AREA HOOPS: Copan doubles up SC; Nowata rides 2nd half surge past Dewey
Dewey High School’s Hayden Thornton (1) brings the ball up the court with Nowata’s Adrian O’Dell (5) in pursuit on Dec. 6, 2024 in Nowata.. The Bulldoggers fell to Nowata, 56-45.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Following is a look at recent area varsity boys basketball action.
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BOYS: Copan 66, South Coffeyville 33
Coming off an historic showing on the football field, several Copan High School boys began the basketball season like a rip of sky-shattering thunder.
Energized by lightning-in-the-fingertips three-point shooting, the Hornets surged past South Coffeyville, 66-33.
Aptly-named Shooter Brewington broiled the nets with 18 points, including 40-percent accuracy from three-point range. Jarrett Shambles added 17 points while also dialing in 40 percent from behind the arc.
Kane Foreman nearly notched a double-double, finishing with eight points and seven boards.
But the role of winning catalyst belonged to Karson Woodworth.
“He was our best player on the floor,” said veteran Copan head coach Kolton Stacy. “He just fills the stat sheet in every category. He had a plus-19 in efficiency. “
(A plus-15 efficiency-or-better is considered top of the chart.)
Woodworth made 4-of-4 field goals, hit his only free throw, pulled down eight rebounds, spooned out four assists and contributed multiple steals.
“He was everywhere pushing the pace,” Stacy said.
Despite the impressive final, Copan required some time to hit its stride.
“We started off a little rusty,” said Stacy. “It took two or three minutes to knock the football rust off. When we got going we shot the ball well, which was pretty comforting for me because that’s where we struggled last year.”
Stacy also praised the performance of his junior high team, which scored 48 points in one half and 75 for the game.
The junior high also beat Oklahoma Union handedly, which bodes well for the future of varsity, he added.
Nowata High School’s Ryan Walton (10) grabs a rebound during action against Dewey on Dec. 6, 2024 in Nowata. The Ironmen defeated Dewey, 56-45.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BOYS: Nowata 56, Dewey 45
The Nowata Ironmen came out snarling like a junkyard dog on defense in the second half and took a big bite out of Dewey’s offensive attack.
By the time the scrap finished, the Ironmen walked away with an 11-point win and a great deal of satisfaction.
Last year, the Dewey Bulldoggers beat Nowata in both their meetings — by a mere total of five points.
“It was definitely a sweet moment,” Nowata head coach Derrick Ott said about the final buzzer Friday, adding had the Ironmen shot well from the free throw line (6-of-14) they would have enjoyed an even bigger win.
This year’s Nowata team is “a lot more experienced than we were last year,” Ott added. “All five starters played big minutes last year. … They’re buying into what I want them to do defensively. I’m glad to see that.”
Going into halftime Dewey (1-1) led by five, 31-26, thanks largely to seven points each by Kooper Crawford and Austin Eastman and six by Lathe Griggs. But Nowata held Dewey to just 14 points the final two quarters.
“It was just kind of a tale of two halves,” said Dewey head coach Lance Knight. “We played a good first half, we kind of came out flat the second half. It was a good game. … (The Ironmen) are going to have a real good season. ... I'm still happy with my group. I thought we played better than last Tuesday night (a win at Sperry)."
“We went back out in the second half and got back to how we’re supposed to play defensively,” Ott said. “We put a little more pressure on their ballhandlers. We got back to where I wanted us to be in the second half.”
Meanwhile, the atmosphere was electric with energy from fans on both sides of the gym, he said.
Nowata relied on four double-digit scorers to lead his offense — Clint Harrington (20 points), Chelo Prince (14), Ryan Walton (11) and Talon Thompson (10). Adrian O’Dell contributed a free throw to round out the scoring.
Crawford finished with 14 for Dewey, followed by Griggs and Eastman with seven each. Zach Renfroe contributed five. Karson Johnson netted four points, Cooper Wood and Jay Murguia each nailed a three-pointer and Tre Hicks also scored three.