Broken Arrow extends win streak to seven at Bixby
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
1/09/13 at 4:40 AM
BIXBY - Broken Arrow senior guard Jordan Huffman fooled himself as he made the biggest shot of Tuesday night's game against Bixby.
With 16.6 seconds left, Broken Arrow had seen a 14-point lead cut to two over the previous three minutes when Huffman stepped up to the free-throw line for the front end of a one-and-one.
"I thought I missed it," said Huffman, who rushed to the basket as the ball swished through the net.
Huffman, who finished with 21 points, also made the second free throw and then grabbed a clinching defensive rebound to seal the Class 6A No. 4 Tigers' 56-52 victory over the No. 18 Spartans at Whitey Ford Sports Complex.
The victory was the seventh in a row for the Tigers (7-1), who lost all four of their meetings with Bixby last season, including a playoff opener.
Huffman, a 6-3 senior guard who averages 17 points, excelled in clutch situations on Tuesday as he has all season.
"Jordan is a very talented player," Broken Arrow coach Rusty Stecker said. "He can score in many ways. He can knock down 3s, can attack the rim and he can post. He did a little bit of everything.
"What I like about Jordan especially this year, is how he's stepping up and making plays," Stecker said. "In the past he would sort of shy away at times. I think a strong characteristic of any good team is they have a go-to guy. You have to have that guy when it's late in the game, he can make a play and that's Jordan."
Huffman, who had three treys, also had help carrying the scoring load on Tuesday. In the first half, it was Jordan Phelps, who had all nine of his points as the Tigers carried a 26-19 lead into intermission. In the second half, it was Dontae Campbell, who had 11 of his 14 points. Huffman had 15 points after intermission.
The Tigers appeared to be cruising to victory with just over three minutes left, but Bixby went on a 11-0 run, capped by Breyden Fivecoats' 12-foot jumper with 18 seconds left to cut Broken Arrow's lead to 54-52, but Huffman kept the Spartans from completing their comeback.
"We made it a little more difficult down the stretch than it should have been," Stecker said. "It's not all bad. The main thing is whether you win by one or 14, you get the 'W' and we built some character tonight. And you have give Bixby a lot of credit the down the stretch. They made plays and made shots."
Fivecoats paced Bixby (5-6) with 21 points, including three tryes. Mitch Solomon added 12 points for the Spartans.
Bixby 57, Broken Arrow 47 (girls): Stevi Parker had 25 points and Christina Devers scored 20 to lead No. 2 Bixby (10-1).
Toree Thompson paced 12th-ranked Broken Arrow (9-3) with 18 points, including three treys. Broken Arrow scored the game's first six points before Bixby reeled off 11 straight points, fueled by Parker, who had eight points in the opening quarter. Bixby led 20-17 at halftime.
"We finally started putting it together and trusting what we do offensively and defensively in the second half," Bixby coach Melody Stewart said. "We weren't as aggressive going down the floor as wanted to be in the first half. In the second half, we really got aggressive and did a good job getting down the floor."
Devers and Parker each had 14 points in the second half as Bixby steadily pulled away to victory.
"Christina and I had a conversation about her struggling to find those gaps within the offense and from the second quarter on she came back out and masterfully did exactly what we wanted her to do," Stewart said. "And we believe the Stevi we saw tonight is the Stevi that's going to get us to where we want to be."
BROKEN ARROW 56, BIXBY 52
| Broken Arrow |
18 |
8 |
12 |
18 |
- |
56 |
| Bixby |
12 |
7 |
14 |
19 |
- |
52 |
Broken Arrow (7-1): Huffman 21, Campbell 14, Phelps 9, Rovang 4, Waymire 4, Cantrell 2, Davis 2.
Bixby (5-6): Fivecoats 21, Solomon 12, Fiser 6, Wilson 5, York 5, Barnat 2, Selvidge 1.
BIXBY 57, BROKEN ARROW 47 (girls)
| Broken Arrow |
8 |
9 |
11 |
19 |
- |
47 |
| Bixby |
13 |
7 |
16 |
21 |
- |
57 |
Broken Arrow (9-3): Thompson 18, Jones 10, Jackson 8, Gaulden 7, Erdmann 2, Stanley 2.
Bixby (10-1): Parker 25, Devers 20, Alvstad 6, Williams 6.
Original Print Headline: Broken Arrow extends win streak at Bixby
Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
