Friday night was the start of the 6A playoffs and the defending state champions played like they were on a mission tonight…the defending state champions being Jakolby Long and the Mustang Broncos. They played Norman, and from the jump it was clear that this would be a dominating win for them. However, no one expected them to win the game in such a decisive fashion though, 91-33.
Head Coach Terry Long is notorious since his days back at Douglass High School for his full-court press and smothering defense. That trend continued tonight, after the Broncos forced a turnover within the first minute of the game which led to a monstrous slam right over the opposing player by senior guard Curtis Haywood II. That basket seemed to set the tone for the entire game and it was clear this would be an “easy” game for Mustang after leading 20-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The tough defense continued and even improved in the second quarter. There was a huge surge in defense, that later led to offense halfway through the second quarter with Norman turning the ball over numerous times and the Broncos capitalizing on that by extending the lead to 35-8. The halftime score ended up being 47-11 and DeAryus Colbert, who isn’t necessarily known for having a great offensive game had 11 points at the half. When he hits shots, this team usually does well. They make these games look so easy.
Haywood led all scorers with 16 points in a little over half the game’s time. Long and Colbert link up for 14 points apiece, in about the same amount of time as Haywood. The unusual shining star tonight was sophomore forward Phillip Baker who in just about 11 minutes of play, earned a double-double off the bench with 15 points, and 15 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive rebounds. With this dominant team coming to an end, with everyone pretty much leaving for college next year, don’t be surprised if Baker comes out as one of the Bronco’s key players.
“Honestly our goal is game-by-game, you know.. If it’s Edmond North then fine, or whomever it is we want to be playing on March 12. But just defensively we still have to do some more things, like getting out of the lane, and not relaxing at times, but other than that I’m pretty pleased with the effort. We have to continue to play hard, dive for loose balls, and control penetration a little bit better.” – Head coach Terry Long on what they need to work on to knock of undefeated Edmond north.
For this team to be the No. 6 squad in 6A, with a (17-6) record on the year is baffling to me. It’s hard to believe that anyone beat this team once, but 6 times? I’m aware that most of those losses came from out of state opponents but it’s still really amazing how there are five teams considered to be “better” than this team I saw tonight. Watch out for Edmond North though, at (24-0) on the season, it will obviously be hard for anybody to beat them.
