Uncommon occurrence

Kingfisher lost a regular season game for the first time in nearly two years.

And, just as was the case then, it took 6A’s best team to do it.

The Jackets had to settle for a runner-up finish at last weekend’s Edmond Open after dropping a 33-27 decision to the host Memorial Bulldogs in the final.

“Just like we were then, we’re disappointed with the loss,” said Kingfisher coach Jared Reese, recalling the semifinal defeat to Booker T Washington in the 2018 Tournament of Champions.

Booker T went on to win the tournament and the 6A state championship. KHS followed that loss with a win over 6A’s Putnam City West in the third-place game and its own 4A title.

“But I think when we look back on this, just like then, going 2-1 is something for us to be proud of,” Reese said. “It’s not an easy tournament.”

In fact, getting to the finals was no easy chore for KHS. After being pushed by Casady in their quarterfinal victory (See Dec. 13 edition), the Jackets closed strong to beat 6A No. 3 Edmond North 73-63 in Friday’s semifinal.

Kingfisher trailed 35-30 at halftime, but used a 21-10 spurt to take a lead into the fourth quarter.

That edge grew to eight points before the Huskies cut it to two points, but Matthew Stone, Bijan Cortes and Jarret Birdwell all came 1113 with big buckets down the stretch.

Stone didn’t miss a shot and finished his night with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

Cortes scored 30 points and added six rebounds and six assists.

Birdwell ended his night with 12 points and four rebounds.

The Jackets outscored the Huskies 46-28 in the paint and out-rebounded them 31-28.

Points - for both teams were tougher to come by in the championship.

Cortes visited foul trouble early and spent extended stretches on the bench.

“That changes our game plan a little bit,” Reese said. “But the guys kept battling and hung in there.”

When he was in the game, Cortes was hassled into nine turnovers and was limited to seven points on 3 of 14 shooting.

But Kingfisher’s deliberate offense and stingy defense kept the Jackets in it.

Stone was again stellar.

He made 4 of 7 3-pointers and led the team with 14 points.

However, no other Jacket scored more than three points.

Despite this, the Jackets had late chances to tie or take the lead.

After Memorial’s Sean Pedulla - a Virginia Tech signee - knocked down a 3-pointer for a five-point Bulldog lead, Maverick Ridenour answered with his own trey with 3:30 to play.

Stone drew a charge on Edmond’s next possession and Ian Daugherty did the same with 1:14 to play.

Both times, Kingfisher trailed by two points, but couldn’t capitalize offensively.

The last best hope was a Cortes 3-pointer that went in and out with 35 seconds to play.

The miss was rebounded and Pedulla eventually made four late free throws to seal the win.

The senior scored a game-high 18 points for the Bulldogs.

“It wasn’t the type of game we expected or wanted,” Reese said. “But sometimes the circumstances dictate things differently.”

Cortes and Stone were named to the all-tournament team as KHS fell to 5-1.

Kingfisher was still No. 1 in this week’s Class 4A coaches’ rankings.