Edmond Memorial sweeps top-10 showdowns
With four top-10 teams in the house, a basketball fan has high expectations for a couple of close games.
Though the final scores might not suggest it, I did get to see some good competition at Del City Monday night. The Edmond Memorial girls jumped to a 10-0 lead and stayed in control most of the night on the way to a 60-44 win, but the boys game was much more competitive than the 61-42 final in favor of the Bulldogs suggests.
Del City was within four points midway through the fourth quarter, but Memorial’s depth and aggressive offensive style turned out to be too much.
Let’s break down these two games, then jointly celebrate the end of regular-season basketball, shall we?
Girls
Like I said, Memorial jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. To Del City’s credit, it never cashed it in, and hung around throughout. But the Bulldogs had too many scoring options, with four girls going for double-figures, led by Alie Decker’s 15.
The biggest positive of the night was erasing the bad feelings of last week’s mediocre performance against Southmoore.
“Our game before this against Southmoore, we played very sloppy, just nonchalant in a lot of phases of the game,” Memorial coach Shane Coffey said. “I didn’t want to go into the playoffs with that taste in our mouths. We played team basketball, which I think is critical at this time of the year.
“Being able to get up on them early, it enabled us to gain some confidence playing on the road — this is a tough place to play — and be able to dictate how the game was going to be played. I think they had to do some things defensively that they wouldn’t normally do because we had a lead on them.”
Memorial hosts a regional, opening against Putnam City West, with Choctaw and Putnam City in the other half of the bracket. First-round games start Thursday night.
“It’s a brand new season,” Coffey said. “All three of those other teams have done some quality things over the course of the year. We’re just all eager to get this playoff run started. Hopefully we can put together our best basketball at the right time of the season.”
Boys
In the last three days, I’ve seen two games matching a pair of top-10 boys teams (Edmond Santa Fe-PC West on Saturday was the other one), each pitting a top-tier team against one of the teams that makes up the huge second tier. And all these two games did was prove what I and several coaches have been saying since December: there’s never been more parity in 6A boys basketball than there is this year.
Maybe that’s an outlandish statement, especially considering I can’t really speak to the parity that might have existed in 1964 or ’77 or ’83 or… whenever. But the point is, the equality of the 6A field is hard to comprehend.
Del City was down four in the fourth quarter Monday night. PC West led Edmond Santa Fe in the fourth on Saturday. The only thing separating the top four from the next 12 is a little bit of depth, maybe an extra playmaker here or there, some confidence/calmness in late-game situations, and in the case of Monday night’s game, free throws.
Del City was 3-of-9 at the line in the second half, while Memorial was 18-of-21. Yes, there’s a big difference in the number of times at the line, and yes, the officiating was spotty, but those numbers also are a result of Memorial’s fast, aggressive style of play.
After an ugly first half — the ‘Dogs were up 22-21 at the break — Memorial ran it more in the second half, and controlled the game better.
Jordan Thomas had a game-high 14, with James Woodard and Obi Emegano adding 13 apiece, and Jordan Woodard scored all nine of his points in the second half.
One of the toughest things about the last two weeks for Memorial has been keeping focus on the actual games, after they had already claimed the No. 1 seed in the west for the playoffs.
“The last couple weeks, it’s just been one game after another that didn’t necessarily mean a whole lot, except for pride,” coach Shane Cowherd said. “You want to play hard for your school and for your teammates. But you’re trying to keep your eye on the objective at hand, also knowing it’s just natural to start thinking ahead to the playoffs, and trying to get ready for that, physically and mentally.”
After holding the No. 1 spot most of the season, you can tell that the Bulldogs are glad to have the regular season behind them so they can focus on the task they’ve been waiting for.
“We’re very excited to start a new season. The first season’s over with,” Emegano said. “We’re going into the playoffs ready to win it.”
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
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