Class A Quarterfinals: Live Blog

The calendar has turned to March and the Madness has begun for Class A in Oklahoma City.     Rattan 75 Okarche 60   The second ranked Rams of Rattan got off to a nervy start. It might have been the bright lights of the Big House or the pressure by Okarche, as turnovers and fouls were early issues for Rattan. As the game progressed they settled in and even took a narrow lead after the first frame. By halftime, they had extended their advantage to a 33-26 lead. Junior Keegan Robertson battled foul trouble, only playing 6 minutes in the first half but still had a team high 10 points at the break.   In the second half is when Rattan fully settled in and blew the game wide open. The turnovers became few and far between, as they picked apart the press leading to easy scores at the rim. Sophomore James Childers feasted at the rim and in transition. He scored a team high 22 points for the Rams, 14 of them coming after the break.   After being upset in regionals, Rattan entered the tournament via the Consolation Championship. This victory was their fourth straight, with the last three coming against top 10 ranked teams. Their average margin of victory over these four has been by 13 points. The Regionals hiccup seems to have fully woke up the Rams, as they could be on a collision course with top ranked Caddo on Saturday. It would be the second match up between the two southern Oklahoma schools, with Caddo prevailing 55-53 in overtime in late January.   Okay 58 Texhoma 40   It was an electrifying start for Okay sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1625042' first='Diezel' last='Davis']. He drained three triples in the opening moments of the game, scoring his team's first 11 points. The Mustangs would never look back, as they had a wire to wire lead in this decisive victory. After that amazing start from Davis, he started to be faced guarded by Texhoma. That slowed him down, he kept moving, was a willing passer and the Mustangs' offense kept flowing. The Red Devils had momentary runs but never could quite get over the hump. They hit a jumper late in the third quarter that had the deficit down to 6. But the Mustangs had an immediate response. From who else but Davis. He raced down the court, draining a deep three from the OSSAA logo, putting his team back in command 46-37 to end the quarter.   As a team, Okay was on fire from three. They went 10-19 from the perimeter. While also earning 23 trips to the charity stripe. Davis was their only player to break into double figures with 18 points on the day. This victory sets up a huge match for the fourth ranked Mustangs as they take on Rattan at 4:30 PM on Friday, with a Class A State Title game appearance on the line.   Seiling 59 Liberty 51   Defense wins championships. Today, defense is what allowed Ceiling to advance to the Class A semifinals on Friday. For much of the second half, they had the interior walled off. Forcing Liberty to shoot from distance, where they went 7-26 from beyond the arc. In the closing moments of the game, juniors Jesse Cargil and [player_tooltip player_id='1189049' first='Trent' last='Thompson'] were finally able to find cracks in the Wildcats defense. They both attacked the rim with new levels of energy and intensity and were able to get the lead to down as little as 5 points. But the double digit deficit proved to be too much of a hill for the Tigers to claim and Ceiling proved victorious.   When the teams traded blows in the first half, it was early hot shooting from junior guard Brock Gore hitting from beyond the arc three different times. An ankle injury derailed his game in the second quarter, but he stepped up with a couple good fourth quarter finishes to keep the Tigers at bay. Gore finished with 13 points. The other Wildcats in double figures were fellow juniors Kaden Manuel and Hudson Hamar. Manuel, a burly football standout as well, score a team high 19 points while also grabbing 9 rebounds. Hamar was consistently effective at gliding by opponents on drives, scoring 15 points.     Caddo 51 Drummond 34   The Bruins entered the tournament as the top seed in large part because of junior standout [player_tooltip player_id='1482827' first='DJ' last='Dill']. Neither Dill or the Bruins disappointed in opening round action, as they cruised throughout. Dill was especially impressive in the first half with 19 points on only 8 shots. He finished with a game high 29 points, including an exclamation slam before checking out with a few minutes remaining. Joining Dill in double figures was fellow Carson Culbreath who had 11 points.   Caddo's defense was no slouch either, as they held the Bulldogs to 33% shooting from the field. The lone bright spot for the unranked Bulldogs from Drummond was sophomore Colton Dillingham, who scored 17 points.   The victory for the Bruins also sets the field for Friday's semifinal. With Caddo taking on Seiling at 6 PM on Friday. The Wildcats could provide a tougher task for Dill off the dribble, but based on today his combination of athleticism, skill and feel has him looking a cut above the rest of the competition.

The calendar has turned to March and the Madness has begun for Class A in Oklahoma City.