Jackets hang tough with ‘ Darko

The Friday night trip to Anadarko had the makings of being an unkind one for Kingfisher.

The sixth-ranked Warriors were playing in front of a homecoming crowd and among their wins was a nine-point triumph over Newcastle.

KHS was coming off a 36-point loss to that same Newcastle squad just days earlier.

But the transitive property doesn’t alway carry over onto the basketball court.

The Jackets didn’t pull off the upset, but they stayed within striking distance all four quarters in an eventual 36-30 defeat.

It was a big step forward for a team that had lost its previous six games to ranked teams by an average of 27.3 points.

The difference? “We guarded much better, even when things broke down,” said coach Colby Connel.

Anadarko entered the game averaging 69 points.

The Jackets twice held the Warriors to single digits in a quarter and didn’t give up more than 14 in any of them.

That came in the first quarter as Kingfisher attempted to adjust to the Warriors’ defense.

The Jackets committed 12 turnovers in the opening frame, but still only trailed by eight points.

They cut that number in half in the second period and were within 18-13.

Kingfisher then cut that number in half again in the third quarter.

The Jackets got within two and multiple times were within three points, but couldn’t find a way to knot the score. Coleman Gilles and Jhett Birdwell accounted for all eight points in the third as KHS kept within 26-21.

Matthew Mecklenburg heated up in the fourth.

The junior scored seven points, but Anadarko was able to extend its lead as Kingfisher committed eight more turnovers in the frame.

“We still turned it over a ton, but many of them were dead ball turnovers and not live ball,” Connel said. “That allowed us to set our defense up and make it difficult for them to score.”

KHS had 33 turnovers in the game.

Still, the Jackets pulled within 33-30 when Mecklenburg went end-to-end for a driving layup with 20 seconds to play.

The Jackets fouled Trenton Walker with 13 seconds left.

The junior made 1 of 2 attempts, but more importantly, was able to collect a steal after the Jackets rebounded his miss.

Walker then made both free throws with seven seconds to play to secure the victory.

Anadarko was 8 of 16 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Walker scored seven points, all from the foul line.

Jaban Bray led the Warriors with 11.

Mecklenburg’s 10 paced Kingfisher.

Gilles and Birdwell scored nine apiece.