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By: Hope Hayes
Luckily, that would not be the case Friday night for the Guthrie Bluejays. Guthrie defeated the Duncan Demons 60-42, and continued the dash of marching towards a state tournament berth.
Guthrie (18-4) now plays the Ardmore Tigers (17-7) for the regional championship Saturday night with a tip time set for 7:00 at Guthrie High School. Ardmore took down Deer Creek 80-77 in overtime in a thrilling contest.
Many Guthrie fans thought this game with Duncan would be a nosh-up, with the Demons losing their last seven games. How Duncan began this losing streak is an unknown to many, but Duncan played their hearts out until the final buzzer by never giving up.
The first quarter got on the move with a big bang. Guthrie would achieve the first four points of the match, with shots by Donte’ Foster and Matt Hamilton. Guthrie shot 62% from the field in the first, while Duncan would shoot 40%. Guthrie led 17-11 at the end of the quarter.
Duncan opened the second quarter with a big bang of their own, with a three-pointer by Miears, and a shot by Toone to pull within one, 17-16. Duncan would flirt with taking a lead, but would not be able to do so despite pulling even with the Jays three separate times in the quarter. The teams would head into the locker rooms with Guthrie on top, 30-26 with both teams shoting 48% from the field.
The third quarter, was the nosh-up Guthrie fans were waiting for. Guthrie would go on a 15-0 run in a span of 4:12 to open up the game, 47-28. Foster scored 11 out of his 18 points in the quarter alone as the Jays out scored Duncan 19-4. At the end of the third, Guthrie was lying on top 49-30. Duncan could manage just four points in the frame and would trail Guthrie 49-30 after three complete.
In the fourth, Duncan would luckily score more than four points, 12 to be exact, but Guthrie on the other hand would score 11 points.
Guthrie shot 46% on the night, while Duncan wasn’t far behind at 45%.
Senior Kent McDonald had 15 points by shooting 58% to go along with eight rebounds. McDonald was named player of the game for the second week in a row. Little bro B.J. McDonald would go 3 for 3 from the field and would finish with six points. Freshmen Kentrell Brothers scored nine points and shot 50%. Junior Keaton Callins didn’t have as big of a game as he did last week offensively, but did add five points.
To hear post game thoughts of head coach Pete Papahronis please visit the podcast page.
The Regional Championship will feature the Bluejays and Tigers for the third time this season. Guthrie won the first meeting, 66-58, back in December in the Ardmore Tournament. The second match-up took place in the first round of the Carl Albert Tourney with the Jays winning 70-63.
Ardmore head coach Mark Wilson told the Daily Ardmorite that perhaps playing on the Jays home court could be a good thing.
"If we win on Friday night, we kind of expect to see Guthrie. It would be at their place. We didn't have much success against them at home or on a neutral court. Maybe the key is to play them at their place."
Triple Play Sports 105.1 FM will continue to carry the Bluejays and Lady Jays playoff action and can be heard on Guthrie Sports Page with Chris Evans, Casey Porter, Shawn Ingle, and Chris LeGrande.
Tune in Saturday, at 1:15, for the Lady Jays pre-game show with a tip time of 1:30, inside Jenks Simmions Fieldhouse, at El Reno High School. Join the radio crew later in the evening at 6:45 for the Bluejays pre-game show. Tip off will be 7:00 at the GHS gymnasium as both Guthrie teams play for the Regional Championship.