What we learned from Friday's high school basketball tournaments in OKC metro area
Basketball tournaments continued Friday across the Oklahoma City area.
Here's a look at what happened:
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John Nobles Invitational
Girls: Choctaw 41, Midwest City 37
Jazmin Adams had it going on Friday night.
The 6’0 junior post from Choctaw grabbed a rebound and laid the ball back up through traffic.
Adams dominated from the low post area and combined with a made 3-pointer in the first quarter which gave the Yellowjackets the momentum to pull through in a hard-fought battle with Midwest City.
Choctaw bested Midwest City 41-37 to advance to an undefeated 12-0 record and the John Nobles Invitational championship game in Moore.
Choctaw and Midwest City were nearly identical in the first half, resulting in a 20-18 Choctaw lead after Raven Jackson dumped the ball off to Hannah Smith for a first-half buzzer-beater layup.
Midwest City was led by guard Bryanna Williams and post player De’Yanna Douglas. Williams turned in 12 points on good outside shooting with two 3-pointers and Douglas finished with nine.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome, Adams’ 17 points and the playmaking of Jackson and Kylee Hunt.
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Girls: Kansas Bishop Miege 47, Moore 45
Moore put itself in a position to win.
Down by three points, Moore’s Kayla Jones took one dribble in the post and flung a right-handed hook shot over the defender to make it a one-point game with just under a minute left.
And after Kirston Verhulst made just one of two free throws, Moore had a chance to tie. But after Kirston Verhulst split her free throws, Moore had to travel the full floor to get a shot to tie.
The heave was blocked near half-court.
Kansas Miege bested Moore 47-45 in the semifinal of the John Nobles Invitational.
Moore had three scorers in double figures. Madeline Bills put in 11 and Albony Bryles and Jones both turned in 10.
Miege’s Verhulst was too much with 14 points. When she wasn’t knocking down 3-pointers, Verhulst was getting to the free-throw line where she made 5-of-6 including the final basket.
Boys: Moore 68, Westmoore 57
Chiante Tramble dribbled away from the baseline and saw Marcus Dockins Jr. standing at the 3-point line. Tramble fired the pass to the Moore star, who took one dribble and then drained the bucket.
On the ensuing play, Tramble went coast-to-coast, made a euro step between two defenders and finished at the rim.
Tramble was all over the floor on Friday night and it helped Moore build a big first-half lead and coast the rest of the way.
Moore topped Westmoore 68-57 to advance to the John Nobles Invitational championship game. Moore finally at full-strength this season, played some of its best basketball in the semifinal matchup.
Six different players scored with Tramble (19), Dockins Jr. (17), Malachi Lee (13) and Darian Grant (13) leading the way. Moore overpowered Westmoore from the start, taking a 21-5 lead in the first quarter.
Westmoore wasn't able to get much production until the second half. That's where Zach Hays began his great shooting, finishing with 17 points and three 3-pointers. Evan Barber helped him with 12 points but the Jaguars couldn't come back from its first-half deficit.
Boys: Southmoore 66, Ardmore 59
Ryan Guerrero made big shot after big shot.
In the fourth quarter with Ardmore trying to make a comeback, Guerrero glided towards the rim from the right side and laid the ball up with his left hand to make it an eight-point game.
Guerrero had been on fire all night, knocking down five 3-pointers to finish with 24 points, but his layup with 30 seconds left was the most important.
Southmoore took down Ardmore 66-59 in the semifinal of the John Nobles Invitational. The two teams had it going from the outside combining for 20 made 3-pointers — Southmoore with 11 and Ardmore with nine.
After falling behind, Southmoore turned it on in the third quarter to take full control of the game. The SaberCats outscored Ardmore 25-11 in the quarter and Guerrero played a big part in that, knocking down three of his five 3-pointers.
Ardmore’s duo of DD Coleman and Jordyn Brown were nearly unstoppable with Coleman turning in 24 points and Brown following with 22 to score nearly three-quarters of Ardmore’s points.
Along with Guerrero, Jesse Ledbetter helped with 12.
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Titan Classic
Boys: Carl Albert 52, Destiny Christian 40
Jordan England drove his way to the basket and rose amongst the numerous Destiny Christian defenders.
Carl Albert’s junior guard quickly got his layup off before the swaying arms could block his shot, and it dropped in the bucket. Even with the length Destiny Christian had defensively, it didn’t phase the Titans.
5A third-ranked Carl Albert outlasted Destiny Christian 52-40 in the semifinals of the Titan Classic on Friday at Carl Albert. England scored 13 points, Tashawn James had 14 and the Titans were able to get an early lead and never give it up.
Destiny Christian kept it close in the first quarter by hitting four 3s, but the second quarter was slow for both teams. Only eight total points were scored, four for each team, and neither team could find a rhythm.
In the third quarter, England and James helped spark Carl Albert’s offense. The Titans (10-4) were able to pull away and ward off Destiny Christian’s late comeback attempt.
Norman 61, Edmond North 58
The Norman boys basketball team has turned a corner in the past two weeks.
After the first round of the McGuinness Classic, the Tigers had won only one game yet were close in so many. In Cory Cole’s first year, Norman came so close, but it continued searching for its signature win.
The Tigers got it Friday night.
Norman upset 6A No. 6 Edmond North 61-58 on Friday in the semifinals of the Titan Classic. Cory Cole scored nine points in the fourth quarter and 20 in the game, including two late free throwd to help seal the victory. The Tigers will face Carl Albert for the title at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Norman is 5-1 in the past 15 days, but Friday’s win was big for a young team that has been so close.
Only three days ago, Edmond North beat Norman in a regular-season matchup. That wasn’t meant to be Friday.
Matt Willenborg led all scorers with 21 points, including nine in the second quarter to help Norman (6-8) erase an almost double-digit deficit. Then he was again big in the fourth quarter, along with Cole, scoring six points.
Edmond North’s Dylan Warlick finished with 19 while TO Barrett had 14, but Cole was dynamic on both sides of the ball. He forced turnovers, hit a 3 and made four of his five free throws in the final frame to help Norman come away with a win.
Bartlesville 71, McAlester 70
In a matchup of stars, Bartlesville's David Castillo came out on top.
Bartlesville topped McAlester 71-70 on Friday in a consolation matchup at the Carl Albert Titan Classic. Castillo, a sophomore guard, scored 25 points and was stellar in the second half to lead the Bruins to a come-from-behind victory. McAlester senior guard Adante' Holiman was also strong, scoring 27.
Holiman surpassed the 2,000-point mark for his career with a first-quarter layup.
McAlester got off to a quick start and led by as many as 20 before Bartlesville won the second, third and fourth quarters to come away with a narrow victory. McAlester nearly came back in the fourth quarter itself, but Bartlesville was able to run clock down and preserve the victory.
Bartlesville will play Ada in the consolation finals at 2:30 p.m. Saturday while McAlester will play Glenpool.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What we learned from Friday's high school tournaments in OKC metro area
