Sulphur Junior Racks Up Career 1,000 Points
Sulphur’s first home basketball game in two years proved to be a “good one,” said head Sulphur coach Grant Bates.
The Bulldogs played loose and confident, said Bates, and were rewarded with a 71-49 win over Lone Grove last Tuesday.
The game was held at Oklahoma School for Deaf’s gym and was the first home game for the Dogs since construction started early last year on a new gym, auditorium and other projects on the high school campus.
Bates said the Dogs had “a little more edge by getting to play a semi-home game at nearby OSD and were able to take away Lone Grove’s physicality to preserve the win.
“I am really proud of our senior group this year,” he said. “They have done a lot for the program and most importantly our culture. They have led us to a successful season on and off the court. Our locker room environment has been the best it’s ever been due to their leadership.”
Sulphur 71, Lone Grove 49 (at OSD) In the win over Lone Grove, the Dog’s Bridge Barrett had an outstanding scoring night, pumping in 27 points. He was followed by Noah Carr, 15, Devin Willis, 11, and Ethan Sales, 10, in scoring.
The Bulldogs were also given a big boost in rebounding from Colten Cole and Barrett with nine rebounds each, and Willis 7.
Cole Kirby led Sulphur in assists with 6 with Barrett, 4, and Jett Terry 3. Barrett and Carr led the team with two steals each.
Sulphur 37, Kingston 55 (at Kingston) The Dogs got off to what Bates described as a “horrible start offensively,” and were not able to carry their momentum gained in the win against Lone Grove three days earlier, and lost at Kingston last Friday.
Although they lost, it was a milestone event for Barrett, a junior, who scored his 1,000th point this season during that game.
“It is a great individual accomplishment and shows the hard work he has put in over the last three years,” Bates said of his team scoring leader.
Bates said the Dog’s slow start offensively bled over into other areas of their play on both ends of the court and the game got away from them in the second quarter.
“We made a run in the third quarter to bring the game back, but ultimately we couldn’t continue to close,” he said. “Credit Kingston for playing very well. When you play a good/talented team we can’t afford to get off to a start like we did. We will bounce back like we have before, just wasn’t our night.”
In girl’s basketball action, Sulphur played tough against a very good Kingston team last Friday in a losing effort.
District Play Begins Friday
The Kingston games were the final contests of the regular season for the two teams, and they will now enter post-season play in the district tournament which begins on Friday at Lone Grove.
Both teams will take on Pauls Valley, the girls starting at 6:00 p.m., and the boys beginning at 7:30 p.m.
PHOTO BY CARLEE SUMMERS
PHOTOS BY CARLEE SUMMERS
