Tournament of Champions notebook: Honored alumnus
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Saturday, December 29, 2012
12/29/12 at 3:12 AM
Creason Hay, a 1982 Booker T. Washington All-State basketball player, is one of four people who will be inducted into the Tournament of Champions Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The 6-foot-5 Hay played his entire high school career in the shadow of the late, great Wayman Tisdale but was a key contributor on the Hornets' 1981 championship team and enjoyed moments of greatness in his own right.
One of those came in the 1982 TofC championship game. With Tisdale in foul trouble, Hay delivered a career-high 39 points and 13 rebounds as the Hornets downed Jenks 97-83 in a showdown of No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams.
Also entering the TofC Hall of Fame are former Central and Muskogee basketball coach Terry Scott, Jenks head coach and former Nathan Hale standout Clay Martin, and former Claremore girls basketball star Jenny Hardin.
Hardin will be inducted during halftime of the 7 p.m. girls championship game. The men will be inducted during halftime of the boys final at 8:30.
On a roll: Roland guard Seth Youngblood has put together two pretty good nights at the Tournament of Champions.
Along with 68 points (36 vs. Verdigris, 32 vs. Edison), he's shooting 21-for-32 from the field (.656) with six 3-pointers and 20-for-22 from the line (.909).
He made 15 straight foul shots before missing once in the third quarter and once in the fourth quarter Friday against Edison.
He said his 36-point outing vs. Verdigris was not a career high because he remembered going for 38 vs. Spiro as a sophomore.
Said Roland head coach Ed Lewis: "I've had other good ones, but he may be the best I've had."
Confidence booster: Union's return to the TofC championship game is a pleasant surprise for a team that lost nine senior contributors from last year's 29-0 squad.
"It's huge for these guys because we feel like we're taking baby steps in the right direction," head coach Rudy Garcia said.
"We got off to a rough start the first couple of games with (junior forwards) Jeff Mead and Carson Meier coming out of football, and I think we're just trying to get our guys in rhythm. It's a good win for our kids. Defending this title is something we hoped to accomplish, and now we're one step away."
The Redskins have won four in a row since opening with losses to Owasso and Jenks.
On the mend: Washington head coach Joseph Redmond played without half of his tandem at point guard with senior Myles Clark on the bench wearing a boot after spraining his ankle in Thursday's first-round win over Dale.
Redmond usually plays Clark interchangeably with junior Hollis Mitchell.
"(Mitchell) gave us great effort tonight, but he had to play 32 minutes. I'm not saying that is an excuse, but it hurt us not having our other point guard against Union."
Redmond said the Hornets (4-6) are getting more familiar with their roles and showing improvement after an 0-3 start.
"I think we've been able to evolve to the point where we're ready to win every game we play," he said. "Tonight, it came down to having to make a couple of plays down the stretch. ... and we couldn't get over the hump."
Double tough: Chalk up two big nights for Edison 6-foot-6 senior Brian Speaks. He followed Thursday's 24-point, eight-rebound game vs. Arnett with 17 points and nine rebounds vs. Roland.
