OKLAHOMA CITY — Putnam City West boys basketball coach Garen Wright has plenty of respect for rival Putnam City. Wright is a Pirate alum and was a two-sport star in orange and black.

On the other bench was Putnam City coach Brian Booker, someone Wright coached with at West for seven years. Booker was a longtime assistant before becoming the Patriots’ head coach and then moving to Original.

“It was fun to get to go against each other,”Wright said. “We knew it was only a matter of time, but much love, much respect to both programs.”

Both coaches embraced at midcourt after the 6A-1 contest Friday (Jan. 16).

However, Wright’s Patriots showed less love for the Pirates on the court, dominating for an 86-43 win.

West (8-5, 4-3) was in command from the start, turning defense into offense and spreading the ball around with four players scoring in double figures.

Outside of West’s 4-0 start in the contest, the closest Putnam City got was 9-5 with 3:33 left in the first quarter. The Patriots responded with an 8-0 run and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

“I’m very proud of how our boys slow slowed it down, how calm they all were and ended up putting it all together in the end,” Wright said.

Patriot guard Demetrice Carter scored a game-high 23 points. The senior hit two 3-pointers and brought down five rebounds.

“He’s just an elite scorer when he get to his spots, gets (opponents) in foul trouble, knocks down jumpers, It’s one of the 3 mid-range and at the rim.”

Fellow senior Quavion Wheeler added 15 points, three rebounds and six assists. Wheeler was all over the floor and scored 10 points in the first quarter. He also had six steals in the win.

Wright called Wheeler “one of the more dynamic guards in 6A.

“(He’s) hard to stay in front of. There’s no secret that he’s the engine or what we do.

“Most of what we do depends on comes from those two and they know that.

West guard Jamauri Kimbrough proved to be an outside threat with 14 points on four treys and a bucket. The sophomore also had three rebounds and an assist.

“High energy guy, but I love how (Kimbrough) defended tonight. And that’s been the challenge for us throughout the year.

“We challenge them to be more than a shooter, more than somebody who would just spread the floor, we challenge them on the defensive end.”

Junior Andre Farrar dropped a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two assists.

In all, eight Patriots scored in the rout.

Junior Elijah Turner scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out six assists.

Wright highlighted sophomore Earl Smith, who had six points and 10 rebounds despite battling foul trouble early in the game.

“High energy guy on the defensive end, flies around. He definitely helped us with his style and how he played.”

Sophomore Miekyel Armstead scored five of his seven points in the second half.

PIRATES’ STRUGGLES CONTINUE

Booker didn’t have much to say after the blowout loss.

“They were tougher than us, physically and mentally. They punked us tonight.”

Pirate junior Ryan Young scored all eight of his points in the first half, with two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Fellow junior Myron Cooper scored all of his points in the second half.

Senior Joseph Fokum added six points. Fokum was a force on the boards early in the game.

SCHOOL	PC DISTRICT RECORD
Putnam City West	1-0
Putnam City North	0-0
Putnam City	0-1

UP NEXT

West (8-5, 4-3) hosts Lawton Eisenhower (6-7, 2-4) Tuesday (Jan. 20) at 7:30 p.m. for another 6A-1 game.

The Pirates (1-12, 0-7) have Norman North (4-9, 2-4) at home Tuesday, also a 6A-1 game.

Norman North beat Eisenhower, 63-51, Friday.

	1	2	3	4	F
Putnam City (1-12, 0-7)	10	12	9	12	43
Putnam City West (8-5, 4-3)	26	18	17	25	86