OK Respect falter early but can bounce back
The Oklahoma Respect take an early loss to Southwest Soldiers 65-62. They will have an opportunity to bounce back.
An 8:30 a.m. game can bring a lot of challenges for AAU teams. Players are thrown off routine and not use to playing ball this early. However, there were no excuses made by SW Soldiers and OK Respect.
The Respect got off to a nice start led by 2018 forward Micah Lena.
At 6’5, Lena was a tough matchup for the Soldiers as he slashed to the rim and got layups or flashy assists to his teammates.
Masen SpoonHunter was big for Respect defensively as he masted the verticality assett and used that to disrupt layups.
The Soldiers bounced back though with a solid ending to the first half led by 2018 guard Quintarius Johnson and forward Tyrus Johnson.
The Soldiers slowed the game down and allowed these two too breakdown the defense off the dribble and make plays which was effective.
Soliders went into halftime with a 27-18 lead.
The Respect struggled on defense in the second half but started to speed the game up which unlocked Riley Islands game.
The 2018 guard was passive in the first half but picked it up late in the second half and led a comeback alongside Lena and 2019 guard Hugh Edmo.
With a few layups from Lena and Island, Respect was back in the game and had seized momentum.
The Respect was scratching and clawing to regain the lead but they couldn’t convert on key plays at the rim and the Soldiers took advantage of it with big free throws down the stretch.
Respect ended up losing 65-62 and had an opportunity to win.
They have the talent to bounce back and get on a run in tournament play.