Caddo and Okay to meet for Class A boys championship after semifinal victories
By Josh Jennings
Photo of Caddo's Kale Brister
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Class A boys semifinals featured a heroic performance from Caddo’s DJ Dill, who scored 29 points against Seiling to win, 50-40.
“We play well as a team,” Dill said. “We have lots of shooters who can play and it is not just me. If I get guarded or double-teamed hard, my teammates can hit open shots.
"I played well (Friday) since Seiling had to guard all of us.”
This was true, as the Bruins shot 50 percent from the field.
In the other semifinal game, Okay defeated Rattan, 57-37.
The championship game will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday at State Fair Arena. One of these teams will win a gold ball in boys basketball for the first time in school history.
Caddo head coach Kobly Johnson could win two gold balls, as he is the Caddo boys and girls head coach. Below is a quick recap of both games.
Okay 57, Rattan 37
Both teams went stride-for-stride in the first quarter, but Diezel Davis from Okay scored 11 points in the first quarter. Okay was ahead, 17-12, going into the second quarter.
Davis was held scoreless in the second quarter but it found offense through Ashton Walters, who scored when Davis was not. Okay was ahead by eight, 26-18, at halftime.
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“I thought we were a bit shaky in the first half from our nerves,” coach Chad Clark said. “We had a solid third quarter and even though we did not score well in the second quarter, our defense held their own.”
Chase Clark scored two layups in a row to give Okay a 36-22 lead midway through the third quarter. Duckee Swimmer scored six points off of jump shots in the third quarter, too, and Okay was in front, 40-29, going into the fourth quarter.
Okay built a 15-point lead with fast-break layups made by Clark and Bryson Parnell. Okay was in front 53-34 and coach Chad Clark pulled the starters.
“Our dream is still alive,” Walters said. “We are one win away from finishing the job. All of us had huge games and when we play well, we can beat anyone.
"We have wanted this opportunity since we were in the sixth grade and want to finish the job.”
Davis scored 13 points, Walters scored 11 and Swimmer scored 10.
Caddo 50, Seiling 40
Caddo jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead, with plays like Dill draining a 3-pointer. Seiling came back, but Dill hit another 3-pointer towards the end of the first quarter, making the score 13-11, Bruins.
Dill scored 11 of those 13 points.
With more than three minutes left in the second quarter, the game was tied at 17. Buckets were tough to come by late in the second quarter, but Caddo was ahead, 23-21, at halftime.
Dill scored 16 points in the first half, while Hudson Hamar from Seiling scored 10 points.
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Caddo tried to pull away, but Seiling kept scoring in a low-scoring third quarter. The Bruins doubled their halftime lead and were ahead, 33-29.
Seiling got within one point when Jaron Hunter scored a fast-break layup. But Caddo closed the game on a 15-6 run.
Dill made several plays down the stretch, but he said they must play better if they want to win a gold ball. Johnson loved how his team moved the ball, which allowed Dill not to be double-teamed.
“We moved the ball well and hit open shots, which opened the game for DJ” Johnson said. “We strung together stops and closed the game well."
For Seiling, Hamar scored 16 points and Jaron Hunter scored 13.
