Metro Conference awards for boys basketball
Metro Athletic Conference Awards
Coach of the Year: Alan Green – Mustang
Most Valuable Player: Josh Richardson – Santa Fe
Offensive Player of the Year: Dominique Raney – Putnam City
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Berry – Mustang
Newcomer of the Year: Tavionne Pennon – Putnam City West
1st Team
Dominique Raney – Putnam City
David Glidden – Mustang
Armon Provo – Putnam City North
Kyndall Dudley – Putnam City West
Ben Berry – Mustang
Aaron Anderson – Santa Fe
2nd Team
RonQuis Lewis – Putnam City
Joe Summers – Putnam City North
Dante Lewis – Putnam City West
Michael Onuoha – Santa Fe
Matt Burton – Yukon
3rd Team
D’Anthony Perkins – Yukon
Deonta Samilton – Choctaw
Terrell Savala – Santa Fe
Jacob Strassle – Mustang
Kevin House – Putnam City West
Honorable Mention
Trey Thomas – Putnam City, Zac Grismer – Mustang, Keipher Hotella – Choctaw, Ed Baker – Edmond North, Ricco Smith – Putnam City North, JR Simon – Putnam City North, Zac Brown – Choctaw
Metro Conference awards for girls basketball
2011 MAC Girls Basketball Awards
MVP- Elizabeth Donohoe- Edmond North
Offensive- Courtney Walker- Edmond Santa Fe
Defensive- LaShawn Jones- Putnam City
Newcomer- Mallory Brothers- Mustang
Coach of the Year- Paul Bass- Edmond Santa Fe
1st Team All Conference:
1. Elizabeth Donohoe- Edmond North
2. Courtney Walker- Edmond Santa Fe
3. LaShawn Jones- Putnam City
4. Joh’vonna Mitchell- Putnam City North
5. Layton Hurley- Choctaw
2nd Team All Conference:
1. TaNita Dewberry- Edmond North
2. Mallory Brothers- Mustang
3. Jade Hardy- Yukon
4. Whitney Dunn- Mustang
5. Anna Kimsey- Edmond North
Honorable Mention:
1. Alexis Watson- Putnam City North
2. Daisha Gonzaque- Edmond Santa Fe
3. Sydney Wyatt- Choctaw
4. Cameerah Graves- Edmond Santa Fe
5. MacKenzie York- Yukon
6. Sarah Magness- Putnam City West
7. Allison Altman- Putnam City West
8. Kelsey Abraham- Putnam City North
9. Jamie Moore- Putnam City
10. Jasmine Sievert- Choctaw
11. Kiersten Deckard- Yukon
12. Jamiece Nelson- Putnam City
13. Amanda Biorato- Mustang
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Jacob Strassle, Zac Grismer do little things for Mustang
Bruce Gray Invitational
Boys
McGuinness JV 55, Star Spencer 54 – seventh place
OCS 74, Western Heights 72 – fifth place
Deer Creek 53, Enid 31 – third place
Mustang 72, Putnam North 64 – championship
Ahh, so that’s why Mustang is good. I said Sunday that neither myself nor Scott Wright had seen why the Mustang boys were getting so much respect.
Monday night I found out why. They do the little things. Especially Jacob Strassle and Zac Grismer – they do the dirty work necessary to earn the tough victories.
Any 50/50 ball last night went to the Broncos, no doubt about it. Putnam North made a nice run to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, but Mustang deserved this win.
I still don’t think Mustang has the greatest perimeter shooting team out there. But it doesn’t have to be if you execute in the other parts of the game, which is exactly what Alan Green’s boys do.
Another good game from PCN’s Armon Provo and Joe Summers. And with the Panthers going east, I could definitely see this team making the state tournament.
Mustang also made its free throws to get rid of any drama. David Glidden was 7 of 8 alone in the fourth quarter. Well played game.
Deer Creek 53, Enid 31
Nice statement by the Antlers here. A well-balanced effort sparked by the post players to earn this victory.
Josh Fields and Anthony Clark are both just juniors and the last two games they both looked good. This team has to be more than Garrett Hermanski, and it is so intrigued to see what happens against Piedmont and Carl Albert later this week.
After Alex Patterson went down, seemed like Enid was a little deflated.
OCS 74, Western Heights 72
Ah, the most fun game of the day. It was all Jack Warren of OCS and Alton Whittaker of Western Heights.
Then in the second half, it was all T.J. Holland of OCS and Western Heights’ Kenneth Mayfield. Warren and Holland – 51 points. Mayfield and Whittaker – 54 points.
