Class 4A Quarterfinals Live Blog

<p>Live updates from the opening round of the Class 4A State Tournament</p> <p><strong>#10 Mount Saint Mary’s vs #2 Victory Christian</strong></p> <p>First Quarter: MSM 7 VC 20</p> <p>Victory Christian thanks to the athleticism of<a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prephoops.com/player/joshua-udoumoh/"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="1158048" first="Joshua" last="Udoumoh"]</span></a> and size of Luke Patton established an early edge inside. Then they extended the advantage with pinpoint three point shooting. Jude Malhi led the way with his shooting from outside and has an early 9 points for the Conquerors. Sophomore Braeden Lloyd score an early 7 points for the Rockets.</p> <p>Second Quarter: MSM 24 VC 28</p> <p>After the slow start by the Rockets, they roared back thanks to outstanding play from Braeden Lloyd. He has 12 first half points, many coming in the second frame. After knocking down three pointers, the sophomore started getting to the rim with tough shot making on contested looks. He then even displayed good vision with nice assists, allowing Mount Saint Mary to take a brief lead. Udoumoh settled down Victory Christian by imposing his will off drives to the basket. The senior guard has 8 points and 6 rebounds at the half. </p> <p>Third Quarter: MSM 37 VC 45</p> <p>It’s safe to assume the message in the Victory Christian locker-room in halftime emphasized the size advantage Victory has. Udoumoh, Patton, Solomon Granderson all exerted their will around the rim with blocks, putbacks and more. That physical play allowed Victory to extend their halftime lead back to double digits at time. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1068572" first="CJ" last="Johnson"] gave the Rockets a boost to end the quarter with a tough old fashion three-point play. But a bad foul on a last second shot by Udoumoh sent the senior to the line for three free throws to close out the quarter. He would hit two.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>FINAL: MSM 53 VC 60</p> <p>At one point late in the final frame, the Rockets had cut the lead to only three. But a questionable technical foul call on MSM gave Victory a chance to extend their lead. After the free throws, the Conquerors took advantage with a Udoumoh drive to the rim giving them a comfortable lead. Three Victory Christian players would end the game in double figures. Udoumoh had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Patton also had a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. While sharpshooting Malhi led the way with 18 points, including 4 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc. Lloyd finished his season very strongly for the Rockets with 16 points and 6 rebounds. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>#12 Weatherford vs #3 Heritage Hall</strong></p> <p>First Quarter: Eagles 22 Chargers 15</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1164868" first="Cade" last="Jennings"] could not be stopped in the first quarter. The senior guard has a silky handle that allows him to create space for his jumper on the perimeter. He knocked down multiple three pointers for 12 first quarter points to give the Eagles an early lead over Heritage Hall</p> <p>Second Quarter: Eagles 38 Chargers 28</p> <p>Jennings continued his hot shooting into the second frame. Proof of the heat check that he was on fire came when a shot hit the rim, bounced into the sky then in for another triple. He finished the half with 20 points. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="1391435" first="CJ" last="Nickson"] nailed a pair of threes, while also getting physical inside on his way to 13 points. Talented junior [player_tooltip player_id="981286" first="Sebastian" last="Perry"] gave the Chargers some life to end the second quarter with a big jumper and tough finish through contact. He has 8 points. <br /> <br /> </p> <p>Third Quarter: Eagles 57 Chargers 48</p> <p>Another hot shooting start had Weatheford threatening to run away with it. But a steal and score by Perry sparked Heritage Hall into outstanding defense to end the frame. They were able to speed up the game and turn over the Eagles multiple times. Weatheford eventually settled back down, and a halfcourt shot by Jennings nearly went in at the buzzer. </p> <p>Final: Weatherford 77 Heritage Hall 63</p> <p>After the initial havoc created by Heritage Hall’s press, Weatherford was able to figure it out in the fourth quarter. They routinely broke the press and built their lead back into double digits. Jenninngs would finish the game with 32 points and 5 assists. Nickson was a rebound shy of a double double with 18 points and 9 rebounds. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>#1 Kingfisher vs Blanchard</p> <p>Halftime: Yellowjackets 22 Lions 13</p> <p>As it often is, Kingfisher’s offense is death by a 1,000 paper cuts. In this case the paper cuts are passing and off the ball movement. It’s very rare that they take a bad shot, as many of their possessions end with an open layup or jumper. Because of this they have a very balanced scoring attack. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1211253" first="Xavier" last="Ridenour"] leads the way with 7 points, while fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id="1211251" first="Maddox" last="Mecklenburg"] hit a pair of early three pointers for 6 points. </p> <p>Final Kingfisher 41 Blanchard 28</p> <p>A pair of three pointers from [player_tooltip player_id="1200313" first="Chase" last="Davis"] extended Kingfisher’s lead to start the third quarter. Blanchard showed good resolve not to let the floodgates opened but they were unable to make any headway in the rest of the game. As the top ranked Yellowjackets slowly squeezed the life out of Blanchard in their victory. Ridenour finished with a game high 11 points, while Davis and Mecklenburg chipped in with 9 and 8 points respectively. </p> <p>#4 Crossings Christian vs #11 Holland Hall</p> <p>Halftime: Knights 26 Dutch 22</p> <p>Guard play. Guard play. It’s critical in March. It’s why Crossings Christian built a first half lead over Holland Hall. [player_tooltip player_id="955383" first="Reid" last="Lovelace"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1358852" first="Cal" last="Furnish"]’s ability to put the pressure on the defense in the first half was critical for them. Both of them have to be respected from three, while also being able to knife inside and score or dish to others when the defense collapses on them. For Holland Hall junior [player_tooltip player_id="1068564" first="Jadon" last="Cool"] has 9 points. He flashes moments of take over ability as a big physical and athletic guard. He’ll also need to get more active on the glass, and he only has 2 rebounds at the half.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Second Half: Knights 39 Dutch 39</p> <p>A close second half came down to the final moments. After trailing for much of the game, [player_tooltip player_id="1211248" first="Nate" last="Mullendore"] gave the Dutch a brief lead late in the fourth quarter. The clutch freshman Furnish immediately answered with a tough pull up jumper. In the closing moments Crossings had an opportunity to win it. But the hero from Holland Hall’s State Championship football team came up with a big turnover and raced down court. Unfortunately for the Dutch his game winner rimmed out. Leading to overtime between the closely match squads.</p> <p>Final in OT: Knights 45 Dutch 40</p> <p>Using their experienced guard play, Crossings ran clock in overtime. Finally they got a good luck when Lovelace was able to slip through the defense and score an acrobatic finish at the rim. Free throws and drawn charges on defense would help the Knights salt away the victory and advance to the Semifinals to face Kingfisher on Friday. Lovelace had a game high 16 points, 5 of them coming in the extra frame. Furnish had 9 points. While Jaden Tarver led the Dutch with 12 points and Cool had 10 points and 8 rebounds.</p>