Cop/Arvest Basketball Invitational tips off thursday
Bartlesville High School girl’s assistant coaches and players react from the bench during an earlier season game. The Lady Bruins take on Tulsa Central in the first round of the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Basketball Invitational on Thursday at 7 p.m. (A bracket is available at the end of the article.)
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Bartlesville High School’s Jordan Turner (22) moves the ball during an earlier season game. The Bruins play Ponca City in the first round of the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Basketball Invitational on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (A bracket is at the bottom of the article.)
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
BY MIKE TUPA
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
One of Bartlesville’s Top 10 annual sporting events is only an arctic morning or two away.
The 22nd edition (it should be the 23rd but weather forced cancellation one year) of the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Basketball Invitational is set to tip-off at 10 a.m. Thursday (Jan. 9) at the Bartlesville High School Bruin Fieldhouse.
There will be eight games per day Thursday through Saturday — four in the girls tournament and four in the boys tournament.
Bartlesville High teams will play at 7 p.m. (girls) and 8:30 p.m. (boys) on Thursday. Game times on Friday and Saturday will be determined on whether teams win or lose on Thursday.
Following is Thursday’s schedule. (Note: The records are as of last weekend.)
GIRLS
10 a.m.: Broken Arrow (6-1) vs. Millwood (3-2)
1 p.m.: Del City (6-1) vs. Life Prep (Kan.) (5-7)
4 p.m.: Carl Albert (8-0) vs. Stillwater (1-5)
7 p.m.: Bartlesville (4-2) vs. Tulsa Central (0-6)
BOYS
11:30 a.m.: Carl Albert (6-1) vs. Bixby (2-5)
2:30 p.m.: Southmoore (4-2) vs. Tulsa Central (3-4)
5:30 p.m.: Millwood (5-4) vs. Putnam City (8-1)
8:30 p.m.: Bartlesville (1-5) vs. Ponca City (2-5)
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TOURNEY HISTORY
The COP/Arvest competition started in 2002, organized by then Bartlesville Bruin head boys hoops coach Tim Bart.
Initially it was a boys-only event and took place the first week in December.
Bartlesville captured the championship the first three years (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05).
In fact, Bartlesville won its first 11 tournament games spread over four seasons.
After a few years Bartlesville shifted the tourney to January, finally settling on the first weekend following the Christmas break.
Bartlesville has captured first place six times — the most recent being the 2012-13 edition. It also won the title in 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2011-12.
The Bruins owned second place in six other seasons (2005-06, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2021-22).
Clent Stewart had the hardest luck — the Bruins’ coach from 2014-24 led Bartlesville to the COP/Arvest final five times — only to finish runner-up each occasion.
The Bartlesville boys’ overall tourney record is 41-21 — but is only 4-10 in the last five tourneys. The 2023-24 tourney was Bartlesville’s first at 0-3, including a close loss to Ponca City.
The girls home tourney tradition is a bit more complicated.
Starting with the 2009-10 season, then-Lady Bruins head coach Terry Rogers started up a girls-only home tourney, held during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
That tourney ended after the 2014-15 season.
But in 2018-19 the COP/Arvest event expanded to hold a boys’ and girls’ tourneys simultaneously during the same weekend.
The Lady Bruins’ COP/Arvest record is 10-7, including winning the championship in 2018-19.
Last season they carved out a 2-1 record to finish third.
Bartlesville High School’s Alayah Lunn (4) goes up for a basket during earlier season action against Ponca City. The Lady Bruins take on Tulsa Central in the first round of the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Basketball Invitational on Thursday at 7 p.m. (A bracket is available at the end of the article.)
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS
BOYS: Bartlesville will collide with Ponca City for just the third time in tourney history. The teams split in the previous two meetings, with Ponca City winning last year, 53-50. But, in the first game this season, Bartlesville thumped Ponca City. That’s the Bruins’ only win so far during the new Tommy DeSalme head coaching era. Bartlesville will be looking to topple Ponca City again as a launching pad toward a successful tourney showing. Defending champion Broken Arrow is not back this year but last year’s runner-up Carl Albert — which has been a consistent participant the past dozen years, or so — is in the field. Southmoore is another long-time entrant. That tourney relationship began when former Bartlesville High head coach Wes Brown became the Southmoore head coach. Putnam City and Tulsa Central are replacing Yukon and Broken Arrow.
