Area preview: round 1 (6A West)

<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Friday evening will pit the final eight teams in contention from the 6A West region against each other. Half of that field will be dispelled by Saturday night, leaving behind four teams to advance to the state tournament.</span></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><strong>Northwest Classen vs. Southmoore / 8 p.m. @ Yukon HS</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Neither Southmoore or NW Classen has a loss to give entering their matchup Friday night. The key for the SaberCats will be to involve [player_tooltip player_id="609753" first="Sam" last="Godwin"], who, despite scoring 16 points last week, scored few baskets from the half-court until the third quarter. Should the SaberCats find their way into the State Tournament, they will need to look to their power forward as a major contributor. Classen, meanwhile, will need to respond to leadership from coach Jason Jack by sticking with one another and scoring points in transition.</span></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><strong>Lawton vs. Edmond Memorial / 6:30 p.m. @ Deer Creek HS</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">The winner of this one heads to the Mabee Center, while the loser could be a win away from getting in as well. Memorial and Lawton were two of the most loss-averse teams during the regular season, both dominating opponents. The Wolverines did so with athleticism and size, while the Bulldogs had skill and scheme. Nonetheless, both teams have a little of everything playing to their hand Friday night.</span></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><strong>Edmond Santa Fe vs. Edmond North / 8 p.m. @ Deer Creek HS</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">The second Edlam matchup of the post-season, Santa Fe and North have both seen success in the last couple months, with North heating up from an athletic, skilled junior class and the Wolves doing the same with an impressive sophomore class. The Huskies can find a win Friday evening with explosive performances from both [player_tooltip player_id="745358" first="Dalante" last="Shannon"] and Abraham Agashado; the Wolves’ senior leader, [player_tooltip player_id="931192" first="Donovan" last="Vickers"], will be more than a chore for the North defense to collapse-on, and should Santa Fe shoot the ball well, the Huskies will have a task before them. Either way, the city of Edmond will only have two representatives after Friday night.</span></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><strong>Midwest City vs. Putnam City West / 6: 30 p.m. @ Yukon HS</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">The winner of this game heads straight to the State Tournament, while the loser remains in contention. The two met earlier in the regular season, with the Bombers capturing the win, but P.C. West has been hot as of late, looking to their senior leader, [player_tooltip player_id="535590" first="Rondel" last="Walker"]. Strong contributions from their second-leading-scorer, [player_tooltip player_id="938857" first="Daylon" last="Andrews"], helped the Patriots past Southmoore last weekend, when the two combined to out-score the SaberCats. However, Midwest City, perhaps the most talented transition team in the state, could catch the Patriots early and bury them before the half-time buzzer -- a strategy the Bombers have almost perfected to this point. This game could be the closest of the area tournament.</span></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Did we miss something? DM @McKinnisBryce via Twitter to let us know.</span></p>