Bombers bounce back for consolation title at Bruce Gray
Midwest City’s Mason McKenzie shoots against Ponca City Saturday afternoon.
By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon
Midwest City’s boys bounced back from an opening round loss to win the consolation championship at the Bruce Gray Invitational at Deer Creek High School.
The Bombers beat Ponca City 60-52 Saturday afternoon to win the consolation finals.
“Today was a good day to finish out the weekend,” said coach Corky McMullen. “We shared the ball well and trusted our offense. And we did a good job of doing what we do defensively by pestering the ball and being accountable on the weak side. Overall, it’s good to go 2-1.”
Freshman DeShawn Denson scored a game-high 25 points against the Wildcats and was named to the all-tournament team.
Midwest City led by double digits for much of the game but saw Ponca City narrow the gap late.
The Bombers led by as many as 19 points at the end of the third. Denson hit a 3-pointer to close out the quarter with a 45-26 lead. Ponca City answered with 26 points in the fourth to pull within single digits. Ponca City’s Mason Meador hit a 3-pointer to cut the Bombers’ lead to 50-40 with just over three minutes remaining.
Justin Jones scored five points in the final minutes to keep the Bombers in front. Denson and Jarvis Nash hit free throws to push the lead back to double digits.
Ponca City’s Elijah Kriesel and Nick Thompson both scored in the final seconds for a 60-52 final.
Midwest City got off to a hot start and led 18-4 after the first quarter. They went into the locker room at halftime up 29-16.
Quentin Burgess finished with nine points including three 3-pointers, and Jones had seven points off the bench.
Midwest City opened the tournament with a loss to Bishop McGuinness but won their final two games against Western Heights and Ponca City.
On Thursday evening, Midwest City came up short against Bishop McGuinness 67-62 in the first round.
The Bombers battled foul trouble. Roy Henderson led the way with 16 points but was tossed after picking up two technical fouls, and Denson was in foul trouble much of the game.
Midwest City led 31-30 at halftime. The Irish scored 23 points in the third and pulled ahead by double digits in the fourth. Midwest City rallied to pull within a point but couldn’t regain the lead.
Denson, Jordan Augustus and Quentin Burgess each scored 10 points.
The Bombers came back Friday with a 72-20 win over Western Heights.
Denson led the team with 17 points, and Burgess and Mason McKenzie both scored 13 points.
Midwest City has won four of its last five games after a rough start to the season.
“With every win we’re feeling more confident,” Denson said. “The start of the season we were losing, but now we’re playing close every game and winning more. We’re still figuring it out and coming together.”
The Bombers have another challenging stretch this week. They were home against Putnam City West on Tuesday night and will play at Del City on Friday.