GIRLS: The Lady Bruins will play Tulsa Central for the first time in the COP/Arvest tourney. But, the teams met twice — with Bartlesville winning by a combined score of 128-24 — back in the former holiday tournament. The defending champion is Broken Arrow, which is back in the field, as well as last year’s runner-up (Stillwater). Life Prep (Kan.), Tulsa Central and Carl Albert have replaced Glenpool, Tulsa Memorial and Bixby.
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Bartlesville High School’s Dennis Duncan (12) goes up for a shot during an earlier season game. The Bruins play Ponca City in the first round of the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Basketball Invitational on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (A bracket is at the bottom of the article.)
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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PAST COP/ARVEST SCORES
BOYS
2002-03
Bartlesville 57, Claremore 39
Bartlesville 68, Muskogee 56
Bartlesville 58, Glendale (Mo.) 55
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2003-04
Bartlesville 89, Claremore 50
Bartlesville 56, Muskogee 51
Bartlesville 68, Tahlequah 61
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2004-05
Bartlesville 77, Trinity Christian 25
Bartlesville 50, Glendale (Mo.) 45
Bartlesville 66, Enid 48
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2005-06
Bartlesville 59, Catoosa 27
Bartlesville 59, Holland Hall 43
Enid 57, Bartlesville 56 (ot)
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2006-07
Bartlesville 68, Catoosa 39
Bartlesville 57, Holland Hall 44
Bartlesville 58, Enid 46
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2007-08
Tulsa Rogers 59, Bartlesville 57
Bartlesville 41, Putnam City West 39
Bartlesville 51, Shawnee 47
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2008-09
Bartlesville 48, Tulsa Rogers 39
Putnam City West 59, Bartlesville 51
Enid 63, Bartlesville 50
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2009-10
Ardmore 58, Bartlesville 40
Bartlesville 55, Tulsa Rogers 37
Bartlesville 69, Bentonville (Ark.) 54
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2010-11
(Snowed out?)
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2011-12
Bartlesville 61, Hugo 42
Bartlesville 43, Bixby 38
Bartlesville 41, Bishop McGuinness 27
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2012-13
Bartlesville 68, Ardmore 33
Bartlesville 55, Bixby 53
Bartlesville 50, Broken Arrow 45
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2013-14
Bartlesville 49, Enid 43
Bixby 56, Bartlesville 45
Bartlesville 52, Tulsa Memorial 51
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2014-15
Bartlesville 55, Del City 42
Bartlesville 48, Ardmore 45
Carl Albert 45, Bartlesville 42
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2015-16
Bartlesville 66, Del City 42
Bartlesville 64, Ardmore 61
Carl Albert 64, Bartlesville 51
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2016-17
Bartlesville 63, Enid 57
Bartlesville 44, Southmoore 36
Carl Albert 63, Bartlesville 44
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2017-18
Bartlesville 77, Enid 49
Bartlesville 51, Stillwater 48
Carl Albert 67, Bartlesville 64
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2018-19
Bartlesville 54, Enid 42
Southmoore 53, Bartlesville 45
Bartlesville 50, Stillwater 46
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2019-20
Hirschi (Texas) 61, Bartlesville 40
Stillwater 62, Bartlesville 40
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2020-21
Bartlesville 60, Stillwater 51
Midwest City 57, Bartlesville 51
Bixby 81, Bartlesville 46
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2021-22
Bartlesville 72, Tulsa McLain 45
Bartlesville 62, Southmoore 54
Tulsa Washington 56, Bartlesville 51
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2022-23
Bartlesville 85, Ponca City 48
Carl Albert 64, Bartlesville 46
Millwood 71, Bartlesville 68
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2023-24
Southmoore 58, Bartlesville 33
Ponca City 53, Bartlesville 50
Yukon 84, Bartlesville 39
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GIRLS
2018-19
Bartlesville 82, Wichita Life 55
Bartlesville 64, Southmoore 43
Bartlesville 59, Norman 43
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2019-20
Bartlesville 50, Southmoore 45
Carl Albert 39, Bartlesville 36
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2020-21
Bartlesville 39, Del City 33
Choctaw 68, Bartlesville 28
Carl Albert 55, Bartlesville 38
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2021-22
Carl Albert 59, Bartlesville 43
Bartlesville 51, Tulsa Memorial 45
Southmoore 67, Bartlesville 35
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2022-23
Bartlesville 76, Tulsa Memorial 17
Tulsa Washington 79, Bartlesville 38
Bartlesville 52, Del City 46
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2023-24
Bartlesville 67, Tulsa Memorial 63 (ot)
Broken Arrow 46, Bartlesville 31
Bartlesville 47, Millwood 34
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