Tuesday Night Standouts (Dec. 13, 2022)
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On Tuesday night, we had some of the first games following the first coaches rankings that came out on Monday. A lot of eyes were on Class 4A on Tuesday night and 6A had a few showdowns in the Tulsa-area. In this post, we’re taking a look at some of the top individual performers from Tuesday night’s games. We spotlight some of those performances here. If we missed a top performer, let us know! Email Michael@PrepHoops.com and be sure to send in your top performer picks following the games each week!
While a lot of attention in Class 4A was on the showdown in Kingfisher, Weatherford would improve to 6-0 on the season with a 50-33 victory on the road in Cache. Leading the way was their sophomore superstar CJ Nickson CJ Nickson 6’6″ | SF Weatherford | 2025 State #309 Nation OK , who finished with 23 points in the win. Nickson is coming off an impressive performance in the Community Christian tournament last week. He helped lead them to the tourney title by beating fellow 4A contender Heritage Hall on Saturday night. The Eagles are in the middle of a road trip portion of their schedule. They have another road game on Friday against Blanchard before the winter break. Then they open up their January slate on the road against Clinton before hosting their own tournament, starting on January 5th.
Union bounced back after a tough week last week with a big win on the road against a young but talented Owasso squad on Tuesday night. Leading the way was their junior big man Erik Madrid Erik Madrid 7’1″ | C Union | 2024 State OK , who is having a fantastic start to his junior season, despite the 2-3 start as a team. Madrid would lead Union with 19 points in their win over the Rams on the road. The Redhawks have been road warriors over the last week as they are still waiting for their first home game, which comes Thursday night against Muskogee. Madrid’s size is an absolute problem for everyone Union faces and he’s going to be a double-double machine for the Redhawks this year. After going 1-3 last week, the Redhawks are back in the win column and are looking to improve to 3-3 before the TOC in two weeks.
Highlights
Westmoore dropped back to back games to Del City and Norman to finish off the Joe Lawson Invitational but they bounced back with a big road win over Deer Creek Tuesday night, beating the Antlers 63-38. Leading the way was senior guard Evan Barber Evan Barber 6’1″ | CG Westmoore | 2023 State OK , who could not be contained with a game-high 29 points on the night. Barber also reached a nice milestone in the win over the Antlers. With his 29 points on Tuesday, he would eclipse 1,000 points for his career. Barber has been considered one of the better shooters in Class 6A for the last year so that’s not surprising that he’s been able to fill up the stat sheet during his career. Westmoore has another huge road match-up on Friday night that should get plenty of attention in Class 6A. They travel to face a Moore team that has some momentum.
Highlights
Tahlequah bounced back on Tuesday night when they went on the road and knocked off Glenpool 76-66. Leading them once again was senior big man Hayden Smith Hayden Smith 6’8″ | PF Tahlequah | 2023 State OK , who is quickly rising up the ranks when it comes to prospects at his position in the 2023 class. Smith would score 20 points, grab 12 rebounds and he also added 6 assists in their win on the road. Smith has already had a few showings this year where he’s played excellent basketball. He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on moving forward. The Tigers dropped two games in a row in their tournament last week with losses to eventual champion Moore in the semifinals and then a loss to Jenks in the third place game. They return to the floor on Friday night when they travel to face Grove before winter break.
One of the bigger wins on Tuesday night took place in Catoosa as Hilldale went on the road and knocked off the Indians 81-66. It was a very impressive showing as they would outscore Catoosa 44-29 in the second half to run away with the win. Leading the way was sophomore big man Jax Kerr Jax Kerr 6’10” | PF Owasso | 2025 State OK , who finished with 24 points and nearly 10 rebounds for the Hornets. Kerr was the tallest player on the court but he has some guard skills and is pretty good with the ball in his hands. This was a big win for the Hornets considering that Catoosa had scored at least 70 points in all of their first five games this season. Kerr and the Hornets will return on the road as they face Fort Gibson and they’ve been looking forward to that one. Hilldale head coach Gary Hendrix was a longtime coach at Fort Gibson.
