Union, Edison and Booker T. Washington boys post TofC victories

BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Friday, December 28, 2012
1/02/13 at 11:40 AM

Correction: A Dec. 28 Tulsa World sports story listed the wrong Union player scoring all nine of his points in the second quarter. Alex Barton scored all nine of his points in the second quarter. This story has been corrected.

Hanging with the physicality meted out by the big boys became impossible Thursday for the small-school basketball teams participating in Oklahoma's Tournament of Champions.

In the three big-vs.-little matchups, the smaller teams gave their best for awhile before falling by the wayside.

Class B No. 2 Arnett was hanging tough with 5A No. 5 Edison, trailing by only five at halftime before Eagles senior guard Don Simmons turned up the heat.

Simmons scored eight of his 21 points in the third quarter and 13 after intermission as the Eagles stormed to a 70-44 first-round win at the Mabee Center.

"We have a lot of people who can play, and we ought to wear down any team we face, no matter what class they're in," Simmons said. "Both teams played hard, but we'll have to play better tomorrow."

The Eagles advanced to Friday's 4 p.m. semifinal against 4A No. 1 Roland, which shot a blistering 59.6 percent from the field and got 36 points from Seth Youngblood to beat 3A No. 4 Verdigris 79-58 in Thursday's first round.

Union and Booker T. Washington also wore down outmanned foes and advanced to play in Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal in a rematch of last year's triple-overtime thriller in the area tournament. Union won that game 74-70 en route to an undefeated season and the Class 6A title.

Union advanced Thursday by wearing down Class A No. 1 Weleetka 67-56 and handing the Outlaws their first loss in eight games. Washington broke away from pesky 2A No. 7 Dale in the second half to win 80-57 behind Juwan Parker's 23 points and four rebounds.

Arnett (9-4) got 28 points from 6-foot-4 junior Tyler Tune. The western visitors trailed by only 29-24 at halftime, but Simmons was about to take over. He assisted Brian Speaks' alley-oop basket for the first score of the second half, and nailed back-to-back treys, lifting the Eagles' lead to 37-27 with 5:53 left in the quarter.

Edison pushed the lead to 44-32 after three quarters and used an 11-0 blitz to make it 61-37 with 3:40 left.

Strong in the middle, 6-foot-6 senior Brian Speaks gave the Eagles a team-high 24 points with six rebounds and two blocked shots. The Eagles improved to 4-2 with their only losses coming to 6A No. 2 Putnam City and 5A No. 2 Memorial.

Roland 79, Verdigris 58

Ed Lewis is in his 32nd year as the Rangers' head coach and it's doubtful he's seen them shoot the ball better more than a handful of times.

The Rangers (6-0) went 28-for-47 from the field, including 7-for-16 from 3-point range, and were 9-for-10 from the field in the third quarter.

"We'll take that any day of the week," Lewis said. "We played well offensively tonight, but Verdigris was good, too. They came out and hit three straight 3-pointers to start the third quarter and got back in the game."

A quick surge by the Cards (8-2) cut Roland's 43-24 halftime lead to 46-34, but the Rangers pulled away just as quickly to lead by 19 again after three quarters, and saw their lead peak at 24 in the fourth quarter.

Youngblood was 12-for-16 from the field with four 3-pointers and 8-for-8 from the foul line.

"He's probably the best player in the tournament," Verdigris coach Randy Upshaw said.

Corey Whisenant and Brooks Robertson added 12 each for the Rangers and Austin Cantrell scored 11. Verdigris was led by Chase Bryant's 12 points.

Union 67, Weleetka 56

The Redskins (3-3) used an 18-4 run to open the second quarter to break free of the Outlaws (7-1).

Union's Carson Meir scored a game-high 21 points and had seven of his team's 18 points in the crucial second-quarter outburst. Alex Barton got all nine of his points during the second-quarter push.

