Beaten, but not broken

Gone is the chance for a perfect season and that long win streak.

But the chance for a repeat? That still remains.

The Kingfisher Yellowjackets made their way into their fourth straight Class 4A state basketball tournament as expected last weekend.

How they got there was the unexpected part.

The Jackets dumped Metro Christian Academy 71-50 Saturday night in the area consolation championship game in Stillwater to punch their ticket.

To the surprise of many, the defending state champs and topranked team in Class 4A was playing on Saturday.

That’s because Bethany upset KHS 54-42 in Friday’s area final.

That defeat put an end to a 47-game win streak that dated back to December 2018 and included the previous 25 games this year.

The obvious question when losses become so rare: What happened?

“I just think they’re really good,” KHS coach Jared Reese said of eighthranked Bethany, a team the Jackets beat 75-63 on the road earlier this year.

“I said that when we beat them the first time. We played really good that night and never really put them away and they were missing two kids. Now they’ve got them back.”

And at full strength, the Bronchos were able to beat the Jackets, holding them to their lowest point total of the season.

“The thing is, we didn’t play that bad,” Reese said. “We just shot it bad. Our defense was really good for most of the night.”

The Jackets shot 30 percent overall, went 7 of 26 from 3-point range and had just five twopoint field goals.

They also had no transition points, which is a staple of their production.

“Bethany did a really good job of defending that part,” Reese said.

The game started in Kingfisher’s favor as the Jackets were up 8-2 in the first quarter, but failed to extend it despite opportunities.

“We missed some free throws, then they make a shot, then they bank in a 3-pointer and then it all changed,” Reese said.

KHS was 11 of 19 from the free throw line.

Bethany led 19-16 at halftime, but KHS tied it at 31-all entering the fourth quarter.

Eventually Bethany got a lead that Kingfisher couldn’t answer.

“That’s when we had to try to speed things up, then we gave up some extra layups at the end,” Reese said.

Matthew Stone was tasked with guarding Brennen Burns, the Broncho guard who torched the Jackets for more than 30 points in the first meeting.

“He did a great job on him, especially through those first three quarters,” Reese said. “We usually switch everything, but we kept Matthew on him pretty much the whole time.”

Burns scored 17, but was just 3 of 12 from the field.

His twinbrother, Cameron Burns, led the team with 18 points.

Sam Brandt, one of those players missing in the first meeting, had the aforementioned banked 3-pointer. He scored eight

Bijan Cortes led the Jackets with 18 points, but had his worst shooting night of the season. He was 3 of 18 overall, but did make 10 of 13 foul shots.

No other Jacket scored more than six points.

The loss put KHS within a game of elimination, but Reese felt the carrot dangling in front of them played to their advantage.

“If your next game after a loss is to get to state, you’ve got no choice but to forget about it (the loss),” Reese said. “So I wasn’t too concerned about how the guys would react because there was still a lot of motivation in that next game.

“And I also had confidence in guys who maybe didn’t play well Friday that they wouldn’t have two off nights in a row.”

His confidence was rewarded.

The Jackets - at least offensively - looked like they had for the previous 25 games this season.

They were up 16-11 after a quarter and then 35-20 at halftime.

The half ended with Cortes finding Harrison Themer in the corner.

Themer sank the 3-point shot at the buzzer.

“We were up 12 and he hits that shot to put us up 15,” Reese said. “That makes a big difference.”

KHS got the ball to start the second half and scored, forced a turnover and scored again.

“In about 30 seconds of game time, our lead went from 12 to Reese said.

Themer was 3 for 3 from 3-point range in the game.

“I thought he was great for us two nights in a row,” Reese said of the senior guard.

Maverick Ridenour was 3 for 5 from long range while Cortes returned to form and made 4 of 6 3-point shots.

As a team, Kingfisher connected on 10 of 17 3-pointers.

Cortes scored 30 points to go along with seven assists and seven rebounds.

Jarret Birdwell made 6 of 8 from the field and scored 14 points. He also had six boards.

Themer and Ridenour combined for 18 points while Stone scored seven and had nine rebounds.

“The difference is we made shots one night and not the other night,” summed up Reese.

And it was needed.

Metro Christian made nine 3-pointers and shot 44 percent overall. Ian Sluice and Evan Sadler made three apiece and combined for 28 points.

“If we weren’t as good offensively as we were on Saturday, we would have been in another dog fight,” Reese said.

But his team was ready, partly because coaches were prepared.

“As crazy as it sounds, I wasn’t just completely shocked that we lost,” Reese said. “We watched Metro Christian on Thursday and Friday in person because we knew there was that possibility.”

But the defeat certainly shocked many around the state. Most had KHS penciled into the state tournament and even raising a gold ball with minimal effort.

Reese said such an attitude hadn’t crept into his locker room.

“We didn’t lose because we didn’t focus and our effort wasn’t good,” Reese said. “I liked how our guys competed both nights.”

Now, he said, perfect seasons and win streaks can be tossed out the window no matter who is involved.

“I certainly don’t think losing hurt us, but it doesn’t matter now at state,” he said.

“Everyone has the same record and everyone wants to be 3-0 when it’s over.”