Owasso rolls past Union

BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
1/23/13 at 4:36 AM

OWASSO - Owasso's student section began chanting "Just like football" during the final seconds of their Rams' 63-46 boys basketball victory over visiting Union on Tuesday night.

"I loved that," said Owasso guard Jaylen Lowe, who had 17 points. "That's my favorite chant."

Lowe scored the winning touchdown with 24 seconds left to beat Union in football last September, but no late heroics were needed this time, similar to the season opener when Owasso won 66-47 to snap the defending Class 6A state champion's 29-game winning streak.

In this rematch, Shake Milton scored 24 points to lead the sixth-ranked Rams (10-2, 6-2 Frontier Valley).

Owasso led 28-24 at halftime before outscoring 12th-ranked Union 19-5 in the third quarter to break the game open.

"We played better on the defensive end - that led to our offense," Milton said about the decisive third-quarter outburst.

The Redskins (9-5, 5-3) opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to 48-39 with five minutes left. Milton, however, then drove for a basket as the Rams responded with six straight points to end any hopes of a Union comeback.

"We knew we needed to take control and put them away," said Milton, a sophomore guard who was congratulated by University of Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger after the game.

Rams coach Mark Vancuren added, "We took a punch in the nose so to speak, but we turned it around and into something positive there at the end."

Owasso was coming off a 66-60 loss to No. 4 Broken Arrow last Friday at the end of an 11-day stretch that included seven games.

"It was important for us to bounce back and get a win," said Milton, who had 12 points in each half.

Avery Culbertson added 10 points for Owasso. Josh Palmer, Jeffery Mead and Bain Wannemacher led Union with 10 points apiece.

"I felt our patience was good against their zone," Vancuren said. "We wound up getting the shots we wanted and the key was we made those shots. Our shooters stepped up when they had to and that's exactly what we needed."

Owasso 63, Union 59 (girls): Taylor Koelsch scored 15 points, including the two go-ahead free throws with 45 seconds left, to lead No. 20 Owasso (6-9, 3-5).

Dru Clark added 14 points for Owasso while teammate Kylie Penning scored all 11 of her points in the second half. Esther Udoumoh paced No. 18 Union (6-8, 4-4) with 18 points and I'mani Davis scored 17.

Owasso led most of the first three quarters until Destiny Climpson's steal and layup at the end of the third tied the game at 42.

The final score was the largest margin of a see-saw fourth quarter. Brittany Hill made 1-of-2 free throws with 1:06 left to give Union its last lead at 59-58 after Koelsch's basket tied the game 19 seconds earlier.

After Koelsch's free throws gave Union a 60-59 lead, Penning added two free throws with 18 seconds remaining and the outcome was sealed when Union missed a contested 3-pointer and follow shot on its ensuing possession. Owasso was 13-of-14 on free throws in the fourth quarter.

"This is huge for our confidence," Owasso coach Matt Sweeney said. "Our girls that have been scoring a lot have been struggling. They had been doing other things, like getting rebounds, but tonight they stepped up in important situations and made big shots. Close games are won and lost on free throws."

Owasso also edged Union 58-55 in overtime in the Dec. 4 season opener.

"This was like the last time we played, back-and-forth the whole time," Sweeney said.

OWASSO 63, UNION 46

Union	12	12	5	17	-	46
Owasso	12	16	19	16	-	63

Union (9-5): Mead 10, Palmer 10, Wannemacher 10, Meier 6, Olden 4, Davis 4, Rodriguez 2.

Owasso (10-2): Milton 24, Lowe 17, Culbertson 10, Neph 6, Russell 6.

OWASSO 63, UNION 59 (girls)

Union	11	15	16	17	-	59
Owasso	18	15	9	21	-	63

Union (6-8): Udoumoh 18, Davis 17, Climpson 11, Fox 6, Christon 4, Burgess 2, Hill 1.

Owasso (6-9): Koelsch 15, Clark 14, Penning 11, O'Dell 11, Boyd 7, Waters 3, Bevan 2.

Original Print Headline: Lowe, Milton lead Owasso past Union

Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com