Huskies claim 3A District hoops title
CHELSEA — Senior starters Trent Barnett and Trey RedEagle scored 20 points apiece Friday in sparking the Pawhuska High School Huskies to a 57-52 road triumph over the Chelsea Green Dragons — and claiming Oklahoma Class 3A’s Area II-4 district basketball title in the process.
The cool, calm and collected veteran Huskies helped nail down PHS’s come-from-behind victory by hitting six free throws during the final 34 seconds. Pawhuska’s boys were chasing the Dragons from 13 points behind in the latter stages of the third period before shaking loose the cobwebs and launching their winning rally. RedEagle reduced the deficit to three, 37-34, with a running 12-foot runner that barely beat the quarter-ending buzzer.
Chelsea quickly surged back to a six-point lead, but a RedEagle three-pointer and back-to-back buckets by Barnett kept the Huskies hot on the Dragons’ tail. With 2:48 remaining, PHS junior guard J.R. Young unleashed in a three-point bomb that put Pawhuska ahead, 48-46 — giving the visitors the lead for the first time since early in the opening quarter. It was Barnett who broke a 50-50 tie by making two free throws after Chelsea was called for a technical foul with 38 seconds to play.
The Huskies then sealed the district deal at the free-throw line where Young sank one and RedEagle connected on four straight while the home team got off just one field-goal attempt before the final buzzer sounded.
RedEagle pulled down nine rebounds for PHS, which finished the contest with 23 total boards. Chelsea pulled down 27 rebounds, with Zach Eidschun topping the Dragons by also getting nine. The Huskies committed just 10 turnovers in the game, which was four fewer than the home team.
While improving to 6-16 on the year, the Pawhuska squad also won consecutive games for the first time all season.
The Huskies will next play at 8 p.m. Thursday in a regional winners-bracket game at Adair. Their opponent will be the home-standing Warriors — ranked as the No. 6 team in 3A with a record of 19-4.
PHS head coach Monty Unruh has said that he likes playing at Adair because “you can really almost feel how seriously everything is taken there.”
PHS 62, HOMINY 56
The Pawhuska’s boys concluded the regular-season schedule last Tuesday with a hard-fought home victory over the Hominy Bucks.
Eight first-quarter points by junior center Hayden Henley and seven by RedEagle helped lift the Huskies to a five-point lead, 18-13. Although Hominy’s athletic front court posed a challenge, the Bucks just could not quite catch the home team — although they reduced the margin to just three (59-56) with 2:18 left to play.
J.R. Young scored 17 to lead the Huskies and helped lift his team to victory by draining five three-pointers — including morale-boosting bombs at the end of both the second and third periods. PHS connected on 21 of 38 shots from the field (55 percent) which included as sizzling 11 of 18 (61 percent) from three-point range.
Henley wound up with 14 points. Sophomore William Merrell continued to blossom for Pawhuska by getting 11 points and matching the scoring total of RedEagle. George Fields led Hominy with 19 points and Kolton Reed tallied 16 to go with a game-high 12 rebounds.
As part of “Senior Night” festivities at Oren Terrill Field House, special recognition was given to senior players Trent Barnett, Trey Red Eagle and Brandon Hicks. (Previously, it has been incorrectly stated on these pages that Tucker Helmer also was a senior — but he is a junior.)
HUSKIES 62, BUCKS 56
HOMINY: 13 - 13 - 20 - 10 — 56
PAWHUSKA: 18 - 20 - 17 - 7 — 62
Hominy Bucks (11-9) — George Fields 19, Kolton Reed 16, Jalen Alexander 10, Zaven Collins 7, Carnes 1, Dakota Doyle 3. Coach: Mike Hampton.
Pawhuska Huskies (5-16) — J.R. Young 17, Hayden Henley 14, Trey RedEagle 11, Trent Barnett 4, Brandon Hicks 0, William Merrill 11, Tucker Helmer 3, Bailey Thompson 3, Lance Harden 1, Brian Jeffers 1. Coach: Monty Unruh.
HUSKIES 57, DRAGONS 52
PAWHUSKA: 14 - 8 - 12 - 23 — 57
CHELSEA: 21 - 3 - 13 - 15 — 52
Pawhuska Huskies (6-16) — Trey RedEagle 20, Trent Barnett 20, William Merrill 7, J.R. Young 6, Hayden Henley 4, Tucker Helmer 0, Lance Harden 0. Coach: Monty Unruh.
Chelsea Green Dragons (10-13) — Dalton Feathers 18, Tyson Carlson 6, Zach Eidschun 12, Jack Everett 3, Gavin Feathers 0, Jerred Jordan 11, Daniel Shouse 0, Gavin Hunt 0. Coach: Anthony Moss.