Class 4A State Tournament Preview

<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/4A-Boys-1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1402890" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/4A-Boys-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> With the OSSAA's new format that allows every Class 4A-2A team to play at least one game in the Big House at the Fairgrounds, State Tournament weekend has grown to a five day event. Tipping off on Tuesday will be Class 4A. Kingfisher and Heritage Hall have played each in the last three Class 4A State Championship games. While both teams are in the field, there is more of a feeling this year that there could be new blood in the title game on Saturday in the Big House. Let's take a look at the teams and players that will make Class 4A exciting this week.   THE MATCH-UPS #10 Mount St. Mary (21-4) VS #2 Victory Christian (23-4) Tuesday - 4:30 PM - The Fairgrounds HOW THEY GOT HERE Mount St. Mary: The Rockets enter the State Tournament with a 16 game winning streak. In the playoffs they opened with a blowout of Stigler in districts, before narrow wins over Broken Bow and Classen SAS earned the Rockets a Regional Championship. Then this past Friday, they punched their ticket with an Area Championship 47-46 victory over Perkins-Tyron. Victory Christian: The Conquerers have been ranked as one of the best teams in the state all season long. Their playoff path was looking like smooth sailing after double digit victories over Dewey and Inola. But then a 44-43 loss to rivals Holland Hall put them into "win or go home" mode for Area. They responded with a 47-41 win over Verdigris and then took overtime to dispatch Hilldale 53-43. On Saturday night they hammered top 10 Stillwell, 63-37 to earn a trip back to the State Tournament. THE PLAYERS Mount St. Mary: Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1068572" first="CJ" last="Johnson"] has stepped up in a big way the second half of the season and averages a team high 13 points per game. The only other Rocket in double figures is sophomore Braeden Lloyd, who is averaging 12.2 points per game. Senior guards Robert Kalso (8.4 points per game) and Tay Prestridge (9.6 point per game) are also key starters. Victory Christian: Victory Christian has one of the older teams in the field, and led by one of the top athletes in the state, [player_tooltip player_id="1158048" first="Joshua" last="Udoumoh"]. He's averaging 18.4 points per game this season and is a mega athlete at 6 foot 4. He's sure to be a crowd favorite this week with the steals, blocks and slams he racks up. At 6 foot 6 Luke Patton averages 10.8 points per game and gives them an edge around the rim. The others seniors in the starting lineup at Jude Malhi and Solomon Granderson, averaging 9.5 and 7.5 points per game respectively. The lone non senior in the starting lineup is sophomore guard Michael Doctor.   #12 Weatherford (22-6) VS #3 Heritage Hall (17-6) Tuesday - 6:00 PM - The Fairgrounds HOW THEY GOT HERE Weatherford: The Western Oklahoma squad opened the playoffs with an impressive 82-51 win over Western Heights. They then had strong back to back wins in regionals over Oklahoma City Douglass and Tulsa Central to secure the Regional Crown. This past Friday night in Area, they lost to conference rival Kingfisher which set up another match up with Douglass. After only beating the Trojans by three points in regionals, the Eagles soared to new heights with the 78-55 victory to earn a State Tournament berth.   Heritage Hall: A fixture in the Class 4A State Tournament, the Chargers have been rolling in February and early March. The end of the regular season featured double digit wins over Millwood and Crossing Christian. Then in the playoffs they blew out Harding Charter and Planview. Before a sterner test against Newcastle, that they still won 62-54. Then against 5th ranked Tuttle, they won 59-48, which secured the Chargers their State Tournament spot   THE PLAYERS Weatherford: Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1164868" first="Cade" last="Jennings"] has been one of the top players in Class 4A season with an average of 18.2 points per game. But he's not the leading scorer for the Eagles. Freshman phenom [player_tooltip player_id="1391435" first="CJ" last="Nickson"] averages 18.3 point per game. Nickson is a 6'6 athletic and strong froward that will likely be one of the most dominant forces in the Big House this week. Two more freshmen play key roles for Weatherford, with the Sage brothers. Tate Sage is a starter and averages 8 points per game, while brother Ethan comes off the bench with 4.4 points per game.   Heritage Hall: Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="981286" first="Sebastian" last="Perry"] was sidelined with an injury for a portion of the season, but is fresh off a 25 point, 4 three pointer performance in their Area championship victory over Tuttle. Fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id="1068566" first="CJ" last="Smith"] is an athletic wing who last year scored a game winning putback against Holland Hall in the Class 4A State Quarterfinals. Smith and Perry give the Chargers one of the better one-two punches in the field.   #1 Kingfisher (25-1) VS Blanchard (16-12) Tuesday - 7:30 PM - The Fairgrounds HOW THEY GOT HERE Kingfisher: The Yellowjackets are no strangers to the State Tournament with this being their sixth straight Class 4A state tournament appearance. In those last six, they have won three championships including last year's title. Their only loss on the season came in January against Class 5A El Reno. In the playoffs, they ran through Harrah, Woodward, Mannford and Weatherford with four victories by 20 points or more. Their current average margin of victory in the playoffs is by 25.8 points. For more on the background of the top ranked Class 4A Yellowjackets, <a href="https://prephoops.com/2022/01/kingfisher-ph-circuit-challenges-lead-to-winter-success/">check out this article from January.</a>   Blanchard: The only unranked team in the Class 4A State Tournament field, the Lions navigated a loaded Area and made the State Tournament over top 10 ranked rivals Tuttle and Newcastle. They started the playoffs with quality wins over North Rock Creek and Anadarko. In the regional championship, they lost 38-29 to rival Tuttle. That loss put them in the position to need to win three games in three days at area. They responded by defeating Ada, then North Rock Creek for the second time in the playoffs. On Saturday night they faced Tuttle for the second time last week and fourth time this season. The Lions got their revenge with a 46-44 victory to punch their ticket to state.   THE PLAYERS Kingfisher: Kingfisher had to replace all five starters, including two Division One players from last year's roster. This starting group of four juniors and a senior have not missed a step all year. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1211253" first="Xavier" last="Ridenour"] is the leading scorer for the team at 14.0 points per game and has proven that he call hit from distance and also get to the rim. [player_tooltip player_id="1211251" first="Maddox" last="Mecklenburg"] and Caden Kitchens both make contributions that go beyond the state sheet as 6'1 juniors that play bigger than their size and bring versatility to their roster. The lone senior starter [player_tooltip player_id="1200313" first="Chase" last="Davis"] averages in double figures with 10.3 and helps provide an inside presence at 6'5.   Blanchard: The Lions are anchored by a strong junior class, with juniors Jaxon Laminack (5'8) and Cole Milan (6'4) both averaging 12 points a game. 6'4 Riley Langford is the lone senior in the starting line and he's averaging 6 points per game. Off the bench are a pair of promising sophomores in Carson Cooksey (5'8) and Ross Johnston (6'6), they average 6 and 7 points per game respectively.   #4 Crossings Christian (19-7) VS #11 Holland Hall (18-7) Tuesday - 9:00 PM - The Fairgrounds HOW THEY GOT HERE Crossing Christian: After winning Class 3A last season, the Knights were bumped up to Class 4A. They're a battled tested team with a scheduled filled with match ups against ranked teams from 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A. The Knights opened the playoffs with comfortable wins over Cushing and Muldrow, but fell to Perkins-Tyron in the Regional Championship. Due to the previous winter weather they only had one day before needing to win three games in three days to make State. They opened Area with a 61-41 win over Byng, then followed that up by defeating Classen SAS 57-48. On Saturday night with a State Tournament bid on the line, they avenged their early loss to Perkins-Tyron with a 47-42 win Holland Hall: Since joining the OSSAA from the Southwest Preparatory conference, the Dutch have become a fixture in the state tournament with this being their fourth consecutive appearance. Double digit victories over Miami and Catoosa set up a Regional Championship match up against Victory Christian. Holland Hall had lost the two previous match ups against the highly ranked Conquerors but this past Tuesday they toughed out a 44-43 victory. Then in the Area Championship, they took down top 10 Stillwell 61-45 to punch their ticket to State. THE PLAYERS Crossing Christian: Games in March are often decided by backcourt play and the Knights will enter the tournament with a dynamic duo of senior [player_tooltip player_id="955383" first="Reid" last="Lovelace"] and freshman [player_tooltip player_id="1358852" first="Cal" last="Furnish"]. Lovelace missed a good chunk of his senior season with an ankle injury suffered in the Tournament of Champions in December. Since returning, he's been an efficient scorer and a big factor in their run to the Class 4A State Tournament. Just like he was last season when he hit the game winning three pointer in the Class 3A State Title game against Beggs. Freshman Furnish has similar clutch bonafides, as he nailed a game winner against Class 2A powerhouse Cashion in the Tournament of Champions. He played a big role in keeping Crossing winning when Lovelace was injured and now enters the State Tournament with the savviness of an upperclassman. Holland Hall: The Dutch have a trio scoring in double figures, led by athletic junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1068564" first="Jadon" last="Cool"] averaging 16.6 points. Sophomore lead guard [player_tooltip player_id="1295700" first="Carter" last="Benton"] is second on the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game and junior [player_tooltip player_id="1211248" first="Nate" last="Mullendore"] also scores 10.6 points per game. Ethan Rouse, hero of the Holland Hall State Championship football team and Jaden Tarver are the pair of seniors that round out the stating five.