Late put-back sends Big Pasture boys past Granite at Class B area, 59-57
By Glen Brockenbush
CACHE - After looking like a blowout midway through the third quarter, Thursday’s Class B boys Area II consolation-round game between Big Pasture and Granite gave fans one of the more thrilling finishes they could have asked for.
Dayne Rivers’ offensive rebound and follow-up basket gave Big Pasture a two-point lead that the Rangers would hold on to for a 59-57 win at Cache High School. It was an apt capper to a tense first day of the area tournament.
Earlier in the day, the Fort Cobb-Broxton girls held off Sentinel for 58-53 win, while the Mountain View-Gotebo girls beat Turner by four. The only blowout of the day featured the Sentinel boys rolling past Springer.
The Fort Cobb-Broxton and Mountain View-Gotebo girls will play at 1:30 p.m. Friday, followed by the Sentinel and Big Pasture boys at 3 p.m.
Later in the evening, the first state tournament tickets will be punched, with the area championship games starting at 6 p.m., with the top-ranked Hammon girls facing No. 5 Lookeba-Sickles, and the boys championship at 7:30 p.m. between No. 1 Fort Cobb-Broxton and No. 8 Duke.
The winners of the consolation games will face the losing teams from the area championships on Saturday for berths in the state tournament.
Big Pasture 59, Granite 57 (boys consolation)
Big Pasture appeared to have a firm hold on Thursday night’s game, building a 17-point lead over Granite in the third quarter of their elimination game. But the Panthers whittled the deficit slowly but surely, led by Justice Davenport’s scoring and a defensive adjustment.
“(Granite) switched to that 1-3-1 (zone defense) and we sort of struggled with it,” Big Pasture coach Hunter Quickle said. “And we stopped rebounding, really pursuing the basketball. We did a good job of that in the third quarter to extend that lead, and then kind of lost that and it put us in the position we were.”
A tip-in by Brendan Brandaway cut Granite’s deficit to single digits with less than 20 seconds left in the third quarter. But Grayson Skocelas made an off-balance 3-pointer, his fourth triple of the game, to give the Rangers a 53-41 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Down 56-50 with less than 2:20 to go, Granite got a basket to cut the deficit to four. The Rangers’ ensuing inbounds pass was intercepted by Kelyn Alexander, who was fouled while laying the ball in, and the and-one free throw was converted to make it a 56-55 game.
After a free throw for the Rangers, Davenport was fouled and converted both of his foul shots to tie the game with 1:04 left. Still, there was no panic from the Rangers’ first-year coach - not to his players at least.
“He was just trying to keep us calm, keep a level head,” Rivers said of his coach’s demeanor. “Just withstand the run, come back on defense and get the ball back.”
On the Rangers’ next possession, Hayden Tinsley had an open look at the basket from point-blank, but hit nothing but backboard. Luckily for him, Rivers was there for the rebound and put-back with 37 seconds left.
“(My mindset) was kind of just put it back up and get back on defense,” Rivers said.
The Rangers had a balanced scoring output, with Lane Tinsley leading the way with 15 points, while Skocelas had 14. Davenport had 30 points for the Panthers.
Fort Cobb-Broxton 58, Sentinel 53 (girls consolation)
Sentinel led by one at halftime, but a combination of lackluster offensive execution and good defense by the Lady Mustangs led to the Lady Bulldogs being held without a field goal in the third quarter.
During that frame, Madison Savage, Brynna Davis and Reagan Repp all had buckets, while Kaleiya Silverhorn sank a 3-pointer for Fort Cobb-Broxton. And despite being outscored in the fourth quarter, the Lady Mustangs still hung on for the win.
“These girls are gritty,” head coach Jana Rogers said. “I feel like, in the playoffs, we’ve been in a lot of games that have been very close, and they’ve gutted it out. If they can just keep it close, their grit, their fire is going to find a way.”
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The Lady Mustangs will now play a Mountain View-Gotebo team they split with during the season, having beaten the Lady Tigers for third place at the Caddo County Tournament but having lost three weeks ago. Additionally, it will be the second game of a back-to-back, and the winner would play again on Saturday.
Although her team has been through the tournament grind before, the emotional toll of the one-and-done playoffs is something different altogether. It’s something Rogers believes her team has been preparing for all season.
“Hopefully, they’re oblivious to how tough it’s going to be the next few days,” Rogers said. “But the thing is, they’ve played a tough schedule, one of the toughest in the state, as far as rated teams and bigger schools.
"These girls are built to handle this sort of situation.”
Mountain View-Gotebo 44, Turner 39 (girls consolation)
The first half ended with a flourish, as Mountain View-Gotebo got two late 3-pointers from freshman Rowyn Fite and another triple from Raigen Holsted.
But the Lady Falcons tied the game just before half with a pair of free throws by Hope Hill.
Turner got 11 first-half points from their own freshman star, Adlin Lee. Unfortunately for Lee, foul trouble caught up with her and she would be held scoreless the rest of the game, ultimately fouling out in the fourth.
The game remained close into the fourth quarter, where MVG led by two points with under a minute to go.
Then, the Lady Falcons fouled Mabree Hooper, who hadn’t scored all night. She steeled her nerves and sank both foul shots to seal the win.
Sentinel 78, Springer 44 (boys consolation)
After leading just 10-9 after the first quarter on Thursday, Sentinel kicked things into another gear, scoring 57 points across the next two quarters.
The Bulldogs hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter, including two from Matt Holland. Jake Peeler scored 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter of the Bulldogs’ runaway victory, while Brody Wooton had eight points in that quarter, and 15 total.
