It wasn’t quite the way head coach Pete Papahronis had drawn it up, but for the second time in seven games, the Guthrie boys basketball team prevailed on the final shot of a game. This time in the first round of the 52nd annual McGuinness Classic.
Papahronis was not pleased that it came down to a final shot, after leading by as many as 18 points, but his squad improves to 5-2 thanks in part to senior Shron Parker’s game winning three-point shot as time expired in a 71-69 win over 8th ranked Northwest Classen.
The BlueJays, who moved up to No. 9 in the latest coaches rankings, will play tournament host McGuinness Friday evening at 6:00. The Irish handed Yukon a 45-24 loss. The Irish are now 6-2 and ranked 5th in Class 5A.
The game can be heard on Guthrie Sports Page beginning at 5:45 pm.
Northwest (5-6) took their first lead of the game when Terry Arnold put back a shot with 7.9 seconds left in the game to give the Knights a 69-68 advantage.
Out of the time-out, Guthrie, who had to go the full length of the floor, set up a play for a double pick for a long pass and shot. However, the play broke down and junior guard Jerrick Warren brought the ball up the floor and drew a double team in the front court leaving Parker open on the right-wing.
Parker saw the defense rotating over and thought about a pass, but instead took the shot to give the Jays the win. So what was Parker’s immediate thoughts as it went through as the buzzer sounded? “Wow, I was quite surprised that I made it, but I squared up, shot it and made it.”
In the season opener on the road in El Reno, Bailey Nichols put back a Warren miss before the sound of the buzzer to win 43-41.
Guthrie jumped out to a quick 5-0 start on the Knights and held a 22-13 lead after the first quarter and eventually led 42-31 at the break. In the second half, the Jays held multiple double-digit leads only to see the Knights rally in the fourth quarter.
Northwest forced the Jays to take quick shots and into turnovers with their aggresive man-to-man, trapping defense, but did most of their damage on the boards, including 17 offensive rebounds.
The BlueJays were led by senior Codee Gross’ 19 points and Warren’s 17 points. Parker and Nichols each finished in double digits with 13 and 10 respectively.
Guthrie Scorers: Codee Gross 19, Jerrick Warren 17, Shron Parker 13, Bailey Nichols 10, Kai Callins 8, Justin Irvin 2, Dakota Leach 2
Great job bluejays Go Bailey