The Sulphur Bulldogs are pictured after winning the consolation title in last week’s Madill Winter Classic Tournament.
It was a very good week for the Sulphur boys, as the Dogs won three of four games en route to the consolation title at the Madill Winter Classic over the weekend.
Sulphur (4-2) beat Bethel on the road on Tuesday, winning 56-45 to open the week.
The Dogs lost to Purcell on Thursday 60-42 to open the Madill tourney.
But Sulphur bounced back with two wins over the weekend.
Sulphur beat Boswell on Friday 55-46 to advance to the consolation finals where they won 54-50 over Durant.
“It was a pretty good week of basketball for us,” said Sulphur head coach Grant Bates. “Our guys are getting better every game and that’s all you can ask for as a coach with a young group.”
The Dogs were at Byng on Tuesday and will close out play before Christmas at Pauls Valley on Friday.
“We just need to keep playing possession by possession basketball and improving on our weaknesses to remain competitive and to compete with the best teams on our schedule coming up,” Bates said.
Sulphur 56, Bethel 45
Sulphur got up big last Tuesday and held on late in a big road win at Bethel.
The Dogs led 19-14 after a quarter and 29-19 at halftime.
“Bethel is a historic basketball program and its always good to go into that environment and get a win,” Bates said.
Bethel cut into the lead in the 2nd half, getting as close as seven but the Dogs were able to keep the Wildcats at bay.
“I thought we did a good job controlling the game. We just didn’t finish the game very well.”
Sulphur shot 50% from the floor and 50% from three (9-of-18) in the win.
Junior Devin Willis led the way for Sulphur with 18 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-3 from deep to go along with three assists.
Senior Trace Todd had 11 points and seven rebounds, while fellow senior Marcus Smith had 11 points and four assists won 5-of-6 shooting.
Sophomore Bridge Barrett had nine points and four assists in the win, while fellow sophomore Briar Davenport had five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
The Dogs shared the ball at a tremendous level, assisting on 17 of 20 made baskets.
Purcell 60, Sulphur 42 After a hot start and a first half lead, Purcell took control of the game in the opening round of the Madill Winter Classic.
Sulphur led 18-10 after a quarter and had a 25-18 lead at halftime, but the Dragons took control quickly in the second half.
The Dogs led 28-21 midway through the 3rd before Purcell went on a 27-4 run to blow the game open.
“They are a great team that returned a lot of guys that were on a team that made the area championship last year,” Bates said. “We played a really good half and were up nine at one point, but they cranked up the pressure and we did not respond well.”
Purcell led 43-34 at the end of the 3rd.
“I thought we fought hard but had just too many mistakes,” Bates said.
The Dogs shot just 32% from the floor, while Purcell shot 49%.
Purcell led 34-14 on points in the paint and had a 14-6 edge in second chance points.
Willis led the Dogs with 11 points and five boards.
Todd had nine points and three assists, while sophomore Colten Cole also had nine to go with five rebounds and three assists.
Davenport had eight in the loss.
Sulphur 55, Boswell 46 Sulphur battled back from an early deficit to stay alive in the Madill Winter Classic on Friday in a win over Boswell.
The Dogs trailed 14-6 after the 1st quarter but quickly got back in the game.
Sulphur poured in 21 points in the 2nd and tied things up at 27-27.
The Dogs kept playing hard and found themselves up 38-36 through three quarters, before extending things in the 4th.
Sulphur went on an 11-6 run to get up seven points and made free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
“I was really impressed with their two guards,” Bates said. “They have some talent for a Class B school.”
The Dogs shot 48% from the floor in the win.
Sulphur forced 15 turnovers and led 19-12 in points off those giveaways.
The Dogs also led 28-14 on points in the paint.
“We made some adjustments in the 2nd half and finished much better on Friday,” said Bates.
Willis was outstanding again, scoring a team-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds on 8-of-11 from the floor.
Barrett had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win, while Davenport had 10 points, three boards, three assists and two steals.
Cole had five points and seven boards for the Dogs.
