Classen Plays Their Style, Advances to Semis Over Mount St. Mary
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The matchup between Classen SAS and Mount St. Mary was highly anticipated because of the regular season and playoffs. The teams closely resembled each other because of their personnel (not having a traditional center), and both being defensive-minded grind it out types of teams.
While both teams are virtually the same team, Classen was a step faster and one jab tougher than Mount. Most importantly, Classen was the most experienced team, with their three leading scorers being two seniors and one junior.
The Comets advanced to the State Semifinals after defeating the Rockets 49-47.
The game was neck-and-neck until the third quarter, where Classen outscored Mount St. Mary 15-7 behind seven points from
Camari Smiley
Camari
Smiley
6'3" | SF
Classen SAS | 2021
State
OK
and stifling defense from the rest of the Comets, which resulted in their largest lead of 11 points.
Mount St. Mary slowed the pace down while still playing elite defense and came within one-point during the fourth quarter, but Classen weathered that storm and iced the game.
Classen’s seniors,
Camari Smiley
Camari
Smiley
6'3" | SF
Classen SAS | 2021
State
OK
and
Anthony Turner
Anthony
Turner
6'3" | PG
Stars Mills | 2021
State
OK
led the way. Smiley scored 15 points, pulled down eight boards, and dished out four assists. Turner finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Tony Palma
Tony
Palma
6'0" | PG
Classen SAS | 2022
OK
, Classen’s junior starting point guard, scored 10 points.
Mount St. Mary isn’t going anywhere. They have a talented young team that’ll likely be back in this position. Sophomore
Diante Palmer
Diante
Palmer
6'0" | PG
El Reno | 2023
State
OK
led all scorers with 16 points and six rebounds, while senior Luke Harstad finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Classen SAS will play the winner of Kingfisher and Blanchard on Friday morning.
