Tournament of Champions game blog
The final day of the 45th Tournament of Champions boys basketball tournament was entertaining, even though the tournament’s biggest blowout came in the finals as Putnam City routed Tulsa Washington Wednesday night at the Tulsa Expo Square Pavilion. Here are the final results. Updates and other thoughts below:
Monday’s results
Game 1: Tulsa Memorial 47, Garber 33
Game 2: Putnam City 72, Roff 50
Game 3: Tulsa Washington 57, Pawnee 39
Game 4: Sequoyah-Tahlequah 65, Muskogee 63
Tuesday’s results
Game 5: Garber 51, Roff 48
Game 6: Muskogee 73, Pawnee 64
Game 7: Putnam City 63, Tulsa Memorial 62
Game 8: Tulsa Washington 72, Sequoyah-Tahlequah 55
Wednesday’s results
Seventh place: Pawnee 56, Roff 39
Consolation: Muskogee 63, Garber 54
Third place: Tulsa Memorial 57, Sequoyah-Tahlequah 51
Championship: Putnam City 70, Tulsa Washington 47
Wednesday updates
Putnam City-Tulsa Washington
11 p.m.: The Pirates coast to the title, 70-47. Dominique Raney finished with 25 points and Tre Payne had 21. Tharone Chilton led Tulsa Washington with 21 points.
9:41 p.m.: For all the drama PC’s semifinal game against Tulsa Memorial had, the final is lacking it. Raney took it slow in the second, adding four more points for 16 at the half. PC sophomore Tre Payne has 11 points and the Pirates hold a 35-18 lead at the half. Tharone Chilton has seven points to lead the Hornets. Freshman Juwan Parker has yet to score.
9:13 p.m.: Dominique Raney put together his highlight reel in the first quarter with 12 points as Putnam City took a 20-4 lead after one quarter. Raney hit two 3s, had a driving scoop layup and a big dunk on an alley-oop pass from Willie Lester.
Sequoyah-Tahlequah vs. Tulsa Memorial
8:52 p.m.: A few point totals from the last game… C.J. Wells led the Chargers with 16 points. Cameron Downing had 14, but only two after halftime. Travis Sanders and Terran Pettit had 14 apiece for the Indians.
8:37 p.m.: Memorial was able to make some free throws and ST couldn’t get some key shots to go down in the final minutes as the Chargers took third place, 57-51.
8:13 p.m.: Back-and-fourth ballgame. Memorial up 43-42 with 4:50 to play. After a strong first half, ST’s zone defense has been able to limit Cameron Downing inside for the Chargers.
7:52 p.m.: When ST is hitting its outside shots, the Indians can play with anybody. Bad news for Memorial, they’re hitting their outside shots. Terran Pettit is knocking down 3s from NBA range (literally, there’s still a pro 3-point line on the court left over from when the D-league 66ers played here.) Pettit has eight quick points in the third quarter as ST has turned a three-point deficit into a 37-35 lead in the opening minutes of the second half.
4 p.m.: A quick roundup of the seventh-place and consolation games… Pawnee found its way to the free throw line in the fourth quarter to pull away from Roff for a 56-39 win. The Black Bears led 35-33 entering the fourth quarter. Tate Beer led the way with 11 free throws in the fourth to finish with 20 points. Kyle Klaus had 14 and Desmond McCosar added 11. Dylan Lemley led Roff with 14.
In the consolation final, Oren Faulk scored all 12 of his points in the second half as Muskogee held off a charge from Garber. The game was tied early in the fourth quarter before the Roughers finally took over. In the last two games, Faulk has 29 second-half points, but has been scoreless in the first halves. Senior point guard Jerome Beasley finished with 12 points as well, which is a good sign for the Roughers, who are trying to develop a third scoring option. For Garber, Hayden Vencl had 15 points and Tyler Miller had 14.
Tuesday updates
Tulsa Washington vs. Sequoyah-Tahlequah
10:28 p.m.: ST made a run to get within five, but TW put it away, finishing it off with a flurry in a 72-55 win.
10:10 p.m.: Freshman Juwan Parker came alive for five of his nine points in the third as TW extended its lead to 52-39 entering the final period.
9:52 p.m.: Tulsa Washington fell behind early but put a run together to take a 36-26 halftime lead. When ST is making shots, they can play with anybody, but TW’s athletic ability took ver late in the first half.
Putnam City-Tulsa Memorial
Postgame thoughts: Dominique Raney hit the big shot — a few of them, actually — but Brian Brown would get my vote for MVP. He was working hard all night. Saved the offense when nothing was working in the first half, and played tough D on Memorial forward Cameron Downing.
Tre Payne continues to show up at crunch time. A crucial steal late in the game, and a big 3 early in the fourth quarter as PC was making its run. He’s only a sophomore, but he’s a difference-maker. He doesn’t always put up big numbers, but he’s always finding ways to impact the game.
