BOYS BASKETBALL: McLain ends Cardinals' season in Area consolation
Mar. 5—Verdigris made a habit of digging itself out of holes this season, but that trick finally ran out of magic Thursday night.
The ninth-ranked Cardinals failed to overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of the Class 4A Area IV Tournament's first-round consolation, resulting in a 61-50 season-ending loss to unranked McLain at Checotah High School. They entered the game with 20 wins, winning 10 of those by single digits.
"We just dug ourselves too big of a hole to climb out from," said Verdigris coach Chris Houk, whose squad lost only three games this season. "McLain is really good, and we knew that coming in. They were unranked all year, but they definitely should've been in the top 10; them and Wagoner. We knew it'd be tough, and unfortunately it just got away from us in the third."
The Cardinals (20-3) trailed 20-19 at halftime and took the lead for a couple of possessions in the third quarter, but that is when Elmor Galloway took over for McLain.
After scoring only two points in the first half, Galloway tallied nine of the Titans' 18 points during the third and sparked an 11-0 run that ultimately decided the game. He finished with a team-high 17 points, as did Kejuan McCall.
Khalil Liggins also entered double figures with 10 points.
"(Galloway) didn't play much in the first half, and he comes in the third quarter and scores nine of their 18," Houk said. "We scored eight in that third quarter, so they outscored us by 10, and they beat us by 11. That was the quarter that really got us."
Verdigris had its best quarter in the fourth with 23 points — and improvement of 12 points from the second highest — but McLain managed to equal that with plenty of trips to the free-throw line in the closing minutes.
The Titans made 13-of-24 free throws in the fourth and took 37 total, shooting 56.8% from the line. The Cardinals shot nearly half as many at 20, making 16.
Verdigris seniors Trent Haddock and Jaren Keith combined for 20 points in the final eight minutes and accounted for 56% of the team's total points. Haddock finished with 20 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth, while Keith added 18.
The Cardinals' 6-foot-7 center Lucas Lechlider managed only four points and was held scoreless in the second half, but Houk said it wasn't McLain's defense on the junior, specifically, that led to those low numbers.
"They put so much pressure on our guards, and our guards were just unable to really get it inside to him," Houk said. "They took our guards away and really pressured them, and we just really had trouble getting the ball to him."
Verdigris must now look ahead to a future without nightly scoring threats Haddock, Keith, Brandon Lederman and Ethan Bell. Outside of Lechlider, those four carried a bulk of the scoring load in 2020-21.
The Cardinals are also losing a key rotation player in Zander Kirby, who was the main substitute for Lechlider.
"It's definitely a positive with Lucas coming back and his progression," Houk said. "We have a good junior class and a good sophomore class that are going to help.
"We might not be as deep as we were this year, but our top eight will still be highly competitive."
