Class 5A boys basketball: Defensive performances carry Carl Albert, Tulsa Memorial into semifinals

NOBLE — The Class 5A boys state basketball quarterfinals began Thursday at Noble High School.

Here’s a look at what happened:

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Carl Albert 60, Collinsville 25

A back-and-forth first quarter was tied at 10 late in the period when Carl Albert took control.

Defensively, the Titans gave up two points over the next 12 minutes of game action, going on a 20-2 run that stretched into the third quarter.

Tashawn James had 12 of his 14 points in the first half, and fellow junior Jordan England went to work after halftime. England had two points at half, but had the first seven of the third quarter, finishing with 14 for the game. Quincy Hopkins also had 14 for the Titans, who improved to 21-7.

“We knew these guys could really shoot it,” Carl Albert coach Jay Price said of Collinsville. “We just focused on trying to play ‘D’ and see if we could hold them down. Our kids did a great job of contesting and also rebounding.

“Jordan England and Tashawn James were the only two kids that really had a jersey last year of much significance, and the only two who played at all in the state tournament. And those were limited minutes. For those two guys to kind of be our leaders and take these young guys and bring them along, it’s been an incredible journey for us to get here.”

Collinsville was led by Cameron Himebaugh with eight points.

Carl Albert will face Del City at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

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Southeast 66, McGuinness 53

For the first time since 2008, Southeast is heading to the state semifinals.

That year, Southeast lost to McGuinness in the Class 4A title game, but Southeast wasn’t going to let the Irish get in the way of another state tournament victory on Thursday.

Settling in and picking up its defensive intensity in the second quarter, Southeast used a 13-2 run to take a 26-21 lead just before halftime.

Michael Graham Jr. had 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers during the second-quarter run.

“When Ladainian Fields went down and got in foul trouble, I think Michael Graham Jr. just stepped up and took the game in his own hands until his counterpart came back,” Southeast coach Walt Brewer said. “Our defense really switched it around at that point. Defense is how we win.

“But the most important thing was our bench. The bench came in and did an excellent job.”

Southeast’s Marcell Perry had a pair of big 3-pointers in the third quarter on the way to 11 points. Fields recovered from first-half foul trouble to score 10 points, all in the second half. And Zycque Stevenson added nine second-half points.

McGuinness got 16 points from Price Bradley.

Southeast advances to the semifinals to face Tulsa Memorial at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Del City 73, Claremore 43

With several players feeling the pressure of their first appearance at the state tournament, Del City coach Lenny Hatchett knew his team might be in for a slow start.

After taking a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, the Eagles found their rhythm. Del City hit eight 3-pointers in the second quarter, with four by Damarious Vealy. Percy Green added a pair of 3s and Jamouri McCalister hit one, adding to the two he hit in the first quarter.

Del City outscored Claremore 30-14 in the second to take a 44-21 halftime lead.

“We didn’t shoot a lot of 3s in the regular season, but these guys been working on it,” Hatchett said. “One thing about this group of guys, when it’s a big game and they know it’s a big game, they hit big shots.

“It’s always nice when they’re going down. It makes our defense want to play a little harder.”

Five Del City players scored in double figures, with Vealy at 16 and Terry McMorris scoring 12 of his 14 in the second half. McCalister finished with 12.

But Hatchett pointed to his team’s defense, particularly early, for swinging momentum.

“They really bought into the scouting report,” Hatchett said. “They did what we’ve been working on since day one, and went out there and executed defensively. I thought that turned the game around with our tempo defensively.”

Tulsa Memorial 78, Midwest City 37

Ty Frierson and Tulsa Memorial coach Bobby Allison made a bet in the preseason. Allison would run a suicide for every dunk the 5-foot-11 point guard made in a game, and Frierson would run one for each dunk he missed.

Frierson added two emphatic slams on Thursday, bringing the season total to six, with three misses.

But more importantly, Frierson scored 23 points to lead Memorial to its first state tournament victory since 2019. Frierson had 14 points in the first half as Memorial built a 41-23 lead, then added nine in the fourth quarter to slam the door shut.

“Last year, we were up 11-0 on Ardmore and we lost that game,” Allison said. “Ever since then, we’ve said, ‘play like it’s 0-0,’ and Ty played like it was 0-0 that fourth quarter.

“We’re getting back to our defense. Our offense has been unbelievable, but I said to the guys, you can’t win state giving up 70 a game. Thirty-seven is pretty good.”

Midwest City was led by Jacobi Sebock with 14 points.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSSAA Class 5A boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal scores