6A boys basketball: Broken Arrow slams Stillwater for state tournament berth
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Sunday, March 03, 2013
3/03/13 at 7:04 AM
CATOOSA - Broken Arrow and Stillwater were in a tight duel for a Class 6A state tournament berth on Saturday night before Dontae Campbell's monster dunk with three minutes left.
"It's always a big momentum changer when you get a nice dunk," Campbell said.
Campbell soon added another basket that gave Broken Arrow an eight-point lead and the sixth-ranked Tigers were on their way to a 74-62 victory over No. 7 Stillwater in an area consolation final at the Catoosa Indians Activity Center.
Campbell and Jordan Phelps had 19 points each for Broken Arrow (19-7), which qualifies for the state tournament that starts Thursday in Tulsa for the first time since 2009. Jordan Huffman added 17 points for Broken Arrow, which bounced back from a loss to Owasso in the area title game on Friday.
"It's a hard game to play," Broken Arrow coach Rusty Stecker said. "For the teams that come through the losers bracket, it's a true gut check, there's no doubt about it. I'm really proud of them. They came out and played well.
"We stayed very positive last night. The kids were down a little bit, but we told them we can't go this direction. We came out today and had a good walkthrough and prepared really well."
Campbell had 14 points in the fourth quarter.
"We knew we had to regroup and get ready for tomorrow," Campbell said about bouncing back from Friday's loss.
Rico Thompson led the Pioneers (18-8) with 26 points and Carson Teel scored 16, including four treys.
"Thompson is phenomenal and we had a hard time containing him," Stecker said. "But our kids stepped up and made a lot of key shots and free throws down the stretch."
Broken Arrow sank 17-of-21 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory, including 6 of 6 by Rovang.
The Tigers led 30-20 late in the second quarter but the Pioneers rallied and took a 39-38 lead late in the third quarter on Thompson's trey. However, a basket by Huffman ignited a 7-0 run and the Tigers were never caught although they didn't clinch the outcome until Campbell's dunk after a pass from Huffman ignited a 10-4 run.
"We got a couple steals and our transition offense was beautiful, you couldn't execute it any better, especially in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line," Stecker said.
BROKEN ARROW 74, STILLWATER 62
| Broken Arrow |
13 |
21 |
11 |
29 |
- |
74 |
| Stillwater |
16 |
13 |
12 |
21 |
- |
62 |
Broken Arrow (19-7): Campbell 19, Phelps 19, Huffman 17, Rovang 8, Cantrell 7, Waymire 4.
Stillwater (18-8): Thompson 26, Teel 16, Budke 10, Dickey 5, Green 3, Watkins 2.
Original Print Headline: Broken Arrow slams Stillwater
Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Broken Arrow's Trenton Cantrell (right) drives around Stillwater's Jared Dickey in Saturday night's Class 6A playoff game in Catoosa. The Tigers triumphed 74-62 to earn a trip to the state tournament. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World
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