Interestingly, 6-foot-10 center Zech Smith was the first option on the final play, and Raney was the second option. But when Smith didn’t come free off a low-block screen, they gave the ball to Raney and let him create. Worked out pretty well.
8:49 p.m.: PC’s Dominique Raney broke away from a double-team as he nearly had the ball stripped and hit a turnaround jumper from 15 feet at the buzzer to give the Pirates a 63-62 win over Tulsa Memorial. Raney took his time finding his shot, but hit a pair of big 3-pointers before the game-winner as PC erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Raney finished with 19 points.
8:25 p.m.: PC slowly cutting into the lead. It’s 48-46 Memorial with 5:13 left.
8:15 p.m.: After PC cut the deficit to five, a couple of late buckets help Memorial get its lead back up to 46-37 entering the fourth quarter. PC’s energy has been much better, but shots aren’t falling any more frequently.
7:43 p.m.: Brian Brown is about the only PC player who is playing consistently well so far. Coach A.D. Burtschi has been talking to his players a lot about leadership and moving to the next play. The Pirates seem to be out of it right now, trailing 31-17 at the half.
Halftime entertainment is some sort of junior-high boxing display. Not actual fights, just sparring. While most of the boxers are teens, there’s one girl that can’t be more than about eight. Don’t let the pink shoes fool you, she’s tough. This is certainly better than last night’s free throw shooting contest, for which no score nor a winner were announced.
7:40 p.m.: Memorial has opened up a 28-15 lead with 1:13 left in the half. Memorial is doing a good job of running its offense and taking advantage of opportunities in transition. PC, particularly Dominique Raney, is struggling from the floor, and it is getting out of control when it tries to pick up the pace against Memorials press.
7:25 p.m.: Adrien Anderson hit a 15-footer at the first-quarter buzzer to give Tulsa Memorial a 14-10 lead. Neither team has shot the ball that well so far. The pace of play is faster than I expected, too. Memorial would probably prefer a 20-18 halftime score, but we’re on pace for something more to the Pirates’ liking. Still, it’s the Chargers in the lead.
PC is using a lot of zone and matchup defensive looks to try to defend 6-foot-9 Cameron Downing, who has three points so far. PC’s 6-foot-4 Brian Brown has been the best defensive option on the big guy.
6:15 p.m.: The arena is essentially empty, so the pregame buzz for tonight’s main event has yet to begin, but there was plenty of talk during the early session about the 7 p.m. game between Tulsa Memorial and Putnam City. With Muskogee’s trip to the loser’s bracket, and the fact that it’s still unknown just how good Tulsa Washington is, this one feels like the showcase game of the tournament.
That said, I’m still interested to see TW freshman Juwan Parker go against the guards from either Memorial or PC on Wednesday. Parker is a long, athletic 6-foot-4 with a silky smooth jumper and good rebounding ability. Still growing in the figurative way as a player and the literal way, too.
Memorial is quick, but a little undersized — compared to PC, at least — on the perimeter. Defensively, they’re the best guards I’ve seen this year. PC offers a lot of depth and scoring options at guard, mostly in the 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-6 range. As the players start to come onto the court, I’m getting fired up for this one. These two teams had a two-point battle in the state tournament in 2008, and an OT game in the 2002 TOC. If this is more than an eight-point game either way, I’ll be shocked.
The snow is coming down here now, with 1-3 inches forecasted. Of course, I heard 3-5 inches last week and haven’t seen my Honda Civic since Thursday, so I don’t know what to expect.
Muskogee-Pawnee
5:13 p.m.: Oren Faulk and Devante Wilson have come up with some big rebounds and big baskets to help the Roughers pull away in the final minutes for a 73-64 win.
4:53 p.m.: We’re in the middle of a strange play stoppage. A player for Pawnee fouled out, but the refs weren’t notified in time, and went ahead with foul shots. It was one-and-one, and the shooter missed the front end. A Muskogee player got a putback, and Pawnee turned the ball over before the refs were notified. The officials ruled that all the action stood, counting the basket and giving the ball to Muskogee, which leads 53-49 with 4:20 left.
4:43 p.m.: Oren Faulk got a putback to break a 43-43 tie as Muskogee grabbed a two-point lead after three quarters.
4:35 p.m.: A breakaway layup for Ralston Moore gave Pawnee a brief 39-38 lead after falling behind by as many as 10. Oren Faulk answers with a monster dunk and three-point play to get the Roughers back on top wtih just more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
4:17 p.m.: Coming off a career-high 23 points last night, Muskogee’s Oren Faulk, a 6-foot-7 forward, hasn’t made a huge impact against the smaller Black Bears, but Muskogee still holds a 32-23 halftime lead.
3:54 p.m.: Pawnee has made enough shots to hang around, trailing Class 6A No. 2 Muskogee 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Garber-Roff
3:44 p.m.: Garber’s Tyler Miller converted a four-point play with 42 seconds left and Roff was unable to get up a shot to try to tie it, as Garber held on for a 51-48 win.
