Oklahoma 2A boys basketball quarterfinals: Cashion rolls while Morrison fends off defending 2A champion Oklahoma Union

By Ross Lovelace I Photos by Carlos Flores

OKLAHOMA CITY - Cashion came into Friday’s Class 2A quarterfinal contest looking like the team to beat in 2A.

While the Wildcats finished the season ranked No. 3, they beat No. 1 Dale, 54-39, in the last regular-season game.

Latta was unranked in the final regular-season poll, finishing with a record of 12-16. The Panthers got hot towards the end of the season, though, making a miraculous run to state.

Latta’s luck ran out, however, as the Wildcats proved their dominance. Behind 19 points from senior forward Landon Lagasse, along with the Wildcats' stifling defense, Cashion downed Latta, 50-28, in the 2A quarterfinals at State Fair Arena.

Senior Jonah Jenkins also netted 11 points, while Austin Frazier scored nine in Cashion's win.

Tyler Ireland led the way for Latta, adding eight points and three rebounds. The Panthers couldn’t score with the Wildcats, going just 2-of-14 from 3-point range.

"It feels good to lead," said Cashion senior defensive anchor Vance Raney. "Especially being on one of the best teams in 2A, it’s an honor to lead these guys."

From the start, the Wildcats seemed to overmatch Latta. The firepower of Jenkins, Raney and Lagasse was on display early.

"You have to stay out and connected to every single one of us, so that allows a ton of floor spacing for our guards to operate," said Jenkins. "We just need to keep playing together and focusing hard on the defensive end and we’ll be fine."

Jenkins got the scoring started with a tough and-one off the glass on the first play of the game, followed by a Raney 3-pointer. In the second quarter, Lagasse added to his 11 first-half points with two triples.

"All of the seniors do a great job of helping each other out and making sure everyone keeps their head up," said Raney. "Even if we’re missing shots, I think we do a great job as a team of not letting anyone get down."

The Panthers received five points, three rebounds and two assists from junior guard Cooper Coulsen in the first half. Latta took plenty of time on offensive possessions, knowing that it would have to control time of possession for a chance at knocking off Cashion.

With just under five minutes left in the third quarter, Cooper Hamilton drove baseline and finished a tough layup, bringing Latta within eight points.

Cashion responded with a furious run.

Two steals from Raney and Nick Nabavi led to transition buckets for the Wildcats, extending Cashion’s lead.

The full-court pressure was too much for Latta to handle. After Lagasse drilled his third 3-pointer of the night, the Wildcat lead sat at 18 points.

Heading into the final frame, Cashion had extended its lead to 36-17. In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats were able to hold steady to advance to the semifinals.

"I know how hard it is to win games in the state tournament, let alone win it all," said Jenkins. "So I really tried to get us to focus on taking this one game at a time and focusing on the one opponent ahead of us because they are in front of us and our ultimate goal."

The Wildcats will take on Morrison next in Friday's 2A semifinals.

Morrison 42, Oklahoma Union 39

Oklahoma Union and Morrison squared off in a highly anticipated top five match-up at "The Big House," and it didn’t disappoint.

Morrison was able to fend off Union's comeback effort to notch the quarterfinal win. 

"The key was just staying calm under the pressure," said Morrison wing Gabe Battles. "We are normally pretty good under pressure. But I think the environment played a huge part and had us shaken up.

"We just had to come together and be cool, calm and collected."

Battles led Morrison to victory with 12 points and four rebounds. Brody Roe, who scored the game-winning and-one, finished the contest with seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

In the first quarter, both teams were struggling to pull away. The story early on was the effort on the defensive end, as there were no points for the opening two minutes of the game.

Battles and the Wildcats started to heat up in the second quarter, though, going on a strong run to open the frame. Battles notched 10 points and two rebounds in the first half.

Oklahoma Union tried to make multiple runs to close the half, but couldn’t get anything to fall from deep. The Cougars shot 0-for-8 from behind the 3-point line in the first half, allowing Morrison to take a 27-15 lead into the break.

