Oklahoma high school boys basketball notebook: 2A contender Dale keeps finding ways to win; 5A contenders Tulsa Memorial, Lawton MacArthur hitting stride
By Buck Ringgold
At first glance, the Dale basketball team might not exactly pass the eye test.
The Pirates are generally undersized, with their tallest starter going 6-foot-2. They also start three freshmen and two sophomores.
But that hasn't stopped the Pirates from putting together a very successful season up to this point. Dale has started the season 21-1 and is the top-ranked team in Class 2A in the latest OSSAARankings.com poll.
The Pirates have also played several ranked teams and beaten those squads, including highly ranked 3A Oklahoma Christian School, a team that possesses lots of size, ranked 4A school Clinton and Cashion, ranked No. 2 in 2A.
On Feb. 5, Dale posted a 34-27 win against Roff, the No. 1 ranked team in Class B. Three nights later, the Pirates downed Class A No. 3-ranked Vanoss, 40-31.
"We really didn't know (going into the season), because most games we were going to go out there and the other team was definitely going to be more older than us and more experienced and probably more bigger and stronger, so we weren't sure how these little guys were going to match up," Dale coach Jeff Edmonson said.
"But I think they've done a good job of answering all the questions and passing all the tests so far this season."
On the other hand, Edmonson knew from prior experience how the Pirates might be able to play despite the inexperience and lack of size.
"These kids have played together growing up," Edmonson said. "My son (Easton) is a freshman, so back in little league ball and in travel ball, I kind of coached this group a lot, so they've played a lot together and they kind of know where each other's going to be, they trust each other, so it's kind of a unique group."
Another thing which has impressed the coach is the Pirates' ability to distribute the basketball.
"The ball movement's really special; these guys pass the ball to each other, they're very unselfish," Jeff Edmonson said. "They play together, it's just fun to watch."
Leading the Pirates are their two sophomore starters, 6-2 guard Dayton Forsythe and 6-0 guard Deken Jones. Forsythe is averaging nearly 20 points and eight rebounds a game, and Jones is averaging 13 points.
"Those two guys are just really leaders for the team," Edmonson said. "They display a lot of confidence, and I think that carries over to the freshmen also and helps give them confidence."
Then there's the freshmen, including Levi Kelly, who is capable of knocking down 3-pointers; Easton Edmonson, who along with Forsythe displays point guard tendencies; and forward Jett Higdon, the tallest starter at 6-2 and a player Jeff Edmonson says plays with a non-stop motor and rebounds like a 6-5 player.
Winners of 16 straight games, Dale hasn't lost since a 76-71 loss to 3A Jones on Dec. 7. Since then, the Pirates beat OCS to win the Dale Tournament, Kingston in the title game of the Kingston New Year's Classic in early January and Cashion to claim the Cashion Tournament on Jan. 22.
"I think our defense has kind of carried us this year," Edmonson said. "They're real scrappy, and they play tough defense, so that and just get hot and shoot the ball well at the right time.
"That's usually always settled on the court, whoever plays the best, so that's what we want to be is that team that just outplays the other team every night."
Dale wraps up the regular season Friday with a game at Latta as well as a game at Cashion on Monday. The Pirates have their 2A district playoff at home on Feb. 19 against Colbert.
Tulsa Memorial
In the title game of the Tournament of Champions in Tulsa on Dec. 29, Memorial raced out to a 15-0 lead.
However, Del City stormed back to hand the Chargers a 59-49 defeat. Memorial, though, has shaken off that stunning loss and the Chargers (19-1) have crafted a current six-game winning streak entering Saturday's home game against Lawton Eisenhower.
Already this week, Memorial - the No. 1 ranked team on the East side of the state in the latest 5A rankings (Del City is the No. 1 ranked West team in 5A) - has posted two decisive wins, beating fellow 5A foes Tulsa Rogers on Tuesday, 86-55, and highly ranked Bishop McGuinness on Wednesday, 94-63.
"We were 13-1 after the ToC and didn't really think of it as a bounce back," Memorial coach Robert Allison said. "We had a good break after ToC recharged our batteries and used those first 14 games as a great barometer of what we are, and what we need to improve on to become what we want to be as a team this year.
