Third quarter sends Indians to the sidelines 66-60 against Okemah Friday
By Jim Trickett
OKLAHOMA CITY - Sequoyah could not find the bucket in the third quarter and Okemah made the Indians pay as they outscored the Indians 14-6 to erase a four-point deficit and that was all the Panthers needed to defeat Sequoyah 66-60 in the semifinals of the Class 3A state tournament before 6,000 fans at State Fair Arena Friday night.
With the score 31-27, the Indians had numerous chances to find the bucket, but the ball would not go in the basket and the Panthers would get a key 3-pointer from Jake Clark and seven points from senior Jeremy Baker to give the Panthers a 41-37 lead going into the final period of play.
Sequoyah saw the Panthers increase the lead to as many as eight at 51-43 with 4:40 left in the contest, but it would be the 3-point shooting of Terran Pettit and Jarrett Travis that would keep the Indians in the game and after a Cody Fourkiller 3-pointer from 25 feet away got Sequoyah within three at 63-60 with 1:05 remaining in the contest.
It was Okemah's chance to put the game away, but the Panthers turned the ball over with 30 seconds to play and the Indians had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds.
But Fourkiller's 3-pointer with 20 seconds to play was off the mark and the Panthers' Chevy Cole grabbed the rebound and that forced the Indians to foul.
Cole would hit 1 of 2 from the line to give the Indians another chance to close the gap, but Sequoyah would miss another 3-pointer and were forced to foul Jake Clark with 11.1 seconds remaining.
Clark put the game out of reach as he connected on both free throws to end the Indians dream of a third straight appearance in the state finals and the Indians first loss in the semifinals since losing the Hollis 58-55 in the 1998 semifinals at Hamilton Fieldhouse at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Sequoyah jumped out to a 16-12 advantage in the opening quarter as lone senior Garrett Drapeau led the way with eight of the Indians' 16 points in the first eight minutes of action.
Pettit and Travis would combined for three 3-pointers in the second period as the Indians would have a 31-22 lead with 2:35 left before halftime for their biggest lead of the game. But Okemah would score the final five points of the half to cut the lead to four at 31-27.
Okemah put the game away from the foul line as they were 15 from the line in the final eight minutes of play as the Indians were forced to foul to stop the clock in the final two minutes of play.
Sequoyah was just as good from the stripe as they were 12 of 13 on the night and hit eight 3-pointers, but was not enough as the Indians closed out their season with a record of 19-10.
Pettit led the Indians with 13 points, while Fourkiller added 12 and Drapeau had 10 in his final game in an Indian uniform. Travis was next with 9, Kialo Vann had 6, Kiwah Gilbert added 4r and Ramsey Butler, Ramsey Nofire and Travis Sanders each scored 2.
Clark paced Okemah with 15 points, while Jeremy Baker and Jarrett Givens each added 11.