Yellowjackets hand Tuttle defeat in top-5 showdown

Despite a few lapses, the Kingfisher boys basketball team was never seriously challenged Tuesday in a showdown with another Class 4A contender.

The top-ranked Jackets used their defense and tempo to thwart No. 5 Tuttle’s size advantage in a 63-46 victory.

“We knew they could pose a lot of problems for us with their size, so we wanted to try to really pressure them and force the pace and hopefully wear them down over time,” said Kingfisher coach Jared Reese.

The Tigers featured Isaac McDoulett (6-5), Kaden Vande (6-6) and Tylor McCarthey (6-6) in their starting lineup.

But Kingfisher scored the game’s first five points and Tuttle never tied it or led.

The closest they got after the first quarter was a three-point deficit late in the second.

But the Jackets closed on a 5-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Maverick Ridenour near the buzzer.

It was Ridenour’s third trey of the firsthalf, one that saw him score 10 points.

Matthew Stone, who had no field goals and just two points at halftime, erupted for nine points in the third.

That included a steal and two-handed dunk followed by an alley-oop dunk from the baseline with the assist coming from Bijan Cortes.

His outburst helped Kingfisher quickly build a double-digit lead and Tuttle didn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the night.

Cortes led all scorers with 19 points, 11 of which came in the first half.

He added a team-high 10 rebounds and six assists.

Stone and Ridenour scored 13 apiece.

Stone had five assists and six boards.

Jarret Birdwell ended his night with 12 points and five rebounds.

McDoulett scored 11 points for Tuttle, but also had 16 rebounds.

Vande led the Tigers with 17 points. He scored 12 in the second half.

McCarthey scored 12.

Tuttle dropped to 8-2.

Its only other loss to date is to Blanchard, which hosts Kingfisher this Tuesday.

The Jackets were 10-1 after their win.