Thompson, Pirates upend Panthers

WARR ACRES – Putnam City senior Ben Thompson poured in 26 points and the Pirates upended sister school Putnam City North, 43-37, in the first round of the Putnam City Invitational Thursday (Jan. 4).

Thompson scored 10 of his total in the fourth quarter to help withstand a late Panther charge.

After North junior Khai Brown hit a 3-pointer with :33 left, Putnam City’s lead was 41-37. Thompson answered with a bucket with :17 left to seal the win.

“Ben’s been tremendous for us this year. Ben’s our leader. He’s really focused. He does everything. He rebounds for us. He scores for us. He defends. He’s just an overall outstanding player,” Putnam City coach Garland Parks said. “He’s our team leader. And he played an outstanding job tonight.”

Despite the point total and big buckets down the stretch, Thompson was quick to praise his teammates.

“My coach, my players trust me. Even when I made mistakes, they still trusted me,” Thompson said.

Putnam City (4-5) trailed, 17-16, at halftime but opened up a six-point lead by the end of the third quarter.

The Pirate defense held North junior point guard Anthony Leonard to nine points, six in the first quarter. Leonard dropped 31 points on Class 5A power Carl Albert last week in the Bank 7 Mustang Holiday Classic and scored 43 points earlier in the season against Capitol Hill.

“(Leonard) was certainly our focus,” Parks said. “Once he gets going, it’s hard to stop him. . . We wanted to make sure we contained him and make the other guys beat us.”

The rivalry win was big for the Pirates who don’t play their sister schools due to this year’s implementation of district play during the season.

“It means a lot for us. Certainly bragging rights, for one, for our principal (Tami Taylor) and our kids,” Parks said. “All the kids know each other. Now they get to say when they see him, we beat you in our tournament.”

Sophomore Jaden Perry added added seven points and had some key steals for the Pirates.

Brown led the Panthers (5-7) with 15 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Putnam City North	9	8	4	16	37
Putnam City	7	9	11	16	43

Putnam City North (5-7) – Khai Brown 15, Anthony Leonard 9, Mekhi Thomas 6, Jaiden Robinson 4, Derrius Johnson 3.
Putnam City (4-5) – Ben Thompson 26, Jaden Perry 7, Kelton Locke 4, DJ Stephens 4, JaColby Williams 3.

Midwest City 74, Putnam City West 68

The Bombers (Class 5A) pulled away from the Patriots in the fourth quarter, despite Kaidon Rayfield’s 25 points for West.

The lead went back and forth in this one with the Patriots (5-6) holding a four-point lead in the second quarter before Midwest City (6-2) pulled ahead at halftime, 41-38.

Putnam City West’s Kaiden Rayfield goes up for a shot in the Patriots’ game with Midwest City Thursday (Jan. 4). (PHOTO: Joel Reagan)

The Bombers kept the Patriots at arm’s length in the third quarter despite Rayfield’s efforts as he scored 10 of his 25 points in that period. He heated up late in the quarter and West tied the game at 58 with a JJ Wilson free throw with 6:10 left in the game.

Midwest City went on a 7-0 run, but the Patriots answered when Rayfield hit a bucket on his third putback attempt with 4:21 left to cut the deficit to 65-60.

West would get within one point at the 2:10 mark when Wilson got a key rebound and Rayfield hit a trey to make it a 67-66.

That was the last points Rayfield would score and despite the Patriots’ efforts on the boards, they couldn’t catch up. Midwest City’s Mark Jackson III snagged a late steal with the game 72-68 to seal the win.

Wilson, a senior forward, finished with 14 points and scored seven of those points in the third quarter.

The Bombers had four players in double figures. Roy Henderson led the team with 17 points, Carlsheon Young scored 12. Mason McKenzie and DeShawn Denson II each added 11 points in the win.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Midwest City	21	20	17	16	74
Putnam City West	19	19	19	11	68

Midwest City (6-2) Roy Henderson 17, Carlsheon Young 12, Mason McKenzie 11, DeShawn Denson II 11, Caleb Stephen 7, Bryan Williams 6, Jarvis Nash 6, Mark Jackson III 4.
Putnam City West (5-6) – Kaiden Rayfield 25, JJ Wilson 14, Jaden Constant 6, Jordan Warrior 6, Nate Muriithi 5, Jace Coleman 5, Anonio Green 2.

Putnam City Invitational
Boys Bracket
THURSDAY, Jan. 4
Tulsa Union 74, Lawton 62.
Norman North 48, Northwest Classen 39.
Midwest City, 74 Putnam City West 68.
Putnam City 43, Putnam City North 37.

FRIDAY, Jan. 5
Lawton vs. Putnam City West 11 a.m.
Northwest Classen vs. Putnam City North, 2 p.m.
Midwest City vs. Tulsa Union, 5 p.m.
Putnam City vs. Norman North, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, Jan. 6
Seventh Place Game, 11 a.m.
Fifth Place Game, 2 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 5 p.m. (Third Place)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8 p.m. (Championship)

Boys Bracket and Champion

Tournament placing will be determined by bracket play outcomes.
For all games tied at the end of regulation, there will be a 4 min overtime.
The overtime period will be played to completion, this will be repeated until there is a winner.