Lions take ‘wide open’ approach against KHS

Blanchard definitely tried something different.

And it definitely didn’t work.

Kingfisher battered another Western Athletic Conference foe Tuesday night as it beat the Lions 91-50 on the road.

However, it wasn’t your typical blowout.

“I....,” started Kingfisher coach Jared Reese. “I don’t know”

A lot of the head scratching during and after the game was the Lions’ defensive strategy, which consisted of packing all five players in the lane.

While it negated Kingfisher’s ability to get to the basket - a strong suit - it did leave wide open the 3-point shot.

“We completely changed our game plan when we saw it,” Reese said. “We said if they’re going to do this, we’re going to give our two best shooters all the shots and told our other three guys if they want to shoot, they’re going to have to get the rebound.

“I know that’s no fun for them, but they (Blanchard) didn’t leave us much choice.”

It was fun for Bijan Cortes and Maverick Ridenour.

The two combined to shoot 39 of Kingfisher’s 53 attempted 3-pointers on the night. In contrast, the Jackets shot just 15 times inside the arc.

KHS knocked down 24 of those 3-point attempts (45.3 percent).

It allowed Cortes to have a career scoring night as the senior dropped 46 points on the Lions.

He was 11 of 23 from 3-point range and also had nine rebounds and seven assists.

Ridenour also had a career high as his 9 of 16 performance led to his 27 points.

That came despite picking up his third foul with 6:00 left in the first half, sending him to the bench for the remainder of the quarter.

He responded with five treys in Kingfisher’s 28-point third quarter that saw the Jackets extend a 19-point halftime lead to 33 points.

Chase Davis came in late to bury three 3-pointers in just four minutes of play to score his nine points.

Jarret Birdwell added four points and had seven rebounds while Maddox Mecklenburg scored three and Ian Daugherty two.

With his touches limited, Matthew Stone didn’t score, but had five rebounds and four assists.

The Jackets moved to 12-1 ahead of their Buckle of the Wheatbelt Tournament that began Thursday.

The Blanchard game was Kingfisher’s 12th straight road game after opening the season at home on Dec. 1.

Lady Lions top KHS girls

Kingfisher’s venture into the lo ss column continued for the fourth straight time at Blanchard.

The 11th ranked Lady Lions held off Kingfisher’s late rally to hold onto a 39-34 victory against the visitors.

After starting the season 9-0, KHS dropped to 94.

Just as with the previous three, Kingfisher struggled offensively.

The Lady Jackets had just 20 points through three quarters and trailed by 13.

KHS outscored the Lady Lions 14-8 in the fourth, but never got closer than five on the scoreboard.

The LadyJackets shot 11 more times than Blanchard, but was just 36 percent for the game and didn’t make a 3-point shot.

The Lady Lions were 6 of 14 from long range. Blanchard shot 52 percent overall.

Carly Craig made four of those treys and scored a game-high 18 points.

Allison Green paced KHS with 15 points and six rebounds.

Emily Myers scored 11 points and Peyton Walker six.