MUSTANG — During a tight, back-and-forth fourth quarter against Choctaw Saturday (Dec. 28), Putnam City North coach DJ Lemons saw a calm demeanor from his team.

“They were keeping me calm during the game,” Lemons recalled. “They was like ‘Coach, coach, calm down, We got it like, we’re good.”

The Panthers weathered a second half comeback and made a comeback of their own to capture their second Bank 7 Mustang Holiday Classic Championship with a 67-64 win.

Senior Khai Brown said his team’s cool under pressure approach comes from Lemons.

“Coach always tells us to calm down and that we’re good,” the guard said. “It’s a basketball game. Game of runs. You gotta listen, really.”

North (10-4) saw plenty of runs and nine lead changes in the game. The Panther saw 10-point lead with 4:39 left before halftime shrink.

Choctaw, a 6A-2 district opponent of North’s who played the Panthers last Friday, cut the lead to 33-31 at the break.

Yellowjacket guard Jayden Hopkins was a big reason for the run. The junior finished with 34 points (17 in each half). Hopkins was 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from the 3-point line.

“He was a one-man wrecking crew by himself,” Lemons said. “But, our guys slowly figured it out.”

Brown, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, had an idea at halftime.

“I told coach to let me guard him in the second half,” Brown said.

But, Choctaw (6-3) was never far behind with Hopkins. The Yellowjackets took a 48-47 lead with 6:30 left in the game.

From there, it was back-and-forth. North took the lead when junior Malakye Schoats laid the ball off the glass for a bucket to make it 58-56 with 3:15 left. Schoats stole the inbounds pass, leading to a Choctaw foul and two free throws by Brown to extend the lead to 60-56.

Choctaw tied it at 60-60 with free throws from junior Steven Anderson and steal plus a bucket from Hopkins with :56 left.

Brown had an answer with an acrobatic layup to retake the lead, 62-60.

After a Choctaw timeout, North extended the lead. Junior Jordan Valentine slipped and Schoats intercepted the pass intended for him and went down the court for a bucket to make it 64-60.

Hopkins wasn’t done. Schoats fouled him away from the basket and Hopkins hit two free throws to make it 64-62 with :09 left.

Brown split free throws to make it 65-62.

Knowing that a Hopkins trey would tie the game, Schoats fouled Hopkins before he could shoot. With Choctaw in the bonus, this put Hopkins at the line for two shots.

Hopkins made both free throws and Brown hit two free throws with :02 left to seal the win, 67-64, after Choctaw was forced to foul.

Valentine put up a half court shot at the buzzer that off the mark.

“It was good, because now it teaches our guys how to win close ball games, not just thinking every game is gonna be a blowout or every game is gonna be easy,” Lemons said. “Just knowing that we have to grind and we have to execute.”

Brown finished with 19 points, four rebounds,eight assists, two blocks and two steals.

“Khai’s been consistent all all season, man,” Lemons said. “I’m glad he’s on my team. I’m glad I’m coaching him.”

Brown averaged 15.6 points and 5.3 rebounds a game during the tournament.

Fellow senior Anthony Leonard added 14 points. Leonard was 5-of-9 from the field including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Schoats scored 10 points and had four blocked shots off the bench in the win.

“(Schoats) was big in the second half again, with his defense of presence,” Lemons said.

Junior Nate Muriithi followed with eight points and six rebounds. Muriithi was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 10 points and six rebounds a game during the tournament.

Fellow junior TJ McNeely scored six points and grabbed eight boards.

UP NEXT

The Panthers (10-4, 2-1 in district play) return to action Jan. 7 on the road in Moore for a 6A-2 matchup. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

The Lions (5-3, 3-1 in district play) fell to Oak Park (Missouri), 86-82, in overtime Saturday in the 12 Courts of Christmas festival. Moore will meet Kansas City-area school Lee’s Summit West Monday.

Photographs courtesy of Richard T. Clifton

	1	2	3	4	F
Putnam City North (10-4)	20	13	14	20	67
Choctaw (6-3)	13	18	13	20	64

BANK 7 MUSTANG HOLIDAY CLASSIC (BOYS BRACKET)
AT MUSTANG HIGH SCHOOL EVENT CENTER

THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2024
Choctaw 65, Marlow 45
Jenks 50, Carl Albert 45
Putnam City North 69, Holland Hall 44
Mustang 59, Hooker 52 (OT)

FRIDAY, Dec. 27, 2024
Carl Albert 76, Marlow 37 (Consolation Bracket)
Hooker 52, Holland Hall 51 (Consolation Bracket)
Choctaw 80, Jenks 64 (Semifinal)
Putnam City North 61, Mustang 35 (Semifinal)

SATURDAY, Dec. 28, 2024
Holland Hall 47, Marlow 38 (Seventh Place Game)
Carl Albert 65, Hooker 47 (Consolation Game)
Mustang 51, Jenks 45 (Third Place Game)
Putnam City North 67, Choctaw 64 (Championship)

TOURNAMENT MVP: Khai Brown, Putnam City North

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Brandon Rogers, Carl Albert
Jaden Johnson, Mustang
Steven Anderson, Choctaw
Jayden Hopkins, Choctaw
Nate Muriithi, Putnam City North