Both of the Dale High School basketball teams are headed to the state tournament and each will be in action today (Thursday).
It’s at least the third straight year the teams have qualified for the state tourney, though last year’s tournament was canceled on the day it was to start due to COVID-19.
Head coaches Jeff Edmondson and Eric Smith say their teams are playing well. Edmondson’s boys take a 20-4 record into the tournament and Smith’s girls team sports a 21-3 mark.
The boys kick off action at 9:30 a.m. today at the Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City taking on Morrison. The girls play tonight at Noble against Hooker with the game slated to start at 8 p.m.
“We beat Oklahoma Union in the Area finals,” he stated.
Edmondson said of Morrison, “They are pretty good, they play hard and they are big, strong kids.”
The veteran coach thinks his own team “Is moving the ball well on offense, we’re playing well, playing hard and we’re very unselfish. We’re doing all the little things that help you win ball games,” he added.
“Morrison is bigger than we are, but we’re quicker. We’ll try to speed up the game,” he said.
“The key may be our senior leadership. We have five seniors on the team and each provides great leadership.”
Talking about Hooker he said, “They have a good point guard and two good post players. They also play good man-to-man defense,” the coach stated.
“We’re playing pretty well. We’re moving the ball well, playing good defense, and we’re being unselfish,” Smith said.
“We’re excited to play. This is a fun time of the year to be playing.”
“We start two seniors and have three other seniors who have come off the bench all season.”