Union boys beat B.T. Washington in Tournament of Champions

BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Saturday, December 29, 2012
12/29/12 at 5:15 AM

Ask Union basketball coach Rudy Garcia if the Redskins will be shooting a lot of free throws in practice the next few days.

"We shot a bunch (in practice) today, but I don't guess they took it seriously," he said.

That was before the Redskins' showcase semifinal matchup against Booker T. Washington in Oklahoma's Tournament of Champions.

Union (4-2) struggled from the line against the Hornets (4-6) for three quarters, but made most of the ones that counted in the fourth quarter and hung on to win 46-43 before about 3,000 spectators at the Mabee Center.

Shawn Olden scored 17 points and the Redskins overcame a big night by Hornet standout Juwan Parker (24 points, 11 rebounds) to earn the right to defend last year's tourney championship.

Class 6A's defending state champs, the Redskins (4-2) will take on 4A No. 1 Roland in Saturday's 8:30 p.m. championship game. The Rangers unleashed another torrid shooting display and downed 5A No. 5 Edison 70-63 behind Seth Youngblood's 32 points.

Washington plays Edison for third place at 5:30 p.m.

Union went just 10-for-20 from the foul line overall, but made six of their final eight, including a pair by Josh Palmer with 1:08 left and two more by Olden with 52 seconds left, good for a 44-38 lead.

"We shot a lot of free throws (Friday) afternoon and I'm pretty sure (Garcia's) not happy about the way we shot 'em tonight," Olden said.

Parker's trey made it 44-41 and the Hornets almost forced a turnover before Garcia called timeout. After the break, Palmer hit one of two from the line and Parker's driving layup made it 45-43 with 17.6 seconds left.

Jeff Mead hit 1-of-2 at the line and the Redskins rebounded and ran out the clock after Parker missed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 4.1 seconds left.

Roland 70, Edison 63: The Rangers (7-0) shot 59 percent (23-for-39) after hitting 59.6 percent in Thursday's first-round win over Verdigris.

Youngblood, who scored 36 points in the first round while hitting 12-of-16 from the field, was 9-for-16 in the semifinal and 12-for-14 from the foul line.

Corey Whisenant added 18 points for the Rangers, going 8-for-10 from the field.

Don Simmons led Edison with 24 points, but the game turned against the Eagles (4-3) when Simmons received a technical foul for taunting after hitting a 3-pointer to give his team its first lead since the early stages of the game.

The technical meant Simmons' fourth personal foul and he sat out the entire third period before returning to score 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Roland, which led 22-11 after one quarter, retook the lead following Simmons' technical on four straight points by Youngblood.

Then, a back-and-forth battle broke out that saw nine lead changes before the Rangers scored six straight points to take a 63-57 lead with 1:45 left.

Edison coach Michael Parish defended Simmons.

"He yelled and flexed (after hitting the 3-pointer), but I didn't feel like that was taunting," Parish said. "He wasn't looking at any general direction - at any kid. They get two free throws and the ball and diffuse a lot of momentum we've just gained."

Roland coach Ed Lewis said the officials "warned everybody in the first quarter. They had a warning on us, too. I agree with the referees 100 percent on that taunting. They told me my player needed to quit talking and I told (the player) to shut his mouth."

Verdigris 71, Arnett 67: Verdigris saw an 18-point, second-quarter lead dwindle to just one late, but managed to turn back the Arnett charge.

Cade Upshaw scored 19 points and Blake Battenfield added 17 to offset the Wildcats' Tyler Tune, who had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Verdigris (9-2) led by one before Battenfield's three-point play made it 62-58 with 3:35 left. Almost three minutes later, Arnett (9-5) was back within two before Leonard Brockup's trey extended the lead to five.

Weleetka 59, Dale 45: The Class A No. 1 Outlaws (8-1) overcame a nine-point, second-half deficit, led by Montana Gormley's outside shooting. Gormley made four treys among his 18 points and scored five points late to thwart the 2A No. 7 Pirates (8-3).

Evan Anderson had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pirates, who did not score over the final 3:53.

Jackson Frye added 14 for Weleetka and Shaun Bencoma had 10 points and six steals.

ROLAND 70, EDISON 63

Roland	22	14	13	21	-	70
Edison	11	24	13	15	-	63

Roland: Youngblood 32, Whisenant 18, Robertson 6, Chestnut 6, Cantrell 5, Lynch 3.

Edison: Simmons 24, B. Speaks 17, D. Speaks 13, Harvey 5, Williams 4.

UNION 46, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON 43

Washington	10	10	9	14	-	43
Union	13	7	11	15	-	46

Washington: Parker 24, Sims 6, Bitson 6, Mitchell 5, Miller 2.

Union: Olden 17, Palmer 9, Meier 8, Mead 7, Wannermacher 3, Davis 2.

VERDIGRIS 71, ARNETT 67

Verdigris	29	17	11	14	-	71
Arnett	14	15	20	18	-	67

Verdigris: Upshaw 19, Battenfield 17, Bryant 11, Brockup 8, Monroe 7, Hundley 4, Combs 3, Brasher 2.

Arnett: Tune 26, Smith 18, Collins 17, Bryant 3, Coburn 2, Johnson 1.

WELEETKA 59, DALE 45

Dale	19	8	9	9	-	45
Weleetka	13	9	21	16	-	59

Dale: Anderson 22, Wilkins 8, Banks 8, Pinkston 4, Nelson 2, Stark 1.

Weleetka: Gormly 18, Frye 14, Bencoma 10, Wittman 9, Winney 8.

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS AT ORU MABEE CENTER

BOYS

Friday's scores

Weleetka 59, Dale 45
Verdigris 71, Arnett 67
Roland 70, Edison 63
Union 46, B.T. Washington 43

Saturday's schedule

Arnett vs. Dale, 10:30 a.m.
Verdigris vs. Weleetka, 1:30 p.m.
Edison vs. B.T. Washington, 5:30 p.m.
Roland vs. Union, 8:30 p.m.

GIRLS

Friday's scores

Erick 62, Dewar 58
Verdigris 50, Colbert 48
East Central 73, Cushing 55
Anadarko 72, Jenks 66

Saturday's schedule

Dewar vs. Colbert, 9 a.m.
Erick vs. Verdigris, noon
Cushing vs. Jenks, 4 p.m.
East Central vs. Anadarko, 7 p.m.
Original Print Headline: Union hangs on to top Hornets

Tournament of Champions: Boys

At ORU's Mabee Center

Thursday's Scores

Union 67, Weleetka 56
B.T. Washington 80, Dale 57
Edison 70, Arnett 44
Roland 79, Verdigris 58

Friday's Scores

Weleetka 59, Dale 45
Verdigris 71, Arnett 67
Roland 70, Edison 63
Union 46, B.T. Washington 43

Saturday's Schedule

Arnett vs. Dale (7th), 10:30 a.m.
Verdigris vs. Weleetka (5th), 1:30 p.m.
Edison vs. B.T. Washington (3rd), 5:30 p.m.
Roland vs. Union (1st), 8:30 p.m.

Associated Images:

Booker T. Washington's Al Jamal Muse (left) and Union's Carson Meier battle for the ball during Friday's action at the Tournament of Champions. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

Union's Shawn Olden guards Booker T. Washington's Juwan Parker during Friday's Tournament of Champions semifinal at the Mabee Center. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World