Weatherford Snaps Kingfisher’s Streak

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first time since December of 2016, Kingfisher suffered a loss on their home floor. #3 Weatherford came to town and snapped #1 Kingfisher's 80-game home winning streak with a 51-47 win in overtime. The overtime win for Weatherford came just two weeks after falling to the Yellowjackets 61-51 in a tournament title game in Kingfisher. The Eagles rallied from a 25-15 halftime deficit to walk away with the overtime victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kingfisher certainly missed their senior [player_tooltip player_id='1211251' first='Maddox' last='Mecklenburg'], who had his knee in a wrap and the fear is that he has a torn ACL. Despite missing Mecklenburg, Kingfisher was in control in the first two quarters. They had complete control on the pace of the game and played at an all time high in terms of efficiency on offense. The Yellowjackets led 17-9 after the first quarter and then went up 25-15 at halftime. Weatherford began chipping away in the second half as more shots began to fall. The Eagles used a combination of shots falling and Kingfisher empty possessions to climb back in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Star sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1391435' first='CJ' last='Nickson'] would score five straight points to give the Eagles a 39-36 lead with just 90 seconds left. Kingfisher did get the benefit of some questionable calls in the final seconds to not only stay in the game, they had a chance to win the game as a foul was called as time expired. But the Yellowjackets would convert on just one of two free throws and we went into the extra period. With a 49-47 lead, Weatherford's Nate Reherman was the hero in OT as he swatted a Kingfisher layup away with just a few seconds left</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>WEATHERFORD'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1391435"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Weatherford superstar sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1391435' first='CJ' last='Nickson'] led all scorers with 22 points and was a big part of Weatherford's comeback in the fourth quarter. Nickson also hit a huge three pointer in overtime to give the Eagles a lead that they would never give up. Nickson 14 of his game-high 22 points after halftime. That includes dropping nine points in the fourth quarter. And Nickson had a stretch in the final minutes of the fourth quarter where he completely took over the game. He would score on back to back possessions to give the Eagles the lead. It seemed like Nickson simply could not miss in the second half after a relatively quiet first half. Nickson is a very special 2025 prospect but he's also exploded as a football prospect and might go that route in college.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1504903"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Everyone knows about Weatherford's star sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1391435' first='CJ' last='Nickson'] but the Eagles have more than one standout 2025 prospect. Fellow forward [player_tooltip player_id='1504903' first='Ethan' last='Sage'] was the other Weatherford standout that finished in double figures on Friday night. Sage would score 12 points and he was a critical part of that second half comeback. Sage joined Nickson with 8 of his 12 points coming after halftime. The dynamic 2025 duo would combine to score 19 of Weatherford's 26 points in the second half to chip away at Kingfisher's lead, eventually take the lead and push the game to overtime. Sage is definitely a prospect to keep an eye on moving forward. He's long, has some guard skills and while a lot of attention gets put on Nickson, he has proven he can make plays when he has the ball.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63de885b67465"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>KINGFISHER'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1719289"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Kingfisher senior [player_tooltip player_id='1719289' first='Caden' last='Kitchens'] continues to be arguably the most consistent player for the Yellowjackets this season. Kitchens would lead the Yellowjackets with 17 points and was incredibly efficient from the field on Friday night. Kitchens couldn't get his shot from the perimeter to fall but was about as automatic as you get near the basket. Kitchens did a great job on Friday moving without the basketball. That's what was so impressive about Kingfisher in the first half. They constantly move the basketball and even if players don't have the rock, they are constantly moving and cutting and putting more and more pressure on the defense to not let their guard down at any moment. Kitchens scored on several cuts to the basket as well as offensive put backs against a Weatherford team that had a distinct size advantage.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1211253"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"It looked like it was going to be a pretty special night for Kingfisher senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1211253' first='Xavier' last='Ridenour'] on Friday night. It didn't take long for Ridenour to bury a pair of three-pointers as the Yellowjackets built a 17-9 lead after one quarter, primarily from the perimeter. Ridenour would finish with 14 points in the win but he couldn't find his groove from the perimeter that we saw early on in the first quarter. Ridenour is one of the more underrated shooters in the state and certainly doesn't get enough credit for what he can do when his shot is falling. The duo of Ridenour and Kitchens is going to have Kingfisher in the mix once again when March rolls around but the Yellowjackets will need more players to step up over the next month with Mecklenburg done for the season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63de885b67503"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->