Bartlesville Day Three Top Standouts
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Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Prep Hoops Oklahoma was in Bartlesville for the championship game and the third place game on Saturday afternoon. The action began with Millwood holding off a…
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Prep Hoops Oklahoma was in Bartlesville for the championship game and the third place game on Saturday afternoon. The action began with Millwood holding off a furious rally from Bartlesville and escaping with a 71-68 victory in the third place game. In the championship game, Carl Albert jumped to an early lead and would ice the game late, beating Bixby 58-49. After going 1-2 in the Mustang tournament a week ago, the Titans rebounded by capturing the tournament title in Bartlesville.
Below, we take a look at the top performers from Saturday’s games featuring players from Bartlesville, Bixby, Carl Albert and Millwood.
The Bruins came up short in their comeback attempt on Saturday afternoon but it wasn’t from a lack of effort from their star junior David Castillo David Castillo 6’1″ | PG Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) | 2024 #80 Nation KS . After a quiet first half where he had 10 points at the break, Castillo would not be contained in the second half. He scored 25 of his game-high 35 points in the third and fourth quarters as he helped bring the Bruins back into this game and he had a shot at the buzzer to send this game into overtime but it was off the mark. Castillo had a bit of a slow start and the Millwood defense really gave him fits early on. However, once that shot started to fall, everything else fell into place and Castillo showed why he’s one of the top overall prospects in the state. Castillo also showcased the ability to get his teammates involved. Castillo wasn’t a one man band. The Bruins had a couple other players finish in double figures on Saturday afternoon.
Castillo wasn’t the only top-ranked prospect in Saturday afternoon’s match-up. Millwood sophomore Jaden Nickens Jaden Nickens 6’3″ | CG Douglass | 2025 State OK is the top-rated prospect in the state’s 2025 class and he got out to a quick start on Saturday. He would finish with a team-high 24 points and he got into double figures fairly early in the game. Nickens was the biggest benefactor from all of the Bartlesville turnovers in the first half. He would get out on the break quickly on a turnover and was able to throw down a few dunks in the first half to give the Falcons the lead and all the momentum they could handle. Nickens would have a quiet third quarter comparatively speaking but he would close out the game strong. As the Bruins would make their run in the fourth quarter, it was Nickens that routinely converted on the other end with buckets at the rim or knocking down shots at the charity stripe.
Taking home tournament MVP honors was senior guard Jordan England Jordan England 6’2″ | CG Carl Albert | 2023 State OK . The senior standout would finish with 11 points in the tournament title game but his MVP honors were earned for his consistent play throughout the tournament. He wasn’t the leading scorer in Saturday’s game against the Spartans but his impact was certainly felt throughout. That’s why England is one of the more underrated players in the state’s 2023 class. Now, he’s a player that we’ve been writing about for the last eight months and he’s earned all of the recognition. England can impact a game in a variety of ways. Earlier in the tournament, he had a performance where he went 7-9 from beyond the arc. The Titans didn’t need him to fill it up from the perimeter on Saturday. He played within the flow of the offense and was a calming presence as Bixby tried to rally. Keep an eye on the lefty and the Titans.
Bixby came up short in the tournament title game on Saturday but their senior standout and Notre Dame signee Parker Friedrichsen Parker Friedrichsen 6’4″ | SG Bixby | 2023 State #165 Nation OK showed once again why he’s one of the top players in the state. He would finish with a team-high 19 points and the Titans made things incredibly difficult throughout the evening but they weren’t going to be able to hold Friedrichsen down for long. One thing that stood out today about his game was his defense on the ball. We know Friedrichsen can shoot and can absolutely fill it up from anywhere on the floor. But his quick hands on defense set the Spartans up with easy opportunities on the offensive end of the floor. His passing also continues to improve as he set up his teammates time after time. Friedrichsen and the Spartans now have a three-game home stand where they’ll host Sapulpa, Booker T Washington and Union before their next tournament in two weeks.
Highlights
While Jordan England Jordan England 6’2″ | CG Carl Albert | 2023 State OK was the overall MVP for the tournament, the MVP of Saturday’s win for Carl Albert was junior guard Quincy Hopkins Quincy Hopkins 6’3″ | SF Carl Albert | 2024 State OK . It was apparent very early on that Bixby was going to have a tough time slowing down Hopkins. He started the game with eight quick points as the Titans built a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes. Hopkins would end up leading the game in scoring with 23 points. Last week, Hopkins was one of the top players in the Mustang tournament but it was mainly his athleticism that jumped off the page last week. On Saturday, when Hopkins got out to that quick start, he was knocking down a pair of shots from the perimeter. In addition to that, Hopkins was incredibly strong with the basketball in his hands. He puts a defender on his hip and they can’t do anything with him. Hopkins is a 2024 prospect on the rise and appears to be gaining more and more confidence.
Nickens wasn’t alone in the Millwood offensive onslaught on Saturday afternoon. Junior guard Xon Williams Xon Williams 6’2″ | PG Millwood | 2024 State OK had plenty of range and that was on full display as he would finish with 17 points. He did the majority of his damage from the perimeter and really started heating up in the second and third quarters. Williams was also a key part of the defensive pressure that led to a lot of those Millwood run outs that ended with easy buckets for Nickens. Williams is known more as a scorer but his defense in the Millwood backcourt was fun to watch as they gave the Bruins quite a few problems throughout the day. And when Williams started heating up from beyond the arc, that was clutch down the stretch. Every time Bartlesville would make a run and close the gap, Williams and the Falcons were right there and would respond with a quick basket to keep the Bruins at bay.