Josh Palmer had a double-double performance with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

"Coach (Rudy Garcia) told us to pick it up on defense," Barton said of the opening quarter that saw Union behind 17-15. "Our defense wasn't as good as it should be. We need to come out better in the next game."

Jeremiah Winney led Weleetka with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

B.T. Washington 80, Dale 57

It took a while, but the Hornets (4-5) finally broke free, thanks to a swarming defense.

The game was tied eight times and the lead changed hands on 11 occasions. But a 9-0 run put Washington ahead for good 47-39 with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

"It was a good team effort," said Hornet forward Juwan Parker. "They're a good team and we had to step up our defense to generate some offense."

Kevin Sims pitched in 12 points and five steals for the Hornets. Myles Clark had 10 points to go with more tough perimeter defense. Hollis Mitchell also had 10 points.

Class 2A No. 7 Dale (8-2) would not go away easily. Dustin Stark nailed four 3-point baskets. Stark's 12 points tied teammate Jace Wilkins for team-high honors. Evan Anderson added 10.

B.T. WASHINGTON 80, DALE 57

Dale	14	18	12	13	-	57
B.T. Washington	14	20	24	22	-	80

Dale: Wilkins 12, Stark 12, Anderson 10, Banks 8, Pinkston 6, Hathcock 3, Nowlin 2, Draper 2, Cox 2.

BTW: Parker 23, Sims 12, Mitchell 10, Clark 10, Bitson 9, Miller 8, Alexander 4, Chaney 2, Muse 2.

UNION 67, WELEETKA 56

Union	17	22	14	14	-	67
Weleetka	17	10	13	16	-	56

Union: Meir 21, Palmer 14, Mead 14, Barton 9, Davis 8, Olden 1.

Weleetka: Winney 19, Wittman 12, Bencoma 11, Gormly 7, Frye 7.

ROLAND 79, VERDIGRIS 58

Roland	20	23	21	15	-	79
Verdigris	13	11	21	13	-	58

Roland: Youngblood 36, Whisenant 12, Robertson 12, Cantrell 11, Byrd 2, Chestnut 2, Brock 2, Wells 2.

Verdigris: Bryant 12, Upshaw 11, Battenfield 9, Combs 9, Monroe 8, Brasher 6, Hundley 3.

EDISON 70, ARNETT 44

Edison	15	14	15	26	-	70
Arnett	10	14	8	12	-	44

Edison: B. Speaks 24, Simmons 21, Williams 8, D. Speaks 7, Harvey 5, Primer 3, Woods 1, Reather 1.

Arnett: Tune 28, Bryant 9, Friesen 3, Collins 2, Smith 2.

World Correspondent John D. Ferguson contributed to this report

At a glance

Thursday's games

Boys

Union 67, Weleetka 56

B.T. Washington 80, Dale 57

Edison 70, Arnett 44

Roland 79, Verdigris 58

Girls

Jenks 54, Verdigris 40

East Central 79, Dewar 44

Cushing 43, Erick 36

Anadarko 63, Colbert 47

Friday's schedule

Boys

Weleetka vs. Dale, 9 a.m.

Arnett vs. Verdigris, noon

Edison vs. Roland, 4 p.m.

Union vs. B.T. Washington, 7 p.m.

Girls

Dewar vs. Erick, 10:30 a.m.

Verdigris vs. Colbert, 1:30 p.m.

East Central vs. Cushing, 5:30 p.m.

Jenks vs. Anadarko, 8:30 p.m.

Original Print Headline: Big boys loom large

Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Union's Bain Wannemacher (left) battles for a loose ball against Weleetka's Caleb Wittman during the Tournament of Champions on Thursday at the Mabee Center. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

East Central's Natori Hurd dribbles past Dewar's Cheyenne Been during a girls quarterfinal at the Tournament of Champions Thursday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

Union's Shawn Olden (left) tries to dribble past Weleetka's Shaun Bencoma during the Tournament of Champions action Thursday at the Mabee Center. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World