Hornets and Sabercats shine at COP/Arvest Invitational

The basketball hotspot in the 918 this week is north of Tulsa in Bartlesville. The Bruins are hosting a mix of east and west side teams with a loaded event deep with college prospects. Let’s take a look at some of the notables from an busy opening round on Thursday. Booker T Washington 74 Stillwater 59 After a debut season marred by the stop and starts from COVID, Eli Brown in his second season has his Hornets of Booker T Washington off to a hot start. They are now 6-0 after their win over Stillwater on Thursday. And the Hornets look ready to launch into the meat of their schedule. [player_tooltip player_id="1164879" first="Aaron" last="Potter"], Senior Guard, Booker T Washington Potter was a whirlwind of production on both sides of the ball on Thursday. He’s big for a high school guard at 6 foot 4, has a big wing span, is athletic and most importantly is always in motion. In the first half he exploded with 20 points. While he hit from distance, he did a lot of his damage off the bounce and in transition. In the second half his scoring slowed but he continued to impact the game as a dynamic playmaker for others and disruptive play on the defensive end. [player_tooltip player_id="955394" first="Ijai" last="Johnson"], Senior Guard, Booker T Washington An explosive guard, Johnson’s motor ran hot all game with a productive game. He has all the physical tools to be a lock down defender. Against the Pioneers he was often locked in and that’s a good sign for the Hornets this season. In year’s past, his jumper was a weak point of his game but today he hit from mid-range off the dribble and even buried back to back triples. The improved jump shooting and athletic drives are how Johnson got to 20 points. [player_tooltip player_id="955391" first="Kam" last="Parker"], Senior Guard, Booker T Washington The senior scoring guard hit a three pointer to open the game. After that he had a quiet first half but did make a few visits to the line. In the second half, he showed his explosive scoring ability with fourth quarter scoring that helped closed the door on any rally attempt from Stillwater. Thanks to a strong fourth, Parker finished with 16. Will Ware, Senior Guard, Booker T Washington Adding to the Booker T Washington scoring punch was another senior. He hit timely jumpers in second half to help the Hornets maintain their healthy scoring margin.   Southmoore 68 Bixby 64 The Sabercats are one of the more well ran teams in 6A. Backcuts. Motion. Ball reversal. They create good scoring opportunities for their balanced attack. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="1164887" first="Ethan" last="Clark"] is the best Sabercat at creating his own shot. But he started slow, which created opportunities for other Sabercats to step up. [player_tooltip player_id="1170047" first="Ryan" last="Guerrero"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1049306" first="Keilan" last="Howard"] answered the call with good shooting performances. Combined with a late scoring flurry from Clark, the Sabercats were able to hold off 27 points from [player_tooltip player_id="967379" first="Parker" last="Friedrichsen"] and recorded a big victory over Bixby. [player_tooltip player_id="1164887" first="Ethan" last="Clark"], Senior Guard, Southmoore One of the best aspects of Clark’s game is he’s a scorer that stays composed and rarely forces bad shots. In the last week’s he’s also shown a knack for being in the right spot at the right time. Clark closed the third with a timely three, then kept finding openings to respond to every Bixby run in the final frame. While not as strong or explosive as Edmond Memorial standout Sean Pedulla, the Sabercat is reminiscent of him with his smart off the ball movement and timely scoring. The senior led Southmoore with 21 points. [player_tooltip player_id="1049306" first="Keilan" last="Howard"], Senior Guard, Southmoore Another key facet in the Southmoore attack, he particularly made his presence felt in a key third quarter stretch where they had briefly lost the lead. The senior recorded two timely triples, the first three-pointer gave his team the lead back then another extended the lead. In the middle of those threes, Howard also took a momentum shifting charge. [player_tooltip player_id="1170047" first="Ryan" last="Guerrero"], Junior Guard, Southmoore The junior lit it up from beyond the arc on his way to 19 points. He’s at his best as a spot up threat and that is how he did a good portion of his damage on Thursday night. But when ran off the line by aggressive close outs, Guerrero showed a knack for taking a few dribbles to relocate into openings and hit mid-range jumpers. [player_tooltip player_id="967379" first="Parker" last="Friedrichsen"], Junior Guard, Bixby Three-point shooting is what gets the junior guard’s foot in the door with college coaches. He showed that with a mixture of deep catch and shoot makes and off the dribble makes. But perhaps most importantly for his long-term evolution was how he grew into the game. Friedrichsen was able to attack the rim when opponents overplayed him and ended the night with a game high 27 points. To go along with the scoring ability, his defense improved throughout the night. Bixby’s best stretch as a team came in the third quarter when the junior was active in forcing turnovers and applying pressure with not only his quick hands but also moving his feet well. Tristan Driver, Freshman Guard, Bixby It’s rare to see a freshman start in Class 6A. It’s even rarer to see one who plays as composed and such a big role as Driver for the Spartans. The youngster is an important part of keeping the Spartans offense running as a passer and ballhandler. While also stepping into big three pointers. He scored 11 and showed the savviness of an older player.   Tip Ins <ul> <li>Hosts Bartlesville took care of business in the night cap against an athletic Tulsa McLain team. 5 star sophomore David Castillo had a quiet first half doing much of his damage at the free throw. He came alive in the second half to finish with 17 in the 72-45 Bruin victory. They’ll face Southmoore today</li> <li>The youngsters of Carl Albert were pushed to overtime by Bishop Kelley. In OT, Carl Albert pulled away and won 71-57 in the extra frame. The Titans have a big test against the dynamic guards of Booker T Washington today.</li> </ul>