Head and shoulders above
No. 1 Jackets dismantle McLoud to open regional
JARRET BIRDWELL soars over McLoud’s Tristan Crook (2) during Kingfisher’s regional win. Birdwell had 14 points and nine rebounds for KHS. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon-sports-photos.smugmug.com]
Early in its regional semifinal with Kingfisher, McLoud found itself trailing the Jackets by a lone point.
A quick 13-0 run and two timeouts later and the game was all but over.
McLoud proved to be the latest victim for No. 1 Kingfisher as the Jackets cruised to a 96-26 victory in their 4A regional semifinal at the APB.
The initial run by KHS was followed by several others.
Kingfisher led 32-9 after one quarter and 59-20 at the half.
The Redskins - who did begin to play a bulk of their bench to rest starters for future games - scored just six second-half points.
Meanwhile, Kingfisher scored in bunches.
Early on, it was Jarret Birdwell and Matthew Stone.
Birdwell had 10 points in the first quarter and was active on the defensive boards.
Not to be outdone, Stone scored 11 in the first.
Bijan Cortes began to heat up in the second quarter as he scored 13 points.
By halftime, Stone had scored 23 points, Cortes 19 and Birdwell 12.
Maverick Ridenour opened the third quarter with three quick 3-pointers as Kingfisher kept its foot on the gas.
The Jackets shot 59 percent for the game while holding McLoud to 20 percent.
That included going 25 of 39 (64 percent) inside the arc on top of making half their 24 3-point attempts.
KHS scored 30 points off turnovers and 50 points in the paint.
Stone eventually led the team with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Cortes scored 24 and had eight assists.
Birdwell finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks while Ridenour scored 15.
The senior shooting guard made five 3-pointers, just as he did Tuesday in Kingfisher’s 89-45 win over Elk City in a district title game.
In typical fashion, KHS got up 28-8 in the first quarter and led 59-18 at halftime.
Ridenour scored 18 in the game.
Cortes scored 25 on 11 of 14 shooting. He added seven steals and six rebounds.
Stone scored 18 to go with nine rebounds and five steals.
Birdwell poured in 15 points.
Kingfisher (20-1) faced Weatherford in Saturday night’s regional championship game. Weatherford beat Clinton 63-53 on Thursday.