OKLAHOMA CITY — Putnam City North coach DJ Lemons doesn’t think his team is the best team in 6A right now.

“That’s a good thing,” Lemons said after the Panthers routed Bartlesville, 67-38, Tuesday (Jan. 6). “I don’t want to be the best team right now anyway. So, it’s a good thing for us.”

The Panthers’ win Tuesday showed room for improvement and was messy at times. After struggling late in the first quarter, North slowly built a double-digit lead which turned into a rout.

Lemons said the lack of home games (their only other home game was a Dec. 9 win over Stillwater), the travel schedule and the holidays might have played a role.

“The guys are trying to figure out a routine on how to go about things playing at home because we haven’t been playing at home,” Lemons said. “And then, you’ve still got ‘Christmas break legs.’ “

Lemons gave the team a week off during the holidays after their Dec. 20 win in Kansas City and before their 2026 debut in Muskogee last Saturday.

Whatever the reason, Bartlesville made it a tight game early in the second quarter.

Bruin sophomore Hunter Holmes drilled a 3-pointer and North led by only two points, 14-12.

The Panthers responded with an 9-0 run, including two treys from junior Miles Jackson.

Lemons praised Jackson, who came off the bench to lead North with 17 points.

The Panthers built a big lead in the second half, but Lemons lamented that their play got a bit sloppy at times.

The coach wanted to see more of his players “making the right read, sharing the ball, making simple passes.”

Jackson was one of three Panthers in double figures, but Lemons said there could have been more.

“You could tell we were playing selfishly (at times),” Lemons said. “I’ve got seven guys that can score and double digits every night, but we’ve got to continue to play together and and trust each other out there on the court to make that happen.”

“That’s the great thing – the beauty of our team.”

Senior Nate Muriithi added 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Keaton Murry had 10 first-half points, including two 3-pointers, before leaving the game with an unspecified injury.

Senior Malakye Schoats added five points, four rebounds and four steals. Fellow senior TJ McNeely also scored five points. McNeely had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Junior Mekhi Thomas scored all of his five points in the second half, with a trey.

Freshman Davin Brown also scored five points off the bench in the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

North (13-1, 5-0) has a week off before hosting Jenks next Tuesday (Jan. 13) at 7:30 p.m. in another 6A-3 game.

The Trojans (7-4, 4-1) fell to Edmond Santa Fe on Tuesday, 91-81. Jenks will play in the Lincoln Christian Winter Classic Thursday through Saturday (Jan. 8-10).

Jenks is tied for second place with Broken Arrow in the 6A-3 standings behind the Panthers and Lemons expects another important test for his team.

“We’re gonna get everybody’s best shot, especially with our record and how we’re playing,” Lemons said. “We can’t get complacent and we can’t get satisfied on what we’re doing right now.”

	1	2	3	4	F
Bartlesville (3-5, 0-5)	9	7	16	6	38
Putnam City North (13-1, 5-0)	14	19	15	19	67