Bryce Lamer led Garber with 19 points. Hayden Vencl had 13 and Miller hit three 3-pointers on his way to 12 points. Brendan McCurry of Roff led all scorers with 22 and Dayne Parker had 11 for the Tigers.
3:17 p.m.: Roff up 48-47 with 1:02 to go, Garber ball.
3:07 p.m.: Roff’s Aaron Cornell just hit a 3, then got a short runner to put the Tigers on top for the first time all night, 40-37, with 5:04 left.
2:40 p.m.: Garber has a 25-22 halftime lead on Roff. The score doesn’t really accurately represent the pace of play, which has been pretty quick.
2:25 p.m.: I’m anticipating quite a battle between Garber and Roff in the first game today, which is ongoing. Garber opened with an 11-2 run, but Roff closed within two. Now Garber is back up 17-12. These two teams will meet again in the regular season a little more than a month from now, again at a neutral site. They’ll play at Carl Albert Feb. 6. These two teams are the favorites in their classes, Garber in Class A and Roff in B.
Monday updates
Muskogee vs. Sequoyah-Tahlequah
10:45 p.m.: Talk about saving the best for last. Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s upset of Muskogee capped a good day at the TOC. Interestingly, these two teams will see each other again in a couple weeks, part of ST coach Larry Grigg’s plan to play top-level competition like Muskogee and Jenks during the regular season so that his team isn’t intimidated come playoff time. For Muskogee, Monday’s loss was like a repeat of its last game, a loss to Broken Arrow. Coach Terry Scott said the two teams are very similar — not real big, but real good shooters who play good matchup zone defense.
10:11 p.m.: Travis Sanders gets a put-back with eight seconds left to lift ST to a 65-63 win and the day’s only upset by a smaller school.
10:06 p.m.: ST up 63-61 with the ball with 1:05 remaining.
9:49 p.m.: ST built the lead to 10, but Muskogee put together a charge, led by Oren Faulk with nine third-quarter points. After tying the game at 44, Muskogee saw ST finish the period with four straight for a 48-44 lead.
9:23 p.m.: Cody Fourkiller hit a big 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half as Sequoyah-Tahlequah took a 33-26 lead to the locker room on Class 6A No. 2 Muskogee. This has the makings of the only upset of the day. ST brought a loud bunch of fans, giving them a bit of a home-court advantage.
Tulsa Washington-Pawnee
8:45 p.m.: Remember the name Juwan Parker. The Tulsa Washington freshman scored 16 points in what coach Shea Seals said was his best game so far this season. He’s a long, athletic 6-foot-4 guard with a smooth shot. The Hornets built an 11-point halftime lead and coasted to a 57-39 win, meaning they’ll face the Mustkogee-Seq. Tahlequah winner on Tuesday. Pawnee is a good team, just overmatched by Tulsa Washington’s wealth of athletic guards.
6:05 p.m.: Tuesday is shaping up to be great, with PC vs. Tulsa Memorial, two teams that always play tight games, and Garber vs. Roff, the overwhelming favorites in their respective classes.
Garber and Roff each have a good big man. Garber’s Hayden Vencl is more of a traditional post player, while Roff’s Dylan Lemley isn’t your typical Class B big man. He’s 6-foot-6 and athletic. He seems to be at his best when he’s driving to the bucket, rather than posting up. And both teams have some guards who can play, too.
As for PC-Memorial, the battle inside between 6-foot-9 Cameron Downing of Memorial and the Pirates’ 6-foot-10 Zech Smith should be interesting. Smith is a defensive specialist, but Downing’s quickness on the block could be an issue for him. Memorial likes to play tight perimeter defense, but PC has a height advantage at the shooting guard spots. It should be a great show.
PC-Roff
5:07 p.m.: Dominique Raney hit back-to-back 3s as PC opened the lead back up to 20 points in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Final, PC wins 72-50.
4:49 p.m.: Roff finds its outside shot, cutting the Pirates’ lead to 46-36 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
4:30 p.m.: The Pirates opened up a 13-1 lead and coasted to a 34-16 halftime advantage on the Tigers. PC is too long on defense, and hitting too many shots for Roff to keep themselves in this one so far.
Memorial-Garber
3:37 p.m.: Memorial closes it out, 47-33, pulling away with free throws at the end.
3:15 p.m.: Memorial has opened up a 33-25 lead with just more than five minutes remaining. Garber’s score by quarter looks a little funny… Three points in the first quarter, 17 in the second, three more in the third.
2:45 p.m.: Tied at 20 at the half. This game created one of the best big-man matchups we’ll see today between 6-fooot-9 Cameron Downing of Tulsa Memorial and 6-foot-7 Hayden Vencl of Garber. Foul trouble has limited Downing’s participation so far. And when he’s in, Charger coach Eric Savage has tried to keep him off Vencl. Memorial’s active defenders have created some turnovers, but they haven’t been able to turn them into points because they’ve been careless with the ball themselves.
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Is there a location somewhere that lists all past years’ results/champions of the TOC? Thanks