SKIATOOK — No.1-ranked Edmond Santa Fe held off a late Norman North rally on Thursday afternoon as they advanced to the state semifinals with a 52-48 win.
The Wolves (25-4) led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter and were up by eight with just two minutes remaining. The Timberwolves (18-9) turned up the pressure with a trapping defense but could only get within four as Santa Fe hit its free throws when the game was on the line.
“I thought we did a pretty great job defensively making them move the ball. It seemed like they weren’t even trying to score, they just didn’t want us to have the ball. We handled their zone pretty well, but for some reason we lost our heads when they started bringing the pressure late. Just have to make smarter decisions, but hey, we’re in the final four,” Wolves head coach Shawn Schenk said.
But it was the Wolves defense that gave Norman North fits, as Preston Schaefer was hounded by Mahlon Jones the entire game, and limited to just 12 points.
“That was the main thing he did. It takes a smart player to be able to get through their sets. It’s a good thing he is a 29 ACT guy, he’s a smart kid. But they run some really tough sets that are hard to figure out to get him open shots,” Schenk said.
Jones led the Wolves offensively as well scoring a game-high 15 points in the win. While Santa Fe’s Josh Richardson was limited to just five points, Michael Onouha made a big impact coming off the bench to score 11, while helping limit the Timberwolves’ post game to just nine combined points.
Onouha had two big dunks in the contest, but his biggest points came with four minutes left in the game, when the 6-6 sophomore slid inside the lane for a layup and drew a foul. Onouha converted the conventional three-point play as the Wolves took a 43-31 lead.
“He made some big on defense, he grew up this afternoon. A lot of our sophomores played some big minutes. Phoenix Bills had a good game defensively as well,” Schenk said. “We just didn’t get Josh enough looks. We didn’t find him, which is something we’re definitely going to have to improve on.”
The Wolves jumped out to an 11-8 lead in the first quarter, then took a 25-15 lead into the break as BJ Giles nailed a deep 3-pointer with six seconds left in the half. The Timberwolves outscored the Wolves 33-27 in the second half, winning both quarters.
Giles finished with seven points, while Drew Hall had five, all of which came at the free-throw line, along with a big steal late to set up a pair of clutch free throws.
The Wolves will play No. 3 Putnam City at 9 p.m. Friday at the Mabee Center on the Oral Roberts University campus in Tulsa.
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