Sulphur Edges Lindsay In Tourney Finals
Sulphur head basketball coach Grant Bates is beginning to like what he is seeing on the court this year, especially last week when his team won four of five games in a torrid stretch, including a championship win in the Charles K. Heatly Tournament in Lindsay.
“Overall it was a good week for the boys basketball team,” said Bates. “The boys are starting to see the schemes and mindset we try to build in practice translate to the game. My belief is if we stay confident in ourselves, the team, and keep building day in and day out we will continue to grow and get better as a team.”
The Dogs began the five-game stretch in the first round of the Charles K. Heatly tournament in Lindsay on Saturday, Jan. 11, beating Duncan, 57-47. Then, on Tuesday, Jan. 14 , they went back to regular season play and cruised by Silo, 63-31, in a game where senior forward Devin Willis scored his 1,000th point as a Bulldog. The next day, the Dogs posted a second-round Lindsay tournament win over Chickasha, 54-37, then they followed that up on Thursday, Jan. 16 with 57-49 championship victory over the host Lindsay Leopards in the tournament finals.
In the final game of the long week, Bates said the team appeared physically drained and lost at Byng, 58-52.
Three Bulldog players were named to the All-Tournament team in Lindsay, including senior Bridge Barrett, who was named MVP. The other two Sulphur players making the top team were Devin Willis and Noah Carr, both seniors.
Following is a brief recap of the five games:
Charles K. Heatly Tournament Sulphur 57, Duncan 47
(FIRST ROUND)
Sulphur opened the tournament in Lindsay by battling back after dropping behind Duncan by double digits early. Duncan came out on fire, Bates said, with a good game plan and mixed up defensive looks on numerous occasions. After dropping behind, the Dogs rallied to take the lead in the second half and came home with a 10-point win. “I was proud of our resilience and the whatever it takes attitude,” Bates said of the win.
Barrett led the Dogs in scoring with 23, points and he also grabbed seven rebounds. Willis was close behind with 19 points and Cole Kirby ended with three assists in the game.
Sulphur 54, Chickasha 37 (SEMIFINALS)
In the tournament’s second round, Sulphur zipped past a veteran Chickasha Chicks team in what Bates described as the Dog’s “best performance of the year up to that point executing our game plan defensively.”
Barrett was again the leader in scoring, pouring in 32 points on the night, while Willis added 12 points and seven rebounds.
“Our guys on the ball played tenacious defense and I felt as a group we started to visibly see a mindset switch. We were able to hold them to a low total and win by 17.”
Sulphur 57, Lindsay 49 (FINALS)
Playing a home team in the finals of their tournament is always tough, said Bates, and going up against Lindsay was no exception.
In a big back-and-forth battle, the Dogs got a great team effort on both ends of the court to ease past the Leopards and capture the title.
“We had a great group effort on both ends of the court,” said Bates. “We really played as a team and for one another the entire game. I was really proud of the way they played in the tournament and they earned the right to win the championship.”
Stat leaders for the Dogs in the title win were: Devin Willis 15 points; Noah Carr 14 points; Colten Cole 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and Bridge Barrett 10 points
Regular Season
Sulphur 63, Silo 31
In their regular season game last week at Silo, the Dog’s Devin Willis was honored after the game for scoring his 1,000th point during his Bulldog career
Willis pumped in 23 points that night to lead the Dogs to an easy victory on the road. After the game, the team unfurled a banner that congratulated him for the milestone event.
We kept riding the momentum in this game,” said Bates.
“Our boys came out confident and hungry on both ends of the court. We won all four phases of the game to ultimately win by 32.”
Said Bates of Willis’ outstanding achievement, “The basketball program is thankful and proud of his commitment and hard work over the last four years.”
Other stat leaders for the Dogs included Barrett with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists,and Noah Carr 10 points.
Sulphur 52, Byng 58
In their final game of the long stretch, the Dogs lost at Byng last Friday, 58-52.
“We finished the week with our 5th game in 7 days,” said Bates. “We had a few good runs in the game, but were unable to have consistent play for all four quarters. I thought mentally we were there, just physically we didn’t have the same juice we had earlier in the week. I thought our game plan was good, we just lacked a little bit of our attention to detail in the most inopportune moments and that gave Byng the advantage at the end. ”
Barrett and Willis again emerged as stat leaders, Barrett scoring 22 points with seven boards and Willis 17 points and five boards.
After meeting Pauls Valley on Tuesday, Jan. 21, the Dogs will prep for the Washington Warrior tournament beginning this Thursday in Washington.
In girls basketball action, Sulphur endured a tough week last week, playing five games in a seven-day stretch and competed in a very tough Lindsay Tournament.
The girls have a very young team with only one senior but are improving daily, said head coach Chad Walker
“The girls are improving daily. Their effort on the court is tremendous. They take each opportunity to play/learn the game of basketball and maximize it,” he said.
Sophomore Jaden Lee made the all tournament team at the Lindsay Tournament.