"We learn to earn, and we are hoping to earn this proud Charger program's 10th state championship."
Allison has also liked the way his team has improved and developed chemistry since starting practice in October.
"We brought back six of our top players in Bradyn Hubbard, Ty Frierson, Killian Spellman, Seth Pratt, Montae Collins and Ronnie Dixon from last year's team," Allison said. "Those six have added to their experience from last year while developing chemistry and cohesiveness with Domonic Turner and Jarreth Ingram, both of whom are new additions to the program this season.
"That is the biggest improvement we have made this season, is that those eight are now getting completely bought in to their roles on the floor and finding their spots to maximize this teams potential."
Allison added that the Chargers focus on three phases to ensure not just their eight core players but their entire 15-player roster will have success.
"Great team ball on offense with great spacing with flow and rhythm, getting assists and quality high-percentage shots," he said. "Loud, active and tenacious defense and controlling what we can control on that end of the floor with fast fundamentals, communication, pride and effort.
"The third phase is as a teammate. What can you do on the court or off the court to improve this team and yourself for others. Body language, positivity, proper communication and learning from mistakes, and being a energy giver to the team, not a taker."
In Wednesday's win against McGuinness, Frierson had 24 points and five assists, with Hubbard having a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Spellman also had 17 points and eight boards, and the team made 25-of-36 attempts from the field. The Chargers led 80-38 after three quarters.
During their current six-game winning streak, the Chargers have averaged exactly 82 points.
Lawton MacArthur
It had been a slow start to the season for the Highlanders, who were last season's Class 5A runner-up, making the first title game appearance in program history.
They began this season at 1-5, including dropping all three games at the Joe Lawson Invitational in Norman in early December. But MacArthur has hit its stride and has now won 12 of its past 14 games, the latest a decisive 94-51 triumph at Duncan on Thursday for the team's sixth straight win.
"We started off rough because the football team was really good (eventually reaching the 5A semifinals) and I was missing some football kids early," Highlander coach Marco Gagliardi said. "Then when they got in, we didn't have time to practice together."
Since that tournament in Norman, the Highlanders (13-7 and ranked No. 5 in the latest 5A West side rankings) have had plenty of practice time to work out the kinks and the results have showed from there.
"We got some practice time together and we got to figure out some things together, the schedule got a little easier, we got on a roll and we've beat some good teams lately," Gagliardi said. "We beat El Reno at El Reno, we beat Ardmore, we beat Eisenhower and Lawton High, our two intra-city schools here in Lawton, so really it was just timing and getting everybody together and getting some practices under our belt.
"We're trending in a really good direction heading into the playoffs."
Leading the Highlanders is senior point guard Arzhonte Dallas, who recently committed to Seminole State College.
On Feb. 7, Dallas drove the lane and released a shot that went high off the glass and through the net as time expired in MacArthur's 74-73 win at El Reno. He also had 22 points in the Highlanders' 69-63 win against Ardmore on Jan. 28.
"We call him, 'Man Man,'" Gagliardi said of Dallas. "He's great, he's a great kid. ... He plays hard, easy to coach, just a really good player.
"He's had a pretty good season; he's been battling some injuries which have hindered him a little bit, but I think he's starting to get healthy at the right time and I look forward to a big finish from him."
Other players Gagliardi have noted have turned in impressive performance of late is 6-6 senior Jamel Graves, who had a 34-point 12-rebound performance in a January win against city rival Lawton High; senior guard and three-year starter Montez Edwards, who had 16 points in the recent win at El Reno; and sophomore guard Madden Padilla, who has been averaging at least five assists over the past several games.
Despite the presence of Graves, the Highlanders are largely undersized, which means defense and rebounding will be of the utmost importance come playoff time.
"That's what we've got to do because we're small; sometimes we get beat on the boards, so we've got to make sure we rebound and box out and defend people for the entire 32 minutes," Gagliardi said. "Then on offense, we've got to share (the ball), because when we share, we're pretty good.
"I think we've got what it takes. We know our road, we've just got to beat a good team or two so we've just got to go figure it out."
MacArthur wraps up the regular season by facing its city rivals one more time; home against Eisenhower on Feb. 17 and traveling to Lawton High the following night.
