Boys get first win at Bethel tourney
The Lady Lions downed Bethel and Byng to bring home third-place hardware from the First United Bank Classic in Bethel over the weekend.
They followed that up with a 52-38 win over Seminole Tuesday night to push their record to 5-2 heading into Thursday’s home opener with Jones.
The boys team up picked its first win of the season at Bethel, besting Bridge Creek, 70-67.
The Lady Lions won their tournament opener by overoming a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Kelsey Williams led the comeback with a pair of threes and eight points in the period.
She and Morgan Fowble each had a dozen points and Leah Brannon added 11.
“In the first half, our gameplan was to spread it out a little more and cover their shooters,” said head coach Rodney Treat. “And a couple of times we left someone open and Bethel is a really good three-point shooting team.
“In the second half, we got out and covered them better and got some key rebounds.”
“We played hard and we attacked well and were a lot more poised in the second half. That was a big part of our comeback.”
Williams is normally the first person off the bench, Treat said, but she found herself in the starting lineup due to an injury.
“She stepped into the starting role tonight and did great,” Treat said. “She hit those two big threes late in the fourth quarter and got us started.
After a loss to Class 4A No. 12 Perkins in the semifinals, the Lady Lions came back to beat an athletic team, 40-36, for third place.
The Lions trailed by five in the third quarter of their first round game against Bridge Creek, but got a total of 44 points from Dylan Mahan and Caedon Parris to fuel their comeback.
Bridge Creek had no answer for Mahan, a 6-5 senior who poured through 30 points, including 10 in the first period.
Parris had 14.
“Our guys rebounded and we got back defensively,” said coach Austin Minshall of the Lions’ comeback..
“Our half-court offense is not very good right. Anyone who watches film knows that.
“We have five new guys playing together and they just aren’t smooth yet. They understand the concept, but going through and staying in the set, we’re just not very good at that yet.
“But when you get steals from your defense and can shoot layups, you look a lot better, you feel better and you’re more motivated to go play on the defensive end.
“Our guys need to see the ball go through the hole, and we got back to that in the third quarter.
“We stiffened up in the third quarter, bottom line, and we did the things we need to do.”
Although they started 1-5, pending the outcome of the Seminole game, Minshall said he’s pleased with the early season.
“It’s started well,” he said. “We’ve had just a monster schedule. We had Cushing, who’s not bad. Okemah, top five in Class 2. Konawa, will be top 10 in Class 2A.
“It’s a good group. We just have a learning curve.”