Class 3A Quarterfinals Live Blog

<p>Day 2 of the State Tournament Week in Oklahoma features 4 exciting games in Class 3A at the Big House!</p> <p><strong>#4 Marlow vs #7 Roland </strong></p> <p>Halftime: Outlaws 27 Roland 14</p> <p>Marlow jumped on top of Roland from the jump. It started inside with a focus on finding senior Josiah Johnson in the paint, where he established him with great post position in the paint and then finished strongly over the Rangers. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1211249" first="Avery" last="Payne"] made his mark in transition with a sweet slam and then found Johnson for an easy score after a steal as well. After dominating the paint, Johnson hit a buzzer beating three to end the first quarter. He has 17 points at the break on 7-9 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the line. Marlow is a team with a great mix of size, shooting and ball movement. If the first half is any indication, the winner of Millwood-Kingston will have their hand’s full on Friday night.  </p> <p>Final: Outlaws 52 Rangers 43</p> <p>The third quarter was more of the same, as the Outlaws looked ready to run away with the contest. But the Rangers showed a lot of pride and good three point shooting to rally and cut the deficit into single digits with a few minutes remaining. Johnson finished the game with 28 points and 8 rebounds. He was the only Outlaw in double figures. Senior guard Tuvaris Noonan scored 13 for the Rangers. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>#18 Kingston vs #2 Millwood</strong></p> <p>Halftime; Falcons 26 Kingston 19</p> <p>Transition points have built a cushion for the Falcons. They’re fast, they’re opportunistic and it shows in the 11 points they have off turnovers. It’s often live ball turnovers as they fly down the court and turn it into instant offense. In the halfcourt, Kingston has shown an ability to generate open looks, the problem is they’re not valuing the ball properly. Top freshman [player_tooltip player_id="1391439" first="Jaden" last="Nickens"] is instant offense when he checks into the game for Millwood. He scored 9 points, recorded 3 steals and handed out 2 assists after checking in. </p> <p>Final Falcons 56 Kingston 41</p> <p>With the third quarter winding down, Kingston had turned the game into a halfcourt contest. And chipped away at the Falcons lead steadily. They even tied it up 30 all late in the third. Nickens responded with a tough midrange jumper, then seconds later [player_tooltip player_id="1164896" first="Craylin" last="Liberty"] picked the pocket of his man and raced for a layup to put Millwood up 34-30 going into the fourth. The fourth was more of the same, as [player_tooltip player_id="967381" first="Rickey" last="Hunt"] and his teammates soared to new heights with transition scores. At one point they were on a 17-1 run before the customary late game scramble led to extra points for Kingston. In the closing seconds, Nickens served up a pass off the glass to Hunt to put an exclamation point on their victory. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>#1 Oklahoma Christian School vs Vinita</strong></p> <p>Halftime: Saints 22 Hornets 23</p> <p>The first few minutes of the game went according to the script one would expect when the top ranked team in a Class plays an unranked foe. But after an early lead, the script was thrown out the window as Vinita came roaring back and took a lead into halftime. Quick junior guard Paul Glasscock has had success himself with a pair of three pointers for the Hornets. While also setting up teammates with two assists. He’s been the tone setter so far for the upset minded Hornets. Fellow junior Nolan Martins also has 8 points including a pair of three pointers. Three pointers. A key component of any upset and so far the Hornerts that have that ingredient in their recipe. </p> <p>Super sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1367214" first="Luke" last="Gray"] has 10 points at the break, included a pick and pop three pointer. Which hints at his developing skill game. He did pick up 2 fouls, which kept him often on the bench. For the Saints to rally and prevent the upset, they’ll need their big man in the middle to control the paint as he often does. </p> <p>Final: Saints 49 Hornets 38</p> <p>Gray scored a quick 9 points to start the third quarter to give the Saints back the lead. And even when he spent another long portion of the second half on the bench, they never relinquished the advantage he gave them. At one point in the final frame though, the Hornets had cut it to just 3 points. That when senior Jon McKee nailed a clutch above the break three pointer to extend the lead back out. And the Saints wouldn’t look back as they would advance to the semifinals on Friday. Gray finished with an impressive line of 24 points and 6 rebounds. Glasscock and Martin both score 10 a piece to lead Vinita. </p> <p><strong>#14 Community Christian vs #13 Washington</strong></p> <p>First Half: Royals 23 Warriors 21</p> <p>One day junior [player_tooltip player_id="1031291" first="Bai" last="Jobe"] will be on ESPN sacking quarterbacks in front of packed college football stadiums. But for now, he’s the hub of the Royals offense on the hardwood. They established the physical two sport athlete with early post touches. He scored twice, creating the need for Washington to send doubles. He immediately found the open man on the perimeter and the offense kept rolling. One of the big beneficiaries of the attention Jobe draws in the post is Cade Bond. The senior has 9 points at the break, with 2 of 3 shooting from beyond the arc.</p> <p>Washington is hanging in the game with balanced scoring. 6 different Warriors are on the score sheet. Hayden Hicks and Luke Hendrix have 5 points a piece.  </p> <p>Final: Community Christian 53 Washington 49</p> <p>A slow paced third quarter ended with lead changes and gave birth to an exciting finish. Jobe got the fourth going with a rim rattling slam off a good feed from Bond. But Washington answered right back with a pair of three pointers from Hayden Hicks. It proved to be Jobe's quarter though as he kept racking up the points and rebounds to help the Royals earn a narrow lead with time winding down. After missing the front end of a late free throw and only up two, junior Collin Bond redeemed himself with by recording a steal and laying the ball in to give them the 53-49 edge.</p> <p>Jobe ended the night with a 17 point and 16 rebound double double. Many of that coming in the final frame as his was simply too strong and athletic for the Warriors. Cade Bond ended up with 15 points, with a 4 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc. Hicks was the leading scorer for Washington with 14 points. While Anthony Trejo also reached double figures with 10 points. </p>