Mayfield went nuts in the fourth quarter. He scored 23 points and shot the lights out. He made a three and Deer Creek’s Grant Gower was trying to announce it when the lights went out.
Almost a huge comeback by Western Heights who were down 65-51 midway through the fourth.
Warren had 27 with 19 in the first half. Holland had 24 with 18 in the second half.
OCS didn’t play McGuinness JV as I thought because no matter what, the Irish were going to play in losers’ games. They understood that and were fine with it. Even if McGuinness JV had beaten Mustang on Friday, Mustang would have advanced. For what it’s worth, the JV team went 2-1 and beat Star Spencer on Monday.
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Joh’Vonna Mitchell’s buzzer beater at Bruce Gray Invitational
Bruce Gray Invitational
Girls
OCS 52, PC West 45 – seventh place
Deer Creek 53, Western Heights 50 – fifth place
Enid 40, Star Spencer 30 – third place
Putnam North 44, McGuinness 42 – championship
There it is. Putnam North making me look stupid.
Going into the championship, I thought the Irish were going to handle the Panthers. But by the end of the first quarter, knew differently.
Was a little worried for Putnam North after Joh’Vonna Mitchell picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, but Kelsey Abraham kept the team rolling in the first half and rightfully earned the MVP honors of the tournament.
Likewise, that was the best game I’ve seen from McGuinness’ Caroline Cameron, who scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half to keep the Irish within striking distance.
Rae Rae Brannon came up huge in the second half for PCN, scoring all 12 of her points after halftime.
Tremendous atmosphere in a game that pitted two non-hosting teams in a tournament final. Great battle down the stretch. And while last year Putnam North didn’t make that final basket, this year, yep, Mitchell did it.
Enid 40, Star Spencer 30
Seriously, Enid fans are lucky to get to watch Courtney Chelf every single game. She is something special. She had 13 of the team’s 15 points at halftime.
In the second half, more Pacers got involved and Enid really took control. Kept waiting for that Star Spencer run, just wasn’t in the cards this time around.
Enid’s a solid team, but solid won’t get the job done in 6A girls competition. Gonna be a dog fight in the next month for those state berths.
Deer Creek 53, Western Heights 50
The Antlers are coming around. You look at that lineup and see a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, but it’s coming together.
Sophomore Alexa Adair looks so much more confident than she did back in December. This team is learning to win the close games, and I think they’re right back in the hunt for a state berth.
Bayli Blanchard is doing a good job in the post, and it was a good battle between Blanchard and Western Heights’ star Dilan Webster.
The Jets made a big comeback in the fourth and took a 50-49 lead, but Adair hit four free throws in the final minute to earn the win.
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Bruce Gray Invitational: Joe Summers, Armon Provo too much for Antlers…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bruce Gray Invitational
Monday (I’ll be there)
At Deer Creek
Seventh place: McGuinness JV vs. Star Spencer, 11:30 a.m.
Fifth place: Western Heights vs. OCS, 2:30
Third place: Deer Creek vs. Enid, 5:30
Championship: Mustang vs. Putnam North, 8:30
I felt Deer Creek would have to play a near perfect game to beat Putnam North. The Antlers didn’t, and the Panthers cruised in the fourth quarter to a 69-53 victory.
I have never seen Garrett Hermanski bottled up like that. PCN’s Armon Provo, an explosive scorer in his own right, put the clamps on one of the best juniors in the state. Provo frustrated Hermanski, was extremely physical with him and never let Hermanski get into that groove.
Hermanski had five points at halftime and nine points total. Great job by Provo.
If it was Provo on defense, then it was the Joe Summers show on offense. He hit three 3s in the first half that really set the tone for his game. Antlers had to come out and guard him, and he’s too strong off the dribble.
It was interesting because Deer Creek’s Jalen Burnett is a really talented player. However, the size of Summers was something he simply could not deal with it. Burnett still managed to have a really good game, but it was a clear difference of 5A and 6A in terms of the size there.
In contrast, the Panthers learned why the Deer Creek community goes ga-ga over sophomore Joel Blumenthal. He was trying to put the team on his back in the third quarter. He scored 11 points, including connecting on three 3s to pull the game within 41-38. However, all runs must come to an end, and Deer Creek couldn’t muster a response after JR Simon hit a three-point play and Provo drained a 3 at the end of the third to make it 50-42.
Mustang 46, Enid 38
Interesting Mustang team. First time I’ve gotten to see them. Do a lot of the gritty things, not afraid to go in there and mix it up. Not sure if the Broncos have the perimeter shooting for a long run.
