Jenks, Bixby eke out wins to advance to regional final
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Saturday, February 23, 2013
2/23/13 at 6:03 AM
JENKS - Fifth-ranked Jenks will host Bixby in a Class 6A boys regional final at 7 on Saturday night after each team survived a potential tying 3-pointer as time expired in their respective first-round games.
Luke Phillips scored the tiebreaking basket with 1:10 left to propel Jenks past Sapulpa 71-68 at Frank Herald Gymnasium on Friday night. John Jones had seven treys and 22 points for Jenks, which as the East's No. 2 seed narrowly survived an upset by the 15th-seeded Chieftains.
"It's a mixture of emotions," Phillips said. "I'm more relieved (than elated about the win) but I am excited to keep playing."
In the opener of the regional doubleheader, R.L. York scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to help Bixby repel No. 13 Mustang 50-47. York entered the game with a 3.7 scoring average.
"We've lost two at the buzzer (this season) so we were due for one not going in," Bixby coach Scott Padek said. "R.L. played great. That's what all of us as coaches think he's capable of doing. He bailed us out tonight."
Jenks (18-6) swept both regular-season meetings against Bixby (10-14) as it also did against Sapulpa.
Jenks 71, Sapulpa 68: Jenks scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 41-26 lead, but the Chieftains responded with their own 7-0 run and narrowed their deficit to 45-44 at the end of third quarter.
Jones opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and the Trojans appeared to be in control with a 63-57 lead going into the final two minutes. But Ben Johnson's three-point play was followed by Deshawn Zachary's basket after a steal to tie the game at 64 with 1:22 left.
The Trojans, however, broke through the Chieftains' trapping defense and Phillips, who had 10 points in the fourth quarter, drove for the go-ahead basket.
"We talked about that earlier in the game," Jenks coach Clay Martin said. "We thought with their trap he was being a little too passive and too unselfish. We told him, 'Luke, just get to the rim and finish. They haven't taken a charge on you tonight.'"
After Zachary fouled out with 31 seconds left, Phillips added two free throws for a 68-64 lead. Ten seconds later, Johnson's basket made it 68-66. Jenks' Steven Parker then sank two free throws but they were offset by Austin Rush's basket with 10 seconds left. Jenks' Jacob Seidel, who finished with 16 points, made 1-of-2 free throws for a three-point lead with 5.4 seconds left. Rush had a 20-footer from the right wing clank off the rim at the buzzer.
"Give Sapulpa a ton of credit," Martin said. "They called back every run that we made. We weren't very good defensively, but our guys made a lot of tough plays when they had to. Playing a team that good for a third time is tough to do, especially a team that talented and well coached. While there's a lot we can dissect about what we did wrong, I am very proud of how tough we played."
Sam Gottsch, who fouled out, paced Sapulpa (10-14) with 16 points, followed by Johnson and Larry Marshall with 15 points each. Sam Johnson added 12 points before he fouled out with 4:09 left.
Jenks made 26-of-34 free throws while Sapulpa was 11-of-16 from the line. Seidel was 10-of-13 on free throws and Phillips was 7-of-8.
"We knew Sapulpa had beaten Union and Broken Arrow and they were capable of big games," Phillips said. "We knew it was going to be close but we didn't know it was going to be this close."
Bixby 50, Mustang 47: Mitch Solomon was Bixby's leading scorer with 12 points.
The Spartans took a 42-33 lead on Dillon Barnat's three-point play at the end of the third quarter, but Mustang opened the final period with a 6-0 run. York responded by breaking the Broncos' press for a basket - the first of his three in the last five minutes as Bixby never relinquished the lead despite missing all five of its free throws in the last 56 seconds.
Mustang freshman Jakolby Long, who had a game-high 15 points, sank a 3-pointer to cut Bixby's lead to 50-47 with 45 seconds left. The Broncos (14-9) committed a turnover with 18 seconds left, but got the ball back two seconds later after two missed free throws. Long sank a 25-foot shot that came just after Mustang called timeout with 3.2 seconds left. Long then missed a well-contested trey at the buzzer.
"When he missed it, it was awesome," York said. "We're pumped for tomorrow."
JENKS 71, SAPULPA 68
| Sapulpa |
13 |
13 |
18 |
24 |
- |
68 |
| Jenks |
22 |
12 |
11 |
26 |
- |
71 |
Sapulpa (10-14): Gottsch 16, B.Johnson 15, Marshall 15, S.Johnson 12, Zachary 8, Rush 2.
Jenks (18-6): Jones 22, Phillips 16, Seidel 16, Parker 10, Clark 5, Washington 2.
BIXBY 50, MUSTANG 47
| Bixby |
17 |
7 |
18 |
8 |
- |
50 |
| Mustang |
16 |
5 |
12 |
14 |
- |
47 |
Bixby (10-14): Solomon 12, York 10, Selvidge 8, Fivecoats 7, Barnat 6, Wilson 5, Fiser 2.
Mustang (14-9): Long 15, Williams 10, Hightower 7, Garrett 4, Goble 4, Johnson 3, Madison 2, Meyers 2.
Original Print Headline: Jenks, Bixby nab wins
Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Bixby's Mitch Solomon (right) is swarmed by Mustang's Andrew Madison (left) and Chandler Garrett (top) during the class 6A basketball playoffs at Jenks High School Friday. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
Jenks' Luke Phillips (left) shoots under pressure from Sapulpa's Sam Johnson during the class 6A basketball playoffs at Jenks High School on Friday. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
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