Class 6A Quarterfinals Live Blog

Day three of State Tournament basketball coverage brings Class 6A into the fold with four games taking place this afternoon and evening at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. While reigning champions Edmond North loom as the likely favorites, the field does a wide open feel to it. As evident by previously undefeated Broken Arrow entering the tournament via the consolation bracket after Owasso upset them last week.   Young teams like Owasso and Deer Creek appear to be peaking at the right time and the two young teams open the session against each other. While a talented senior laden Norman team will give Broken Arrow a tough opening round opponent, as two of the largest teams in the state. A match up of last year's semifinal between Edmond North and Booker T Washington is also on the dock. While last year's runner ups Moore will take on an ascending Choctaw squad.   Check in throughout the evening for updated stats, observation and more.   Owasso vs Deer Creek   4:30 PM   1st Half   In the first half, the brights lights and huge court of the Lloyd Noble Center did not look too bright or big for Owasso's freshmen duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1552362' first='Boden' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1552319' first='Jalen' last='Montonati']. Montonati scored the Rams' first five points, including a smooth pull up triple. He would post 12 points at the break, with an impressive, composed 7 of 7 from the line. Williams played with a similar cool demeanor that was boosted when he hit an early three pointer. He also fired a great feed through traffic for an assist as he finished the half with 5 points and 5 rebounds. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1495344' first='Brandon' last='Mann'] has also contributed with 6 points, often coming around the rim with drives and power finishes.   Deer Creek struggled from beyond the arc with a 2-10 shooting performance from three. Guards [player_tooltip player_id='1807981' first='Hudson' last='Linsenmeyer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1579597' first='Clyde' last='Davis'] jr have each hit a tough contested look, but overall the duo have not been up to their usual stellar standards in the first half.   2nd Half   After doing his damage at the charity stripe in the first half, Montonati proceeded to show off the full array of his dazzling scoring package. Catch and shoot threes. Stepbacks in the midrange and from beyond the arc. Using his long arms to scoop finish by defenders at the rim. The freshman continued his torrid tear since January with 27 points. Those points combined with 14 points from bruising finishing by Mann were too much for the Antlers. Owasso at times were able to extend the lead out to over 20 points. Which allowed them to comfortably survive the comeback attempt. Junior Linsenmeyer was the only lone Antler in double figures as he had 14, with a good array of scoring.   Final   Owasso 54   Deer Creek 39   Norman vs Broken Arrow   6:00 PM   1st Half   Broken Arrow had showed a balanced scoring style all year long. Occasionally future OSU Cowboy [player_tooltip player_id='1360350' first='Connor' last='Dow'] would occasionally pop off with a big scoring game. Tonight for the second straight game, Dow has been in take over mode. It started with a deep three early in the game, moments later he was fouled on another made three. He had a quick 7. In the second quarter he would push it in transition for scores and glide by defenders on drives, with acrobatic finishes at the rim. The senior has over half of the Tigers' points with 13. BA leads 25-21   Norman is another balanced team and that held true in the first half. Sometimes it would be [player_tooltip player_id='1820415' first='Marquis' last='Combs-Pierce'] finishing with power and touch around the rim. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1820414' first='Caison' last='Cole'] hit one big three, he has a team high 5. He's been a sniper this year, and if Norman makes a move in the second half it will likely come with a few big threes from Cole.   Second Half   After trading blows in the first half, Broken Arrow delivered haymaker after haymaker throughout the third as they steadily pulled away. Dow continued his tenacious play. He finished with 22 points with the last four coming in style. One was an alley oop out of a timeout, then another was a hammer dropped in transition. The OSU signee looked every bit of a future Power 5 player. Fellow seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1603537' first='Justice' last='Sutton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1495346' first='Ethan' last='Ellison'] both hit double figures, with many of their buckets being back breakers around the rim that put nails in the Tigers' comeback attempt. This sets up a rematch from last Friday against Owasso. And it will be the fourth time Broken Arrow and Owasso meet this season, with BA holding the 3-1 edge. But Owasso won the most recent contest.   Final   Broken Arrow 55   Norman 44   Edmond North vs Booker T Washington   7:30 PM   1st Half   Does [player_tooltip player_id='1332074' first='Dylan' last='Warlick'] ever miss at Lloyd Noble Center in March? Booker T Washington and their fans have to be asking that right now. For the second straight the physical 2024 wing is once again mauling the Hornets in a State Tournament game. He has a game high 14 points that include a three pointer. Officially he has missed once, but it doesn't feel like it with how he's scoring. While Warlick is the only Husky in double figures, fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id='1367221' first='TO' last='Barrett'] has handed out 6 assists, including a nice oop to Warlick. Barrett has dazzled with vision, some fancy ball handling and one impressive "give me that" steal.   Booker T Washington went on a small run to end the quarter with a variety of young faces scoring big scores. It's kept them with striking distance. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1495345' first='Lathan' last='Boone'], a returning starter from last year's semifinalist team is in double figures with 10 points. Including a pair of threes. Still, it's the Huskies in front 31-24 with 16 to go.   2nd Half   While Booker T Washington never led in the contest, they were never fully out of it. Anytime the favorite Husky looked like they would bust the game open, the Hornets' press and pressure kept them in it. Edmond North would turn the ball over 17 times leading to 15 fast breaks points for Booker T.   Eventually, Edmond North would pull away for the 63-54 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='1332074' first='Dylan' last='Warlick'] led the way with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Along with his ferocious play in the paint, he picked up four assists. He has great chemistry in the high low, as he's often feeding cutters and post players for easy scores. Junior guards [player_tooltip player_id='1367225' first='Dontrell' last='Yearby'] and Barrett both had 10 a piece for Edmond North.   Choctaw vs Moore   9:00 PM   Whew. Where to begin.   Moore started on a 9-0 run. The Lions had the Yellowjackets in a chokehold for the first half and much of the third quarter. Choctaw's first signs of sustained life came when [player_tooltip player_id='1367216' first='Ja'Mon' last='Valentine'] hit a couple late threes to end the third frame. The momentum grew in the fourth, as Choctaw rallied to take the lead and controlled much of the final frame. In the final minute, Choctaw missed a couple chances to extend their lead. This left the door open for the Lions and [player_tooltip player_id='1367226' first='Darian' last='Grant'] stormed through it with a tough score to tie it up with 7 seconds left. Moore got a stop and 4 more minutes were needed to decide the outcome.   Choctaw took the lead in the extra frame but Grant kept on responding for the Lions. He would finish 29 points. Including a go ahead putback in the final minute of overtime. That put Moore up by 1, he then drained a pair of free throws that extended the lead to 3.   With the clock winding down, Valentine banked in a tough, deep, contested 3. That tied it. Seconds later, Valentine won it by stealing a pass at half court and racing for the game winning layup. The junior guard had 20 points, including 4 threes and 4 steals. This dramatic come from behind victory sets up a 9 PM date on Friday night with Edmond North. A rematch of last Friday's Regional Championship.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/OKHoopsReport/status/1634058362001453057?s=20 </div></figure>

Day three of State Tournament basketball coverage brings Class 6A into the fold with four games taking place this afternoon and evening at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. While reigning champions Edmond North loom as the likely favorites, the field does a wide open feel to it. As evident by previously undefeated Broken Arrow entering the tournament via the consolation bracket after Owasso upset them last week.