In the third quarter, Morrison was able to extend its lead behind strong play from Briggs Roe.

Roe, a sophomore, drilled a 3-pointer, followed by a fast break layup, to extend the Wildcats lead to 15, 34-19, with 4:15 left in the quarter. He finished the night with 11 points.

"The coolest part of the game was how involved the fans were," said Battles. "The crowd stayed in it the whole time. The goose bumps you get walking out in front of that crowd is just crazy."

The Wildcat lead began to wane late in the third. Baylor Nash led the Cougars defensively, snatching multiple steals which led to fast break points.

With 6:07 left in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma Union had completed its massive comeback quest. Hollingshed hit two free throws to make the score 34-32.

A fast break bucket from Jaiden Kennard tied the game with 4:17 remaining. With all the momentum in the world, the Cougars took the lead on the very next position.

Amidst the Union run, Battles was able to energize the Wildcats and keep them in the game with a bucket down low with under two minutes left on the clock.

With the clock dwindling under 10 seconds, Morrison elected not to call a time out.

That decision paid off, as Brody Roe nailed a floater plus a foul with 8.3 seconds remaining. Hollingshed had a clean look at a 3-pointer as time expired, but it came up just short, sealing the victory for Morrison.

"The ceiling for us is endless," said Battles. "This year we have quality pieces that fit all positions.

"We hope to win it all with this talent. We also want to lay the foundation for the younger guys and have them improve and lead them back next year."

Dale 60, Hooker 43

Dale and Hooker took the court for the Thursday night matchup in a game featuring plenty of stars.

While Hooker put forth great effort in the second half, the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome the dominating play of Dayton Forsythe, as Dale came up victorious.

Forsythe, who has starred all season for the Pirates, finished the night with one of the best performances of the week with 32 points. Forsythe also poured in 12 rebounds and six assists.

For Hooker, the big men led the team in the scoring department. Zach Hidalgo and Gavynn Parker each found success down low, scoring 13 and 10, respectively.

In the first half, it was the Forsythe show.

The star sophomore netted 19 first half points, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor. He completely dictated the pace of the game, as the Pirates took a 31-21 lead into halftime.

With 2:50 left in the third quarter, John Davis finished another strong bucket inside for the Bulldogs, pulling them within five. Dale’s lead sat at 38-33.

In the fourth quarter, the Pirates closed the game out with Forsythe along with Jett Higdon. Higdon finished the night a perfect 5-for-5, while Forsythe iced the game with his free-throws, sending Dale to the next round.

Dale will face Silo in round two, Friday's semifinals at State Fair Arena.

Silo 55, Pocola 38

In the night cap of the 2A quarterfinals matchups, it was the Silo Rebels squaring off against the Pocola Indians.

Silo came into the contest ranked No. 7, while Pocola sat at No. 4 after a 26-1 season.

It was Silo, however, who came away victorious, defeating the Indians, 55-38. The Rebels were led by sophomore guard Charlie Gardner, who poured in 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

Tre Elam led the way for the Indians, netting 10 points and five rebounds.

Ethan Wilkerson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, was also impressive for Silo, adding 17 points and 11 rebounds. His massive frame also helped him draw an incredible 11 fouls.

In the first half, it was all Rebels as Silo built a big lead. Wilkerson had nine points and four rebounds in the first half as the Indians had no answer for his size.

After impressive defense from the Rebels, including only allowing five points in the opening frame, Silo carried a 28-16 lead into halftime.

In the third period, Pocola started its comeback effort. Elam hit back-to-back jumpers, followed by an Ian Hardwick 3-pointer to cut the Silo lead to six, 32-26.

The Rebels used a strong close to the quarter, including a Gardner triple and a strong drive from Proctor to regain a comfortable 39-26 lead heading into the final frame.

The strong play of Gardner and Wilkerson helped Silo close out the final game of the night. The Rebels advance to play the Dale Pirates Friday.