible term to use because I did enjoy the swimming championships. Who knows, I may have seen a future gold medal winner before she was known worldwide.
But back to the point at hand, I hadn’t been able to keep tabs on everything and went in Friday morning believing that Marlow’s Outlaws was going to carry the day. It wouldn’t necessarily have been the end of Perry, but the emergence of Marlow.
What a race that was! Marlow with slight advantage all throughout the early sessions, and the Maroons just chipping away. A nine-point lead was reduced to four. Then four turned into a single point advantage for Perry heading into the final round.
And then, wowza, Perry wrestled like someone had stolen their lunch money. Ladd Rupp set the tone (which I expected). But did anyone see Ian Fisher dominating Kingfisher’s Chad Kochenower?!? That fall was the turning point. Marlow had a “close but so far” moment at 103 and now Perry had back-to-back falls.
The writing was on the wall as Perry was 5-5 in finals while Marlow was 2-6.
But what a great story for the Peck family. I don’t mean to sound negative here, but it was almost like knowing his team couldn’t win the team title allowed Mike to enjoy Jake’s victory at 140 just a little bit more.
It wasn’t about a team race. It was about watching his son one final time. And for Jake, it was about making Dad proud one more time. At least on the high school stage.
I don’t have a vote, but Perry’s Stephen Swan was my MVP of 2A. I don’t know, I just love the way he moves. He’s so quick but so powerful. He had an off championship and won, 21-11.
Really great story about Perkins’ Hunter Wilson becoming the first champ. He really earned that one, too. That was a good bout with Marlow’s Ryan Brooks.
Good effort by Marlow, but Perry was just too much. Maroons coach Scott Chenoweth said it was a shift in weights and trying to enjoy everything more was the key to this year’s win.