Impressed with Ben Berry and David Glidden. Speaking of Glidden, he took a nasty shot to his shoulder in the third quarter but missed minimal time. After getting checked out, he was right back out there.
I see why Mustang is so highly regarded by opposing coaches, but neither myself nor Scott Wright has seen Mustang on its best day. Perhaps that will be Monday?
Looking ahead to Monday…
Rematch of last year’s final when Provo absolutely went off for 33 points and a PCN title. I don’t see this one being a blowout at all, but I stated earlier I thought Rick Harris’ boys would win it so I’ll stand by that.
Deer Creek coach Matt Bailey faces his former squad, Enid, in the third-place game. It’s not as simple as Hermanski vs. Alex Patterson and whoever has the better game, his team wins, but it’s close. They trigger so much on their respective teams when they’re playing well.
And OCS, who I almost left for dead after Thursday, has a chance to claim fifth place against a surprising McGuinness JV team. After losses to Heritage Hall and Deer Creek, big response by the Saints against Star Spencer.
Bruce Gray Invitational: Irish girls survive vs. Star Spencer…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bruce Gray Invitational
Monday (I’ll be there)
At Deer Creek
Girls
Seventh place: OCS vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Fifth place: Deer Creek vs. Western Heights, 1 p.m.
Third place: Enid vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Championship: McGuinness vs. Putnam North, 7 p.m.
Somebody asked me Thursday to predict the winners in the Bruce Gray Invitational, and I said the McGuinness girls and the Putnam North boys. I was three minutes away from being wrong Saturday.
The Irish girls trailed Star Spencer 35-29 before going on a 13-2 run to win 42-37 and advance to Monday’s championship game.
I’ve never seen McGuinness look so lost as it did yesterday. Coach Jennifer Burch gave Star Spencer a lot of the credit as the 1-2-2 zone befuddled the normally efficient Irish.
Burch said when the offense is down, the defense can’t let up. It didn’t. Eventually it was the defense that spurred the run. The press was able to create turnovers and Elyse Hight came up big down the stretch as she has for basically the whole season.
Another great game by Sharane Campbell of Star Spencer. She’s a fighter, no doubt. Felt like Star had set up McGuinness for that knockout blow but simply never delivered it.
Putnam North 45, Enid 37
Another two years with Courtney Chelf, Enid fans are lucky. She’s a good one and her three-pointer at the end of the third made it 30-29 Enid going into the fourth.
However, this was a good statement made by the Panthers. I always look to Joh’Vonna Mitchell and Alexis Watson, but Kelsey Abraham was the star in this one. And give a lot of credit to Blaire Hall’s eight points off the bench.
Watson took a nasty fall midway through the third with PCN leading 27-23. She missed the rest of the third and start of the fourth before coming back in. She seemed OK, hope she is for Monday night.
Looking ahead to Monday…
I think Rae Rae Brannon is going to have to come up big for the Panthers. She’s tiny, but she has more quickness than what the Irish are used to dealing with. Mitchell cannot get in foul trouble against Hight and Alexa Lienhard (and vice versa on that one).
Third-place game should be a good battle between Chelf and Campbell. I like Enid in a close one. Fifth-place game is intriguing in the grand scheme of things as Western Heights and Deer Creek might be still standing when it comes to the 5A state tournament. I like Dilan Webster to help the Jets prevail in that one.
Santa Fe, Putnam West: Tournament canceled for boys (Bartlesville)…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The hits keep coming in the Tulsa area. The Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville has been canceled. The boys-only tournament featured a good mix of top 5A and 6A teams, including Ardmore and Bishop Kelley in 5A and Putnam City West, Edmond Santa Fe, Broken Arrow and Bartlesville in 6A.
This one has driven me nuts today. It went from Friday, Saturday and Sunday to simply Friday and Saturday (with semis and championships being played Saturday) to now just outright canceled.
Very interesting to keep tabs on how these teams fare in their first games back after all these cancellations, playing against teams who aren’t nearly as rusty.
I would seriously like to relax at this point in the night, that too much to ask? See ya Friday for the Power Lunch chat and a whole day of tournament basketball.
Bruce Gray Invitational schedule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bruce Gray Invitational
At Deer Creek
Thursday
Boys
Mustang vs. McGuinness JV, 11:30 a.m.
Putnam City North vs. Star Spencer, 2:30
OCS vs. Deer Creek, 5:30
Enid vs. Western Heights, 8:30
Girls
McGuinness vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Putnam North vs. OCS, 1 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Enid, 7 p.m.
West Metro roundball roundup
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks around the West Metro on the basketball court , from all the great action at the PCI to the Putnam City girls’ tournament win in Chickasha and a few other big wins/upsets.
