By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
No. 8 Okarche closed out the 2018-19 regular season in dominant fashion at home Tuesday night.
The Warriors defeated Class 2A No. 18 Cashion, 69-40 on an impressive shooting performance as well as drumming the Wildcats on the glass and on the defensive end.
Cashion kept it close early as Okarche jumped out to a 19-16 lead after the first quarter. It was as close as the Wildcats would come within the lead. The Warriors extended the lead to eight points before halftime before a 25-8 third-quarter run followed by a 10-9 run in the fourth to seal the victory.
Okarche shot just 19-percent from three-point range, but still shot 41-percent from the field, going 21-for-32 on shots inside the arc. Offensive boards helped as well as the Warriors grabbed 19 leading to 17 second-chance points.
Senior Cris Avila scored a game-high 22 points on 6-for-15 shooting. He also went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, dished out four assists and nearly nabbed a double-double with nine rebounds.
Senior Tucker Neuenschwander did record a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, grabbing seven on the offensive end. Senior Lathen Stover chipped in 11 points with six rebounds and sophomore Logan Kroener scored 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
The Warriors forced 22 turnovers, leading to 31 points while surrendering 11 takeaways themselves leading to just two points for Cashion.
They kept the Wildcats off the offensive glass as well, surrendering just four offensive rebounds while winning the overall battle, 43-25, and gave up just 11 made baskets on 39 attempts.
Neuenschwander led the team with four steals while Avila finished with three and senior Kalen McCarthy finished with two. McCarthy also blocked a shot.
Not one player scored in double figures for Cashion. The team’s leading scorer, Ethan Suntken, scored nine points while Jonah Jenkins chipped in seven.
The Wildcats were held to just 12 makes from inside the arc while going just 5-for-21 from three-point range. They did go 13-for-15 from the charity stripe.
The win marked the the sixth straight for the Warriors as they head into the postseason.
It also avenged a loss to the Wildcats on Jan. 11 at the 2019 Three Rivers Conference Tournament in Enid. The two teams played three times, Okarche winning twice, including a 71-54 victory at the Garber Tournament in December.
Okarche celebrated senior night for the class of 2019, including Avila, McCarthy, Neuenschwander, Stover, Mason Bomhoff and Kendon Brown.
The Warriors now are set for postseason play, starting with the district tournament this weekend at home. Okarche will take on the winner of Kremlin-Hillsdale and Ringwood for the District 3 championship. With a win the Warriors would advance to the winners bracket of the regional tournament while with a loss they would fall to the regional tournament consolation bracket.
Kremlin-Hillsdale and Ringwood tip-off at 8 p.m. on Friday.
The District 3 championship game will be played Saturday at 8 p.m.