Carl Albert has been one of the best teams to start the 2022-2023 season and they were dominant once again on Tuesday as they went on the road and took down Midwest City 78-57. Leading the way on Tuesday night was senior guard Jordan England Jordan England 6’2″ | CG Carl Albert | 2023 State OK . The senior would finish with 22 points in the win and was once again very efficient with what he did on both sides of the ball. England has been a player that I personally have written about quite a bit over the last nine months as his game has continued to grow. The Titans have been consistent and high-scoring so far this year, scoring at least 70 points in all four of their wins. The 21-point win over Midwest City was also their “closest” win so far this season. The Titans host Ada on Friday before participating in the Mustang tourney in two weeks.
In our Monday feature, we wrote about Broken Arrow being the “beast of the east” in Class 6A this season and they got a chance to prove that again on Tuesday night when they took down Booker T Washington with a 72-55 win at home. The Tigers have had a very balanced scoring attack to start the season and one of their emerging seniors is Justice Sutton Justice Sutton 6’5″ | SF Broken Arrow | 2023 State OK . The senior is part of a very long but athletic lineup that the Tigers have unleashed on Oklahoma this season. He would lead them in scoring with 23 on Tuesday. The Tigers are 5-0 on the season and have looked impressive in all five games. They travel to Jenks on Friday night before heading to Orlando for a tournament in two weeks. Sutton is definitely a 2023 prospect that we’re going to keep our eye throughout the season.
Putnam City West continues to build momentum as one of the top teams in Class 6A. Similar to Broken Arrow, the Patriots have had a very balanced lineup on offense but one of their most consistent scoring threats has been sophomore big man Kaidon Rayfield Kaidon Rayfield 6’8″ | PF Putnam City West | 2025 State #122 Nation OK , who is quickly turning into an absolute star. He was already a top five prospect in the state’s 2025 class but his stock continues to sky rocket every time he steps on the floor. Rayfield would finish with 24 points, grab 9 rebounds and also sent away 3 shots as they would beat up on Enid on Tuesday night. All eyes will be on Rayfield and the Patriots on Saturday night when they host Del City. Rayfield will headline the match-up along with Del City big man, OSU signee and the state’s top 2023 prospect in Brandon Garrison Brandon Garrison 6’8″ | C Evans | 2023 State #33 Nation OK .
Bixby came up short at the buzzer in the Tahlequah tourney title game on Saturday night but they bounced back in a big way on Tuesday night. They went on the road and took down Sand Springs 77-72. And leading the way for the Spartans once again was their star senior guard Parker Friedrichsen Parker Friedrichsen 6’4″ | SG Bixby | 2023 State #165 Nation OK . With his future head coach in attendance, the Notre Dame signee would go off in a variety of ways on the offensive end on the floor and would score a game-high 40 points in the win for the Spartans. Bixby debuted at #10 in the 6A rankings this week and Friedrichsen is determined to help get the Spartans back into the state tournament. We’re going to get a good chance to see him in person later this week when they travel to Owasso on Friday night before the winter break.
Highlights
Death, taxes and Kingfisher winning at home. Nobody has been able to beat the top-ranked Yellowjackets on their home floor in years and Kingfisher got another big win Tuesday night in a highly-anticipated match-up with #6 Newcastle. Senior guard Xavier Ridenour Xavier Ridenour 6’2″ | CG Kingfisher | 2023 State OK would do what he’s done the last two seasons and that’s a little bit of everything. He finished with 16 points and helped lead the Yellowjackets to the 48-41 win over the visiting Racers. Kingfisher did not want to get into a track meet with the very athletic squad from Newcastle and Ridenour would lead the charge in slowing down the pace and the Yellowjackets just didn’t make many mistakes as they continue to show that they are one of the best coached teams in the state and that’s been the case for the last few years.