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OOLOGAH — For nearly three quarters, Sequoyah boys basketball traded punches with one of the Class 3A's hottest teams.
Then the fourth quarter happened, and the margin for error disappeared.
A costly combination of turnovers and missed chances allowed Dewey to seize control down the stretch Thursday night, as the Bulldoggers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 51-39 victory over the Eagles in the opening round of the RCB Winter Invitational at Oologah High School.
Sequoyah [4-6] led early, trailed by just 1 point at halftime and remained within a basket late in the third quarter before Dewey [10-1] closed the door with a decisive run to open the final period.
“They started hard-hedging, trapping the ball screen and just kind of gave us fits,” Sequoyah first-year coach Brock Thomas said. “A few times we would get the guy open, but we’d throw it down there too late.”
The Eagles actually set the tone early.
Sequoyah jumped out to an 11-7 lead after one quarter behind Mason Weeks, who scored 7 points in the opening frame, including a 3-pointer. Gabe Paura and Ivan Crittenden helped control the paint early, giving the Eagles confidence against a Bulldoggers team that entered the night with four-straight wins.
Dewey steadied itself in the second quarter, using balanced scoring to erase the deficit.
Karson Johnson’s 3-pointer sparked the Bulldoggers, while Zach Renfroe provided timely baskets as Dewey edged ahead 19-18 at the break. Crittenden’s buzzer-beater at the end of the half kept Sequoyah within a point and foreshadowed a tightly contested second half.
The third quarter featured multiple lead changes.
The Eagles briefly reclaimed momentum behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Witt Callery, taking a 29-25 lead midway through the period. But the Bulldoggers responded immediately, stringing together perimeter shots and transition buckets to close the quarter on a surge and take a 38-36 advantage into the fourth.
That momentum carried over.
Dewey opened the final period with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a Gage Hawkins 3-pointer and a 3-point play from Kooper Crawford, stretching the lead to 49-36 and effectively breaking the game open.
Sequoyah, which finished with 30 turnovers while forcing only 11, struggled to get clean looks during the decisive stretch.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Thomas said of the number of turnovers. “On the bench, coach [Russell] Morgan said it a couple of times, and I was like, ‘I know, we’ve turned it over a crap ton in the last two games.’ It’s frustrating because I feel like we’ve spent so much time defensively to improve, but on offense, we’ve gotta value the basketball. It sticks a lot in one hand. We just don’t value it in the way of, we’ll throw it blindly down the floor. That’s the difference in the game.”
Weeks led the Eagles with 14 points and 3 rebounds, while Paura added 6 points and 7 boards. Crittenden and Derick Cole each provided interior presence on the glass with 6 and 7 boards, respectively, and Callery chipped in 6 points off the bench.
The Bulldoggers were paced by Crawford and Renfroe, who each scored 12 points, while Eastman and Hawkins added 8 apiece.
Despite being out-rebounded 34-24, Dewey’s pressure defense forced key turnovers and limited Sequoyah’s scoring opportunities late.
The Eagles moved into the consolation bracket Friday afternoon and faced Salina.
In another local result, Oologah dominated Salina 90-41 in the first round and advanced to face Dewey in the semifinals Friday night.
“Part of it is growing up,” Thomas said. “We’re still inexperienced, and that shows big in tight games like that. We just gotta keep growing.”
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Then the fourth quarter happened, and the margin for error disappeared.
A costly combination of turnovers and missed chances allowed Dewey to seize control down the stretch Thursday night, as the Bulldoggers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 51-39 victory over the Eagles in the opening round of the RCB Winter Invitational at Oologah High School.
Sequoyah [4-6] led early, trailed by just 1 point at halftime and remained within a basket late in the third quarter before Dewey [10-1] closed the door with a decisive run to open the final period.
“They started hard-hedging, trapping the ball screen and just kind of gave us fits,” Sequoyah first-year coach Brock Thomas said. “A few times we would get the guy open, but we’d throw it down there too late.”
The Eagles actually set the tone early.
Sequoyah jumped out to an 11-7 lead after one quarter behind Mason Weeks, who scored 7 points in the opening frame, including a 3-pointer. Gabe Paura and Ivan Crittenden helped control the paint early, giving the Eagles confidence against a Bulldoggers team that entered the night with four-straight wins.
Dewey steadied itself in the second quarter, using balanced scoring to erase the deficit.
Karson Johnson’s 3-pointer sparked the Bulldoggers, while Zach Renfroe provided timely baskets as Dewey edged ahead 19-18 at the break. Crittenden’s buzzer-beater at the end of the half kept Sequoyah within a point and foreshadowed a tightly contested second half.
The third quarter featured multiple lead changes.
The Eagles briefly reclaimed momentum behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Witt Callery, taking a 29-25 lead midway through the period. But the Bulldoggers responded immediately, stringing together perimeter shots and transition buckets to close the quarter on a surge and take a 38-36 advantage into the fourth.
That momentum carried over.
Dewey opened the final period with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a Gage Hawkins 3-pointer and a 3-point play from Kooper Crawford, stretching the lead to 49-36 and effectively breaking the game open.
Sequoyah, which finished with 30 turnovers while forcing only 11, struggled to get clean looks during the decisive stretch.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Thomas said of the number of turnovers. “On the bench, coach [Russell] Morgan said it a couple of times, and I was like, ‘I know, we’ve turned it over a crap ton in the last two games.’ It’s frustrating because I feel like we’ve spent so much time defensively to improve, but on offense, we’ve gotta value the basketball. It sticks a lot in one hand. We just don’t value it in the way of, we’ll throw it blindly down the floor. That’s the difference in the game.”
Weeks led the Eagles with 14 points and 3 rebounds, while Paura added 6 points and 7 boards. Crittenden and Derick Cole each provided interior presence on the glass with 6 and 7 boards, respectively, and Callery chipped in 6 points off the bench.
The Bulldoggers were paced by Crawford and Renfroe, who each scored 12 points, while Eastman and Hawkins added 8 apiece.
Despite being out-rebounded 34-24, Dewey’s pressure defense forced key turnovers and limited Sequoyah’s scoring opportunities late.
The Eagles moved into the consolation bracket Friday afternoon and faced Salina.
In another local result, Oologah dominated Salina 90-41 in the first round and advanced to face Dewey in the semifinals Friday night.
“Part of it is growing up,” Thomas said. “We’re still inexperienced, and that shows big in tight games like that. We just gotta keep growing.”
Continue reading...