So I wanted to take a minute to hit some of the highlights, school-by-school, and look ahead to some potential big moments in the near future as we get ready for what could be a wild second half of the season.
Yukon
Let’s start with the Millers, who have had a roller-coaster 2011. Coming into the year with the momentum of a tournament championship in Ardmore, the Millers lost at home to rival Mustang, then lost three at the McGuinness Classic. But things turned up on Tuesday when Micole Nicholson scored 21 points in an upset of No. 5 Putnam City. Their tournament schedule is complete, but they’ve got big games against Choctaw and Edmond Santa Fe coming soon.
The Millerettes also face Choctaw and ESF before opening tournament play in Moore as Kelly Clarke’s girls try to get back in the top 20. Outside of an ugly loss to Mustang, Yukon has been playing well, and they showed their ability to defend inside by holding LaShawn Jones to nine points in an 11-point win over Putnam City on Tuesday.
Mustang
Sitting at No. 6 in the polls this week, the Broncos are showing that they’re legit. Avenging the loss to PC North from the Duncan tournament final with a 14-point win on Tuesday was a big statement behind 18 points from Robert Shaw and 14 from Ben Berry. Following Edmond North and Choctaw on the schedule is the Deer Creek tournament, which signaled the turnaround for this team last year, when they surprisingly went from No. 7 seed to tourney runner-up.
Even wilder Day 2 at the PCI
If you were at Putnam City West Friday night for the semifinals of the Putnam City Invitational, and didn’t find yourself intently glued to the action on the court, basketball must not be your thing.
The final two games of the night were decided by two points or less, one with a (controversial) game-winner going in with 1.8 seconds left, and another with the potential game-winner bouncing off the rim just before the buzzer.
Here’s a look at Friday’s scores and Saturday’s schedule:
Friday’s results
Putnam City North 85, John Marshall 53
Stillwater 61, Lawton Eisenhower 48
Putnam City 58, PC West 56
Midwest City 44, Tulsa Union 43
Saturday’s games
John Marshall vs. Lawton Eisenhower, noon (seventh place)
Putnam City North vs. Stillwater, 1:30 p.m. (fifth place)
Putnam City West vs. Tulsa Union, 4:30 p.m. (third place)
Putnam City vs. Midwest City, 6 p.m. (championship)
First, let’s discuss the end of the PC-PC West game. If you were there, I know you have an opinion about it, and feel free to share in the comments section. For those who weren’t, PC’s Dominique Raney drove toward the top of the key, there was contact between he and PC West defender Dominique Carrasco, and Raney pulled up for an open 18-foot jumper that won the game.
Did he push off to create some separation? Certainly possible. Raney didn’t deny it after the game. “It was what it was. I’ll just say that,” he told me.
For a better visual, think back to June 1998, Michael Jordan’s last game as a Chicago Bull. Did he push off on Utah’s Bryon Russell for the winning jumper in Game 6? If you think so, you probably think Raney pushed off, too.
There are really three ways to look at the play:
1) The PC West view — definitely a push-off.
2) The PC view — maybe a little nudge, but not enough for a foul call.
3) The Bad News Bears view (Let them play!) — you’re the person who wants to see a game decided by the players, not the refs, in the final seconds.
Groups 2 and 3 left the gym feeling good Friday night. For Group 1, all I can offer is this: the rest of us should stop being surprised when your Patriots are beating/playing close with really good teams. Three wins over top 10 teams and nearly a fourth? OK, time to accept that these Pats can play. And it’s not a one-man show.
Kyndall Dudley wasn’t scoring like he had been of late, but Kevin House, Dante Lewis and Tavionne Pennon added plenty on the offensive end to keep the Pats in the game.
As for the Pirates, Raney admits that sometimes — like in the second quarter when PC fell behind by 10 — he tries to do too much on his own. The team is much better when he’s getting everyone involved, like he did in the second half. The Pirates have other capable scorers, and getting Raney off the ball helps him get open more often as well.
The biggest thing that came out of Midwest City’s win was another knock against the value of size in 6A this season. Union is a lot bigger than the Bombers, but Midwest City — like several 6A teams around the metro — are quick and can score, even against height.
Putnam City isn’t huge, and their bigs are inexperienced, so Saturday’s title game should be a thriller. Last year’s state final was great, and I think the teams are pretty evenly matched once again.
The third- and fifth-place games won’t be too shabby, either, with a top-10 matchup in the fifth-place game between Stillwater and PC North, followed by Union vs. PC West. This tournament has clearly lived up to the hype.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
