New Year’s sweep
By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
The eighth-ranked Warriors withstood a first-quarter storm en route to their seventh straight win and first of 2019.
Oklahoma Bible Academy started hot, jumping out to a 15-14 lead, but Okarche bounced back in the second quarter and never looked back, taking a 55-41 home win last Friday into the Three Rivers Conference Tournament this weekend in Enid.
Three players scored in double digits to lead the Warriors offensively, including senior Cris Avila who scored a game-high 18 point on 5-for-15 shooting from the field. Avila also led the team and game with six assists and pulled down two rebounds.
Junior Kaleb Harris scored 14 points for Okarche, drilling six of 10 shots from the field while also dishing out five assists and pulling down three boards. Senior Tucker Neuenschwander scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds as well.
Seniors Lathen Stover and Kalen McCarthy also contributed on the offensive end. Stover scored seven points while McCarthy scored six. The duo combined for nine rebounds as well.
After falling behind in the first quarter, the Warriors re-gained the lead with a 12-8 run in the second quarter. They exploded in the third quarter, coming out of halftime with a 23-11 run to all but seal the victory before a tight fourth quarter.
The team shot over 40-percent (20-for-48) from the field, over 33-percent (6-for-18) from three-point range and 50-percent (9-for-18) from the free-throw line. The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 28-26, forced 29 turnovers and scored 25 points in the fast-break off of takeaways.
With seven straight wins, the Warriors are arguably the hottest team in Class A. Coach Ray West mentioned last week he could see a change in his team’s confidence after their fourth straight win, a victory over host Garber in the 2018 Garber Tournament.
“That was a really big deal for us,” he said. “We beat the sixth-ranked team in the state on their home floor and they were undefeated at the time. That’s huge.
“It gave us tremendous confidence that they can go on the road and compete against anybody. When you get ready for the playoffs and you know you can beat anybody even on their home court, that can be really big for a team.”
West also likes how his team is finding ways to score from multiple players, not just one single person.
“I think we’re trying to get everyone to be more aggressive on that end,” he said. “We talked to them about everyone getting more involved in the offense and trying to spread it out as far as scoring opportunities. When you have five guys who can score that’s big.”
The Warriors now turn their sights to the 2019 Three Rivers Conference Tournament, opening the weekend today with a first-round match up against Seeworth at 11:50 a.m. The team is looking to avenge a finals loss to Hennessey in last year’s tournament.
The Warriors return to regular season action Jan. 18 at Thomas and return to home to host Hennessey Jan. 22.
