Jackets put scare in No. 6 Bethany

On the surface, a ninepoint loss on the road to the sixth-ranked team in Class 4A can be viewed as an admirable performance for the Kingfisher High School boys basketball team, especially considering how the Jackets fared in such contests a year ago.

Dig a little deeper, though, and it can also be viewed as a big upset opportunity that got away.

The Jackets suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday when they came home from Bethany with a 53-44 defeat.

The Bronchos, playing their first game of the season, returned practically the entire lineup from a team that missed state by one game a season ago.

But it was Kingfisher that looked like the contender in the first half.

A 9-2 run to start the second quarter saw the Jackets stake a 20-12 lead.

Hayes White knocked down a jumper with 3:40 left in the half to give his team its first double-digit advantage, 24-14.

Then Cash Laird’s 3-pointer with 43 seconds to go pushed it to 30-19, a lead Kingfisher kept until halftime.

White and Laird accounted for 27 of Kingfisher’s halftime points with White leading the way with 18.

But as their production slowed in the second half, it wasn’t picked up elsewhere.

There was a brief glimmer of hope as Laird opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to make it 33-19.

But Bethany roared back with an 18-4 run to tie the game by the end of the quarter.

Wyatt Geisler sparked the run as the 5-foot-8 senior guard scored eight in the quarter.

He didn’t slow down. Geisler knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:50 left to push Bethany to a 46-39 lead.

Kingfisher only got as close as four points the rest of the night.

Geisler led his team with 23 points, 17 of them in the second half.

Bethany was able to score 16 points off of KHS turnovers. The Jackets had 14 miscues, but 11 came in the second half.

White finished with 24 points and also led the team with six rebounds.

Laird scored 17. Jhett Birdwell’s three points were the only others for KHS. Birdwell also had five boards and three assists.