EDMOND —
Before Friday night, the last time the Edmond North boys basketball team advanced past the first round of the postseason, David Montgomery was in middle school.
The 6-4 post and the rest of his senior teammates made that drought seem like ancient history, as they ran past Norman, 68-56, in a first-round Class 6A regional at Edmond Memorial High School. Montgomery led the way with 21 points, as his constant slashing to the bucket without the ball set him up for numerous layups.
“This is pretty special. It’s cool too, after being here three years and losing so much, to get something going in my senior year,” Montgomery said. “We want to leave a legacy and something for us to build on.”
North’s five starters, who are all seniors, were the only Huskies to score. Those five, though, all had at least 8 points, as Carlbe Ervin had 18 and Tyler Sanders 13 to go along with Montgomery’s game-high effort.
“We’ve really come together as a family,” Montgomery said. “I always see in movies how teams are like families, and that’s what it’s been like for us this season.”
North seemed to be comfortably in control of the Tigers, leading 37-23, when Norman went on a 13-2 tear to open the second half and get within only three points. The Huskies managed to get the deficit back to 48-38 entering the fourth period, before the Tigers again cut it to 54-51 with 3:50 left.
From there, Austin Usery hit a layup, Ed Baker added one and Montgomery dropped in two as part of an 8-0 spurt that put Norman away.
The Huskies will play rival Edmond Memorial on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the regional title. North handed the Bulldogs one of their two losses on the season in December, although Memorial took another contest by 12.
Edmond Memorial 89, Choctaw 52
Edmond Memorial, the No. 2 seed on the west side, had as much trouble as expected with Choctaw — which is to say, not much trouble at all.
Shaquille Morris scored 18 points and had five dunks, while Jordan Woodard added 14 and Aaron Young 11 in a game that featured many bench minutes.
Behind eight points from Young, the Bulldogs jumped ahead 25-9 at the end of the first period. A steal and layup by Woodard at the 6-minute mark of the second quarter made it 31-10. At that point, Morris had one less dunk than Choctaw had field goals.
It was 47-16 at one point before halftime, and 48-22 at the break. The Bulldogs continued to pour it on in the second half, posting runs of 6-0 and 11-0 to go ahead, 65-32.
— Ryan Piersol
Wolves win in Lawton
The Edmond Santa Fe Wolves took full advantage of Lawton star point guard Tevin Foster fouling out in a 66-56 Class 6A regional victory Friday night held at Lawton Eisenhower High School. The Wolfpack, improving to 14-8 on the season, will take on regional host Eisenhower tonight for the regional championship.
“The game was even throughout until Foster fouled out,” Santa Fe skipper Lenny Hatchett stated. “He is a good player and it really turned things around.”
Foster recently signed a letter of intent with South Dakota University.
The Wolves reeled off an 8-0 run starting with just over four minutes to play in regulation. Senior Dashon Bell came through in the clutch, nailing 6-of-6 free shots in the final two minutes. He also totalled nine rebounds as sophomore teammates Daron Mims (18 points) and Curran Scott (16) led Edmond Santa Fe in scoring.
— Scott Wanish
Saints top Nowata
The Oklahoma Christian School boys rolled over Nowata, 82-58, Thursday night in the opening game of their regional at Kellyville.
Five Saints were in double figures in scoring, led by Luke Frankfurt’s 15. Jonathan Gibson followed with 14, Garrett Kilborn had 13, Nathan Blakley chipped in 11 and Justin Harris scored 10, and five other OCS players got on the board.
OCS advances to the regional final against the winner of Perkins-Tryon/Centennial at 8 p.m. Monday in Perkins.
— Drew Harmon
