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By: Chris Evans
If the first 32 minutes of the Guthrie and Stillwater boys basketball game was not entertaining enough for the crowd in the Guthrie High School gymnasium , in the Jays home opener, then the last eight minutes took care of that.
Guthrie would need all 40 minutes against the Pioneers to secure their unbeaten season by winning in double overtime 75-73. Junior stand-out Donte’ Foster finished with a game high 35 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 7 steals.
The Jays improve to 6-0 and are currently ranked No.2 in the latest Class 5A rankings that were released on Monday. Meanwhile, Stillwater drops to 2-5 on the year, but played very well and did a great job of staying in the game when the Jays appeared at times they were going to put the game away.
Stillwater has now lost their last two games in overtimes.The Pioneers dropped their game, Friday night, to Bartlessville 62-59. Against Guthrie, Stillwater found themselves trailing 10-2 five minutes into the contest and would trail 19-9 at the end of the first quarter.
In that opening quarter, senior Kent McDonald scored eight points, including six points in a row to start a 11-2 run. The Jays lead would be trimmed down to four by halftime 31-27.
The Pioneers would outscore Guthrie 18-12 in the third, but still trailed 46-41 at the end of three quarters. In the quarter Stillwater was able to pull within four points. However, the story in the third quarter was an injury to Stillwater’s Andy Arena at the 2:37 mark.
Arena went up for a rebound and came crashing down to the hard wood floor. Arena was able to move his legs, arms, and head, but remained on the floor until paramedics came to the scene and wheeled him off and was taken to Logan Medical Center.
GuthrieSportsPage.com learned Wednesday afternoon that Arena broke two vertebrae's in his middle back.
After the 21 minute injury delay, both teams were allowed a warm-up time and both teams finished the quarter sluggish, but Guthrie would lead 46-41.
Guthrie would jump out to a six point lead to begin the quarter, but would see their lead disappear when Morgan’s three pointer gave the Pioneers a 54-52 advantage with 2:09 to play. Morgan finished with 22 points.
From that point on in the fourth quarter there would be five different lead changes, but none bigger then senior Kye Staley’s free throw’s.
Trailing 58-57, Staley stepped to the line in his first game of the year, as he battled a toe injury and just getting back from Orlando, Florida where he played in an All-American football game, and drilled both free throw’s to take a 60-57 lead with seconds to play.
Stillwater would score a field goal and a free throw to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the first overtime, Stillwater started out on a 4-0 run to go up 65-61, but Guthrie pulled within one, 64-65, with all the points coming from Foster with :33 to play. Stillwater would then add one of two free throws to go up 66-64 with just :23 seconds left.
Guthrie would go to Foster, who penetrated the lane and pull up with a jump shot just below the free throw line and nailed the shot to send the game into double overtime.
In the second free period, Guthrie would build up a lead as many as seven points, but Stillwater, again, continued to battle the Jays to end and had multiple shots at the end to win the game with a Morgan three point attempt and Jamell Cormier’s jump shot at the buzzer, but their shots fell short and Guthrie escaped with the win.
Guthrie will host Western Heights on Friday for Homecoming night to open up the Suburban Conference portion of the schedule.
GUTHRIE
75, STILLWATER 73 (2 OT)
SHS 9 18 14 19 6 7
73
GHS 19 12 15 14 6 9
75
Stillwater: Morgan 22, Woodard 19, Cormier 14, Dalcour 14, Blankenship 3, F.
Arena 1. 3-Pters: Morgan 4, Cormier.
Guthrie: Foster 35, McDonald 17, Callins 8, Staley 6, Smith 4, Hall 2, Hamilton 2, Washington 1. 3-Pters: Foster 4.
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