BOYS BASKETBALL: Sequoyah overcomes stall-ball tactic to claim district title, 4th win over Adair
Feb. 18—SEQUOYAH — Tim Bart wasn't going to allow another Anadarko-Weatherford situation.
On Feb. 7, Anadarko implemented a stall-ball strategy that resulted in a 4-2 final score in favor of Weatherford. The Southwest Oklahoma school held the ball for minutes at a time, rarely making an effort to score unless pressured by the defense.
For a moment Friday night, it appeared Sequoyah would be on the receiving end of the tactic.
Adair began holding the ball near midcourt with under four minutes remaining in the opening quarter and maintained it well into the second.
As a result, the Eagles — who had already defeated the Warriors three times this season by an average of 27.7 points per game — led only 10-5 with less than three minutes until halftime. The teams combined for only 13 rebounds in the first half because so few shots were taken.
It took a little patience and even a bloody nose in the case of sophomore Eestyn Prater, but Sequoyah ultimately thwarted Adair's plans.
After letting the scheme unfold over a handful of possessions, the Class 3A No. 5 Eagles began applying pressure and forcing turnovers, leading to easy fast-break points and an evergrowing lead that developed into a 56-24 victory on Butch Rhine Court at Olan Graham Field House in the 3A Area IV District 7 championship.
Sequoyah advances to play the winner of the District 6 championship between Sequoyah Tahlequah and Westville at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Adair.
"We're too good athletically to allow somebody (to hold the ball on us)," said Bart, the Sequoyah coach. "No gimmicks, we just pressured up man-to-man and played our man-to-man the way we've been teaching them, and we were able to create some turnovers and slowly start separating, and then they had to play.
"I knew this would happen at some point, but I thought it would happen in the regular season," he added, noting he wasn't upset at Adair coach Travis Cannady for the stunt. "It's the playoffs. Anadarko-Weatherford was just a game, but this was to go to (regionals). We hadn't really prepared for it, but we had talked about it."
Those turnovers accumulated quickly for the Warriors in the second period, committing seven of their 19 giveaways during that stretch alone. The change of pace was reflected on the scoreboard as well, for the Eagles used a 22-2 run that spanned into the third to take a commanding 30-7 lead. Prater and Judah Gibson combined for 20 points during the spurt with 10 apiece.
The duo's burst of offense came after Prater took an elbow to the nose, causing blood to drip down his face. Before he could be properly cleaned up, the bloodstream found its way to the ball and onto Gibson's jersey.
Gibson was forced to change jerseys from No. 1 to No. 20 as a result, but the swap didn't affect him in the slightest. The sophomore went on to score a fitting 20 points while Prater shook off the bump to finish with 19 points and five rebounds.
"He didn't complain about it being broken or nothing, it was just enough to get a bloody nose," Bart said of the untimely whack. "It wouldn't stop, it just kept trickling ... it was just one of those things, and Judah was cramping late. We ride him (Gibson). He's been a godsend for us. He played very little varsity minutes last year, but he's become the leader of our team and is an extension of me out there. Once he started getting to the rim, they couldn't stop him. That's what spread the game — him making layups."
Adair (9-15) experienced a sliver of offensive success late in the third and early in the fourth thanks to Brody Longhorn — who scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, including two 3-pointers — but Sequoyah closed with a 12-2 run to cap its biggest win over the Warriors this season.
In addition to leading the team in scoring, Longhorn co-led Adair on the glass alongside Reece Jackson and Cale Winfrey with four rebounds.
Luke Wood also had a notable performance for the Eagles (22-2), hitting two second-half 3-balls to finish with six points and four rebounds.
"Nothing they did to us tonight we hadn't prepared for or weren't ready for," Bart said. "The only thing we hadn't really worked on was when we went to that spread offense, and I just knew that my guards were better than their guards. We were gonna penetrate, and if they help, we're gonna throw it to (Karson) Bickel or Tristan (Gibson) or (Brett) Burks. Once we started doing that — just spread it and make them guard us — we tried to expose their weakness."
SEQUOYAH 56, ADAIR 24
ADAIR — Brody Longhorn 14, Moody 4, Jackson 3, Schneider 2, Wengerd 1.
SEQUOYAH — Judah Gibson 20, Eestyn Prater 19, Wood 6, Moore 5, Kaleb Bickel 2, T. Gibson 2, Burks 2.
Adair 5 2 11 6 — 24
Sequoyah 8 12 21 15 — 56
3-pointers: Adair (2) — Longhorn 2. Sequoyah (5) — Wood 2, J. Gibson 1, Moore 1, Prater 1.
Free throws: Adair 6-18 (33.3%), Sequoyah 11-15 (73.3%)
Rebounds: Adair (22) — Jackson 4, Longhorn 4, Winfrey 4, Schneider 3, Team 3, Moody 2, R. Wilson 1, L. Wilson 1. Sequoyah (27) — Prater 5, Burks 4, Kaleb Bickel 4, Wood 4, Karson Bickel 3, T. Gibson 2, Team 2, Moore 1, Chambers 1, #20 1.
Turnovers: Adair 19, Sequoyah 14.
