Apache denied second upset

Apache pulled off one upset in the regional.

Hennessey made sure it didn’t get another.

The sixth-ranked Eagles are within a single win of the state tournament with last Saturday’s 55-37 victory over Apache in their Class 2A regional championship at the Eagle Event Center.

The sixth-ranked Eagles take on No. 2 Hooker at 8 p.m. Friday in the area championship game at the Stride Center in Enid.

Apache is unranked, but that didn’t stop the Warriors from knocking off No. 11 Amber-Pocasset 40-37 in their regional semifinal.

The visitors had trouble cracking Hennessey’s zone defense and had just 13 halftime points.

Meanwhile, Juan Dominguez single-handedly outscored them. He nailed four first-half 3-pointers as part of his 14 points in the first 16 minutes.

The game broke open late in the second and early in the third when Hennessey went on a 12-0 run. Overall in the third, the Eagles outscored Apache 21-8 to build a 42-21 lead.

Chris Tovar scored all eight of his points and Jael Torres seven in the decisive third.

Dominguez finished with 18 points.

Torres scored 11 of his 12 in the second half. Christian Rodriguez joined Tovar in scoring eight.

Hennessey enters the area with a 13-4 mark. Hooker is 21-2.

The winner of their game advances to state while the loser will play in Saturday’s area consolation championship.

Joining Apache in the consolation bracket are Morrison, Am-Po and Fairview.

The Eagles are looking for their third trip to state in four years. They last made it in 2019 when they finished 2A state runner-up to Rejoice Christian.

The Hennessey girls saw their season end in Friday’s consolation semifinal.

They were defeated 43-26 by Cordell. The team finished 6-11 in Aly Seng’s inaugural season.