Jets lose heartbreaker in Regional final

Apr. 11—ENID, Okla. — NOC Enid could feel the agony of defeat after a 66-64 loss to NOC Tonkawa in the Region 2 men's championship game at the Stride Bank Center Saturday.

A three-point shot by Andrew O'Brien that would have given the Jets their first Region 2 men's basketball championship went in and out, sparking a celebration for the Mavericks, who took their first title in 21 years and heartbreak for the Jets, who finished the season at 17-5.

"It didn't come down to the last shot," said Jets coach Chris Gerber. "Over the course of the 40 minutes, there were plays that we could have made. It stings. We wanted it. We battled. They wanted it and they battled. That's the life of basketball ... I'm really proud of this group."

NOC Tonkawa coach Donnie Jackson went through both agony and delight the last few seconds.

"I'm not going to lie, I thought it was in," he said. "When it left his hand, I thought it was in. My heart was going to sink and then jubilation happened."

The win puts the 23-1 Mavericks in the national tournament at Hutchinson, Kan.— something which was denied them a year ago when COVID-19 concerns canceled the championships after NOC Tonkawa received an at-large bid.

"Our sophomores had the motto 'unfinished business,'" Jackson said. "They wanted to go more than anything."

Gerber said it was "very doubtful" the Jets would receive an at-large bid.

The first-ever NOC vs. NOC final lived up to the billing, giving retiring NOC president Dr. Cheryl Evans a memorable finale.

NOC Enid would battle on an even basis despite having five players with four fouls with nine minutes remaining (Jalen Stamps, Noah Jordan, Ikenna Okeke, Quentin Harvey and O'Brien).

The Mavericks hit 25 of 36 free throw attempts compared to 12 of 16 for the Jets.

"That's the game of basketball," said Gerber about the free throw disparity. "Those things are out of our control. Some fouls were questionable, but we don't control that. There are things that we could have done better. Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes we get the key fouls and sometimes they do."

The Jets trailed 65-59 after a free throw by tournament MVP J.D. Ray with 1:39 remaining.

The Jets, though, answered back with a three by Teyon Scanlon with 1:26 left and a layup by Jordan with 49.2 seconds remaining. Scanlan stole a pass with 36 seconds left, but Abraham Rodriguez was off on a three-pointer.

Ray, who had 24 points, was fouled with 9.1 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second. The ball was out on the Mavericks.

NOC Tonkawa knocked the ball away on the first inbounds pass, but the Jets would get the ball to Stamps, who found O'Brien open in the corner.

"I wanted the ball in Jalen's hands," Gerber said. "I knew they were there to attack him. He had a nice read. Jalen found him (O'Brien) and he had a shot open. Not having a timeout, that was the best shot that we could get and we'll take it."

Gerber comforted his players after the game.

"It was an absolute pleasure to coach these guys," he said. "The journey of this team will be forever great. All of these kids are going to be successful. That's all I want from them. One game doesn't define them. They are going to be great. As a first-year (head) coach, I was able to do everything that I wanted to do."

Stamps and Okeke were named to the all-tournament team along with the Mavericks' Ray, Avante Lederer and Tynel Morgan.

"Jalen is a special player," Gerber said. "Ikenna is really special. Jalen has the heart of a champion. We will ride or die with Jalen."

Stamps led the Jets with 18 points while Jordan had 13 and Scanlan 11. Ray (24) was joined in double figures by Morgan with 18 and Nate Goodlow with 11.

The Mavericks were only 18 of 48 from the field for 37.5%. The Jets were 22 of 49 for 44.5%.

"The guys played great," Gerber said. "They executed. I just can't express how proud I am of them."

"Chris Gerber did an excellent job," Jackson said. "What a game this was. It will go down as an epic battle."

Ray, who was in foul trouble the last NOC-NOC game, took a different mindset Saturday.

"Honestly, in this game I wanted to stay out of foul trouble and try to attack," he said. "I was proud of the way I was able to put the ball in the hole. It was a very tough game and we played a very tough opponent. We got to hit some shots and play some great defense. This makes up for last year. We have a better team and I think we can be really competitive at the national level."

NOC Tonkawa had jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes, but the Jets came back to take a 23-19 lead after Stamps concluded a 12-2 run with a layup with 6:47 left.

Stamps hit two free throws to put the Jets up 34-29 with 1:18 left, but the Mavs scored the final six points of the half to go up 35-34.

"We had our chances," Gerber said. "They just capitalized on them and we didn't. That's all right. You can always have what-ifs, and I will have a lot of them tonight. We just have to get up and continue the process of trying to be great every day. You will never have to question the heart and competitiveness of this team. They are going to be special for me forever."

Campbell is a former sports writer and current part-time writer for the News & Eagle, enidnews@enidnews.com.

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