Guthrie and Perkins-Tryon locked in for the boys semifinals in Buckle of the Wheatbelt tournament
By Josh Jennings
Photo of Guthrie's Kyran Axtell shooting a free throw for the Blue Jays during the Buckle of the Wheatbelt tournament on Jan. 19, 2023.
KINGFISHER - The first day of the Buckle of the Wheatbelt tournament saw Perkins-Tryon and Guthrie have no trouble whatsoever in its respective games.
Guthrie defeated Chisholm, 55-22, and Perkins beat Guymon, 65-38. In the other two opening round games, Kingfisher defeated Harrah's junior varsity and Weatherford defeated Guthrie's JV squad.
The two semifinal games Friday set up to be a dandy, as the first game will be at 5 p.m. between unbeaten Weatherford and Perkins-Tryon. The second semifinal game will feature Kingfisher and Guthrie.
Kingfisher has not lost a game at home since 2017.
Guthrie 55, Chisholm 22
It was a struggle early for teams to find a bucket. Guthrie forced a couple turnovers and turned those into points with plays like Nate Benford scoring a layup after intercepting a pass.
Guthrie was ahead, 14-5, going into the second quarter.
Then, Guthrie opened the game up in the second quarter, going on a 7-2 run. The Blue Jays kept making plays and found themselves in front, 29-11, at halftime.
Benford scored 12 points for the Blue Jays in the first half. The third quarter saw each team go stride for stride in defense, but eventually, the Blue Jays took over and ended the quarter on an 11-0 run.
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Kyran Axtell had a steal and scored a fast-break layup in this run by Guthrie, which was ahead, 44-15, going into the fourth quarter.
Langley Aman from Chisholm scored all four points for the Longhorns in the third quarter.
“I am not upset about our defense, but our offense is better than it performed,” Guthrie coach Sean Morgan said. “We got sloppy with our offense and I know we can play better.”
Guthrie slowed the game down, worked its offense and eventually won the game.
Noah Jackson scored five of the seven points for Chisholm in the fourth quarter.
“Well, this was not our prettiest performance by any means,” Morgan said. “But when you hold a team to 22 points, you did something right.
"We got a bit sloppy and we must play better going forward.”
Benford was the leading scorer for the Blue Jays with 17 points. Aman was the leading scorer for Chisholm with six points.
Despite the win, Benford said they played sloppy, but knows their best basketball is in front of them.
“Even though we did not play well, we showed signs of improving,” Benford said. “We did not have many turnovers. Kingfisher has many great shooters, so we must close out and defend.”
Perkins-Tryon 65, Guymon 38
Perkins threw down two alley-oops in the first quarter.
Cutter Green dunked the ball and Dylan Davidson passed the ball on both plays.
“These are a couple plays we run lots,” Perkins-Tryon coach Dylan Parker said. “Cutter and Dylan did a great job making the play and our screeners did a great job setting the screen. I am proud of how we executed that play.”
Guymon made some plays to keep it close, but Perkins was ahead by six, 17-11, going into the second quarter.
Though Guymon knocked down some shots, Perkins built a 10-point lead (31-21) when Tucker Shepard nearly dunked the ball in a fast-break play but he still managed to score a layup.
Later, Shepard knocked down a 3-pointer and the Demons were ahead, 34-21, at halftime. He scored 18 points in the first half, 11 in the second quarter.
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Shepard also tallied five 3-pointers in the first half.
“We shot the ball well in the first half from beyond the arc,” Shepard said. “I got hot and made great plays, but this win was a team effort, so credit to my teammates. We moved it around and played well as a group."
Tarick Watson from Guymon scored 12 points in the first half.
Guymon kept it close, but Perkins responded with plays like Davidson and Trey Meyers going coast to coast on a fast break. The Demons built a 44-26 lead with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Perkins got a stop and slowed the game down but turned it over. The Demons were ahead by 20, 46-26, going into the fourth quarter.
Perkins kept nailing shots and built a 59-35 lead with three minutes to play. The Demons' starters were pulled with two minutes to play.
Davidson scored 12 points for the Demons in the second half.
“I thought we shot the ball well, which always helps make the game easier,” Parker said. “We finished better in the second half. Shots were not falling like they were in the first half, so we had to work a little harder inside for buckets.
"Defensively, we gave up too many easy bump shots in the first half. However, our second-half defense was awesome and I am happy with us forcing them to take uncomfortable shots.”
Three players from Perkins scored in double figures. Shepard scored 21 points, Davidson 20 and Green 13.
Watson scored 15 total points for Guymon.
Shepard summed up in one word what it will take to beat Weatherford: Effort.
“We must play with great effort,” he said. “They have really good players and we must defend as a group. Weatherford also defends well, so we also must score buckets as well.”
