The Okarche Warriors basketball teams headed to Leedey in Dewey County Thursday, Dec. 7 for the first games of the South Canadian Classic Tournament and both boys and girls won their openers.
The boys opened with a win over Arapaho-Butler 66-61.
After opening the game with cold three-point shooting, a steal by Hunter Mueggenborg and a layup at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter got the Warriors on the board.
Poor ball-handling by Arapaho-Butler led to more easy points and the Warriors built a six-point lead, 12-6, with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Warriors kept the lead with a cross court pass from Jett Mueggenborg to Hunter Mueggenborg who streaked ahead of the defenders for a smooth catch and layup.
Arapaho-Butler pulled within two and the first quarter ended 20-18 with the Warriors ahead.
The Indians pulled within a point in the second quarter, but the Warriors continued to make free throws and steals in the back court for easy scores.
The Indians pulled within one point with 30 seconds to go on a three-point play as the Warriors defense struggled to stop the fast break.
The first half ended 42-38 in Okarche’s favor.
To open the third quarter, Wyatt Pinkerton missed a three-point attempt from the right wing but was fouled as he came down. He made all three free throws and the Warriors extended the lead to five.
Pinkerton’s next three-pointer came from the left side, and it swished to make it 48-40 with 6:21 left in the third quarter, forcing the Indians to take a timeout.
Okarche led 53-42 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Warriors led 61-49 at the end of three quarters.
Arapaho-Butler pulled within five points with 20 secondds left in the game, but the Warriors held on for a 66-61 win.
Jett Mueggenborg had 24 points in the game. Hunter Mueggenborg had 13 points and Wyatt Pinkerton pitched in 12 points.
The boys team improved to 5-1 and were ranked #4 in the Class A rankings by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association.
Girls blowout Balko
The girls jumped to a 13-8 first quarter lead on a three-pointer by Scout Payne.
Payne had six points in the first quarter.
Both teams had problems committing fouls early, slowing the opening pace.
Katie Parham drained a three-pointer from the right wing to extend the lead at the beginning of the second quarter. Madison Nance made a shot in the paint and the Lady Warriors took an eight-point lead.
The Lady Warriors shooting warmed up with Madison Nance scoring ten points in the second quarter as Okarche surged to a 31-11 halftime lead.
Avery Schieber opened the scoring in the third quarter with a strong move in the paint giving Okarche their biggest lead at 33-11. Balko continued to struggle with Okarche’s full-court pressure.
Balko went on a 9-2 run late in the third quarter that ended Okarche 41 and Balko 26.
The Lady Warriors outmatched Balko in the fourth quarter and the game ended 49-32.
The girls, who improved to 4-2, were ranked #5 in Class A entering the tournament.
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