 |
|||||||||||||||
|
By: Chris Evans
"Tonight, I leave the gym in awe," Guthrie head coach Pete Papahronis said following the game as his blue birds jumped out to a 24-4 first quarter lead and would go on to win their second game of the season by routing Harrah, 70-41.
Guthrie (2-0) hit their first shot 10 seconds into the game on a Devon Hall bucket and that was just the start of an 11 of 21 shooting first quarter exhibition. The Jays opened up the game with an 18-0 run in just a little over three minutes, midway through the quarter, and was lead by senior guard Keaton Callins.
Callins connected on 12 of his game high 20-points in the opening frame and added six points in 50 seconds. Callins was awarded the A-Always Storage Player of the Game for the second straight game by shooting 8 of 12 from the field including four of six from 3-point land.
Foster and the Jays got the biggest roar of the night when Foster was all alone on a fast break. Foster went down the right side and came to the center of the paint with a two hand jam throw down to give Guthrie a 15-2 advantage. Foster finished the quarter with 8-points.
The Jays continued their domination in the second quarter by outscoring the Panthers 17-5. It was another Jays run that increased the lead up to 35 points. This time it was a 10-0 run in three minutes of action. At the break, Guthrie had a 41-9 lead thanks in part by shooting 55% in the first half.
Harrah (3-4) could only manage 3 of 16 shooting in the half, but was hampered by turnovers that resulted in fast break points for the Jays. Guthrie assistant coaches calculated over 40-points in transition on the evening. Papahronis said in his radio post game show that Harrah is a good team despite the way the game turn out. In fact, the Panthers upset El Reno earlier this season.
Harrah never let up in the entire game and outscored the Jays 32-24 in the second half, but the Jays still shot 57% on 23 shots in the second half. Papahronis did show concern about his team's free throw shooting. The Jays were just 3 of 9 (33%) from the charity stripe and in last week's game, with Chickasha, was just 6 of 16.
Guthrie finished the game with eight different scorers: Callins 20, Foster 14, Kentrell Brothers 10, B.J. McDonald 6, Hall 6, Chelsey Dumas 6, Clayton Smith 4, and Matt Hamilton 4.
The win also gives the Jays a 2-0 record in the Suburban Conference. Guthrie will be back in conference play when they travel to Edmond and take on the Deer Creek Antlers. Deer Creek is winless on the season and will be the final game for the Jays until they take part in the Ardmore Tournament (Dec 29-31). The Jays won the same tournament a season ago.
Share your thoughts on this story by going to the Guthrie Sports Page message board. It's free to join and talk Guthrie athletics. Click Here!