Putnam North outlasts Carl Albert in boys finals
Carl Albert’s Jordan England (Left) tries to shoot over a pair of Putnam City North defenders Saturday night in the finals of the Titan Classic.
By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon
Carl Albert’s boys were a bit outmuscled in their first meeting with Putnam City North this season. The Panthers beat the Titans on their way to the championship in the Mustang Holiday Classic.
They got a rematch with the Panthers Saturday night in the finals of the Titan Classic. The Titans held their own against North but came up just short in a 62-61 overtime loss.
“Last time time we played them, I thought they were more physical than us and we weren’t ready,” said coach Jay Price. “We needed come out and play hard and be as physical or more physical than they did and I thought our kids really responded.”
The Titans led nearly the entire fourth quarter and had good looks at the end of regulation and overtime.
Carl Albert led 53-48 with under three minutes remaining in regulation. North’s CJ Smith hit the first of two free throws, but grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back, making it a 53-51 score.
KeJuan Payne later hit a 3-pointer to give North a one-point advantage. Jordan England and Zander Baker both hit a pair of free throws to keep it a one-point game.
Ta’Shawn James later hit the second of two free throws to tie the game 58-all with one minute remaining. North held the ball for a final shot, but Baker’s attempt from the corner missed. The Titans got the ball back with three seconds left, but Hopkins’ running 3-pionter missed and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, Smith scored all four points for the Panthers. Jayden Mott tied the game 60-60 with an offensive putback. Smith was later fouled and hit two free throws for a 62-60 lead.
The Titans had a chance to tie, but Hopkins hit one of two free throws, making it a 62-61 North lead with 1:23 remaining.
Carl Albert later got a big defensive stop. James, Mott and England each blocked a shot and the Titans regained possession with 31 seconds remaining. They drained the clock to 16 seconds left before calling a time out. When they came back, Hutch Russell missed a 3-pointer from the wing. England grabbed the rebound but couldn’t get a shot to fall.
“In a game like this, there are plays here and plays there. You just hope you have the last positive play, and they did, and we didn’t. We had a couple of good shots at it,” Price said.
Carl Albert had two players selected to the all-tournament team with Hopkins and England. Hopkins led the team with 23 points against North. England finished with 10 points in the loss.
North’s Smith earned MVP honors and teammates Baker and Payne were all-tournament selections.
The Titans’ road to the finals included wins over McAlester and Norman.
The Carl Albert boys opened the tournament with a 70-41 victory over McAlester on Thursday night. Quincy Hopkins was the high scorer with 19 points, while England and Jayden Hopkins had 11 points apiece. The Titans had 10 different players score in the game.
They followed with a 58-42 win over Norman in the semifinals on Friday night. Ryan Reynolds led the way with 15 points, James scored 14 and Quincy Hopkins had 13 points.
“Coming into the tournament, we knew McAlester wouldn’t be as tough of a team as we’d face later on, but we did a good job taking care of that game,” Price said. “And Norman is a really good and sound team. We played well against them.”
Carl Albert begins the conference portion of its schedule Friday night when they host Piedmont.
