bartlesville bruins basketball team to play in cop/arvest invitational championship
Bartlesville High School’s head coach Tommy DeSalme talks with Daeton Stevens (0) on the bench during an earlier season game. The Bruins defeated Ponca City, 36-35 in the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville High School on Jan, 9, 2025. The Bruins take on Southmoore at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 11) for the championship. The Lady Bruins are also in the championship bracket, taking on Broken Arrow at 2:30 p.m.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
(Note: Saturday’s tournament schedule is at the end of the article. Also, the game will be broadcast on KWON radio and KWONTV.com)
It’s no secret that redefining the Bartlesville High School boys basketball program is a project is process.
A long, hard and painful process.
But that doesn’t mean the mostly-underclassmen Bruin players lack talent, guts, grit, athleticism, vision or a hunger for success.
Or potential.
On Thursday (Jan. 9), the Bruins (2-8) displayed a glimpse of that potential by thriving and striving under pressure to yank out a 36-35 win against Ponca City at the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville High School.
“I thought our effort throughout the whole game was really good,” said first-year Bruin head coach Tommy DeSalme. “I don’t think our heads ever went down. … We’re just a team that can’t really score, which makes every possession very important.”
Hudson Eads made the most of the Bruins’ final meaningful possession by knocking down the winning three-pointer. It had been a ferocious give-and-take scrap in the fourth quarter between two win-starved squads. A quarter that witnessed four ties and three lead changes while the hearty fans in attendance offered ear-splitting approbation.
The win launched Bartlesville into Saturday’s ( Jan. 11) first-place game, due to a forfeit by Millwood in Friday’s semifinal.
Bartlesville High School’s Nash Zervas (3) is introduced prior to an earlier season game. The Bruins defeated Ponca City, 36-35 in the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville High School on Jan, 9, 2025. The Bruins take on Southmoore at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 11) for the championship. The Lady Bruins are also in the championship bracket, taking on Broken Arrow at 2:30 p.m.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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Thursday’s battle exuded the feel of championship intensity.
Nash Zervas — the only senior on the roster — pumped in 14 points to lead the way for Bartlesville.
Zervas jump-started the Bruin offense with two three-pointers in an offensive dearth the first quarter that saw the teams combine for just 13 points (Bartlesville 8, Ponca City 5).
However Ponca City caught a gust of momentum to start the second quarter with an 8-0 run and move into the lead, 13-8. Daeton Stevens finally broke Bartlesville’s drought. He buried a trey to trim the Ponca City lead to two points, 13-11.
But those would be Bartlesville’s only points of the quarter and Ponca City carried a 15-11 advantage into halftime.
Zervas and Trae Collins ripped two three-pointers to open the third period and power the Bruins back into the lead, 17-15.
“I thought we responded right out of halftime,” DeSalme said. “We showed some signs of learning things that down the road will lead to more victories. We can get tougher with the ball and ball security.”
In addition to its heavy-duty defensive effort, the Bruins ran their offense with the patience of Job, working the ball around like a grandma knitting a wedding quilt.
“We have to be deliberate,” DeSalme said. “We’ve got to limit the number of possessions. … We’re not big enough or good enough to play fast offensively. That’s going to come down the road.”
After the Bruins edged ahead to open the second half, the determined Ponca City side fought back to keep the low-voltage scoring in check.
The Bruins enjoyed a tremendous boost when freshman Brycen Guttierrez came off the bench to bury a three-pointer and create Bartlesville’s biggest lead, 22-18. That turned out to be a crucial bucket after Ponca City ended the third period on a 9-2 run to lead 27-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Zervas fired up the Bruins with a game-tying (27-27) three-pointer to open the final period. Shortly after Dennis Duncan recorded a steal-and-layup to force the Bruins back into the lead, 29-27.
The game would be deadlocked again at 29-29 and 31-31, including a bucket by Bartlesville’s Jordan Turner.
The Bruins inched ahead again, 33-31, on Hunter Holmes’ deuce.
But Ponca City notched another tie, 33-33, to regain the lead, 35-33.
The Bruins responded on Eads’ trey to decide the outcome. An offensive foul called in the final five seconds on Ponca City sealed the win.
The Bruins had endured 49 days between their first and second wins.
Even though victories have been sparse, DeSalme is happy with his team’s effort and what he characterized as “light bulb moments” for his extremely young squad in incremental improvements.
“We got blasted Tuesday at Broken Arrow … but we did some really good things,” he said. “In this situation, you’ve got to find different ways to define winning and losing. We’re trying to get them to buy into the effort. … We’re so young across the board. We’re young with very limited basketball I.Q. This team just needs to continue playing games. Every game we play we get better and improve our basketball I.Q.”
In reality, the Bruins already have faced some of their most grueling tests, including the Latta Tournament and the road trip to Broken Arrow. But other challenges await ahead in the next few weeks.
“I’m real proud of these kids,” DeSalme said. “They’ve stuck it out and haven’t quit.”
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE:
Game 1 10:00am Millwood vs Carl Albert Girls
Game 2 11:30am Life Prep vs Del City Girls
Game 3 1:00pm Carl Albert vs Ponca City Boys
Game 4 2:30pm Bville vs Broken Arrow Girls
Game 5 4:00pm Bville vs Southmoore Boys
Bartlesville High School’s Hunter Holmes (24) tries to get open during an earlier season game. The Bruins defeated Ponca City, 36-35 in the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville High School on Jan, 9, 2025. The Bruins take on Southmoore at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 11) for the championship. The Lady Bruins are also in the championship bracket, taking on Broken Arrow at 2:30 p.m.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports