Eric Spruill
The Edmond Sun
CHOCTAW — Going into Friday night’s battle with No. 5-ranked Midwest City the top-ranked Santa Fe boy’s had never won an Area title and after a performance where they were out-hustled and beat on second-chance points time and again, it still hasn’t happened.
The Bombers dropped the Wolves 59-53, forcing Santa Fe into a must-win situation once again.
“I hope they hurt. I hope their stomach’s are burning right now, because I want them to remember how bad it feels,” Santa Fe head basketball coach Shawn Schenk said. “Midwest City played with toughness and we didn’t. Midwest City kids are tougher than Edmond kids, tonight at least.”
The Wolves got out to a great start as they led 17-12 at the end of the first, and held the game’s only double-digit lead in the second quarter, using a 6-1 run in the opening minutes to hold a 23-13 lead.
Santa Fe had chances to expand the lead even further, but missed shots on two straight possessions. And the Bombers answered with a big rally, out-scoring the Wolves 14-1 run over the final five minutes, taking a 27-24 lead into the break.
Midwest City led by as much as five in the third, but the Wolves regained the lead on a pair of Drew Hall free throw’s with 2:13 left in the quarter. A conventional three-point play by Mahlon Jones with 3.0 left in the third gave the Wolves a 42-40 lead going into the fourth.
But it was all Midwest City after that, though the Wolves always remained within striking distance. The Bomber’s Xavier McLish converted a three-point play as they took a 53-50 lead with just over two minutes remaining and the Wolves were unable to make up the difference.
“We have to play tougher tomorrow night if we’re going to win, that’s the bottom line. You can’t win championships being soft,” Schenk said. “We were weak tonight.”
Josh Richardson led the Wolves with 16 points and had several blocked shots in the loss. Jones finished with 14 points and was the team’s main threat in the second half, where he scored all but two of his points. Hall had 10 points, while Aaron Anderson and AJ Anderson had six points apiece.
The Wolves will face the Mustang/Lawton Eisenhower winner at 8 tonight in Choctaw.
