Kitchens sinks Tuttle’s upset bid

Kingfisher let a big lead slip away.

But it didn’t let a win slip through its fingers.

Caden Kitchens and Xavier Ridenour combined for 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead KHS to a 52-43 win at Tuttle.

The Jackets briefly trailed, then went on a 13-1 run in the closing minutes to pull away from the Tigers.

“We basically hopped on their backs,” said coach Jared Reese of the Western Conference opener.

The Jackets led by six at the half and built it up to as many as 11 in the third quarter when Ridenour buried a trio of 3-pointers.

However, as quickly as they saw the lead grow, the Jackets gave it all back as Tuttle closed on an 11-0 spurt to send the game into the fourth quarter with a tie score.

The Jackets fell behind 38-37 with 3:43 to play on Gabe Avelar’s driving left-handed bucket.

KHS dominated much of the rest of the game.

Ridenour gave the Jackets the lead back with a pair of free throws on the next possession. The senior was 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter.

The game was tied at 39-39, but Kitchens’ free throws with 2:51 to play started the decisive run.

He followed the charity stripe shots with a steal and a bucket as part of his 12 fourth-quarter points.

Kitchens ended his night with 25 points and eight rebounds.

“That’s 25 in each of his first two games,” said Reese. “When is the last time we had someone score that much in their first two.

“He’s really come up big.”

Ridenour scored 17 points, 15 of them in the second half.

That duo went a combined 14 of 15 from the foul line. The team finished 17 of 24.

Tuttle made 7 of 11. The Jackets out-rebounded the Tigers 24-13, but turned it over 17 times. Those led to 19 Tiger points.

“We’ve got to be better than that,” Reese said. “We’ve been able to overcome it the first two games (15 against Chisholm), but we can’t keep that up.”

The Jackets also got five points and four assists from Maddox Mecklenburg.

Noah Clark led Tuttle with 13 points while Garrett Redwine scored 12.

Allen, Tuttle defense big obstacles for Lady Jackets

Tuttle put on the defensive clamps and Kingfisher couldn’t loosen them up.

The Lady Tigers thwarted a comeback attempt by holding the Lady Jackets to four points over the final 12 minutes in a 34-26 home victory on Tuesday.

Kingfisher fell behind 9-0 early and trailed by as many as 11 points in the first quarter.

However, the Lady Jackets took a 22-21 lead with 4:21 to play in the third.

Mya Dewberry drove the lane and was fouled and connected on one of two free throws for that advantage.

Tuttle answered with a 9-1 run to close the quarter, then only allowed a late 3-pointer by KHS in the fourth.

Shooting was an issue for KHS as the Tuttle defense held the Lady Jackets to 25 percent (8 of 32) overall. They were 3 of 14 from inside the arc and 5 of 18 beyond it.

On the other end, Landry Allen was their other issue.

The 6-foot-3 University of Oklahoma signee showed why several Division I colleges wanted her services.

Allen scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

She scored nine points in the first as Tuttle got out to a 16-5 lead.

Allen added 10 in the second half.

Addy Matthews paced Kingfisher with 13.

Her 3-pointer near the end of the first half got Kingfisher within 19-15 at halftime.

The junior’s free throws with 4:52 to go in the third quarter tied the game at 21-all.

Peyton Walker added six points and five rebounds for KHS, which dropped to 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in the conference.

Tuttle is coached by Jamie Combs, the wife of KHS boys basketball assistant Chris Combs.

The former spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Mustang and formerly was a head coach at Berryhill and Piedmont.