Boys basketball roundup

Published: January 26, 2008

Southeast had its boys basketball game in hand against Dallas God's Academy on Friday night, leading 91-66, at the Norman Invitational. But the end result will go down as a Southeast win by forfeit after game officials disqualified the entire Dallas team.

Dallas God's Academy was assessed six technical fouls in a first-round game Thursday. Against Southeast on Friday, Spartans coach Walter Brewer said the Dallas school earned about six more.

Officials gave Dallas God's Academy numerous warnings and finally said if team members said one more thing, the game would be over and the win awarded to Southeast by forfeit. The Academy failed to stay mum, and the officials disqualified the school.

"That was a first,” Brewer said. "We wanted to win the game the right way, but we understand why the officials did what they did.”

Ben Smith led Southeast with 21 points.

The Dallas school has been in the news for other reasons. The Dallas Morning News recently published a story on the 2-year-old basketball program using fifth-year players.

•Holdman shoots, blocks East Central to win: It wasn't the shot his coach wanted, but it worked.

Tulsa East Central senior Ken Holdman's put back with less than 4 seconds left put the Cardinals ahead, and his block at the buzzer sealed a 56-55 win over Edmond Santa Fe in the semifinals of the Jenks Invitational.

"We took the wrong shot, but in the end, the result is what matters,” East Central coach Brian Morgan said. Morgan had wanted to get the ball inside, and the winning bucket came inside — after Courtney Ingram missed and Holdman pushed it back through. Then, after three Santa Fe timeouts with 3.7 seconds left, Holdman kept up with Santa Fe's Nic Combs and swatted away his shot at the buzzer.

"I was nervous,” Holdman said. "I didn't want him to get the shot off, but I didn't want to foul him.”

Holdman finished with a game-high 27 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Combs led Santa Fe with 21 points.

•Storm shock Bobcats: The OKC Storm, led by Rex Farmer, stunned Class 4A's third-ranked Star Spencer, 71-66, in the semifinals of the Bruce Gray Tournament at Deer Creek.

Farmer had 18 points, a day removed from hitting a buzzer-beater to defeat Enid. Nate Santelmann added 16 points. Santelmann hit 10 straight free throws to ice the game.

The Storm will try for its second upset of a powerhouse at 8:30 tonight against Class 6A's No. 2 Putnam City North. The Panthers advanced to the final with a 57-50 victory over Mustang.

•Guthrie survives Union: Tulsa Union took too long to get on track as Guthrie upset the fifth-ranked Redskins, 50-48, in the semifinals of the Titan Classic.

After having only scored 21 points through three quarters, Union notched 27 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to derail Donte' Foster and the Bluejays.

The junior led Guthrie with 23 points, while Kent McDonald added 12.

Guthrie led 40-27 early in the fourth quarter when Union made its charge. The Redskins got as close as 45-44 after a 3-pointer by Spencer Wopart but never took the lead. Antonio Ross led Union with 22 points.

•Shootout in Plainview: Justin Blackmon notched 27 points for Plainview in the Indians' 74-68 win over U.S. Grant. The loss spoiled a career night for U.S. Grant's Robert Pruitt. The senior tallied 45 points, including 26 of U.S. Grant's 30 fourth-quarter points.

•Hardrick leads Norman to finals: Norman's Kyle Hardrick notched 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as the Tigers defeated John Marshall, 62-57, at the Norman Invitational.

By Robert Przybylo and Ryan Aber

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