BLANCHARD — Putnam City West fell just shy of a 6A state tournament berth after a 64-50 loss to Piedmont Saturday (March 7) in the West Area 1 consolation final.

Patriot senior Demetrice scored 20 points but West turnovers and a disastrous end to the third quarter were too much for the Patriots.

“Tough loss, but I’m extremely proud of this group,” Putnam City coach West coach Garen Wright said.

West had an early 11-8 lead, but the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run and led 20-11 early in the second quarter. West chipped away and trailed by only two points at halftime, 26-24.

The lead changed hands a handful of times in the third quarter. The Patriots had a 36-34 lead with 2:42 left in the quarter when sophomore Miekyel Armstead had his shot blocked by Wildcat senior Hudson Hite. Officials ruled that Hite hit the backboard and the bucket would count.

From that point, things unraveled for West.

On the other end, Piedmont senior guard Carter Hainrihar drove to the bucket twice and was fouled. Hainrihar hit four straight free throws for a 38-36 Piedmont lead.

After a few empty possessions for both teams, West senior Quavion Wheeler drove to the bucket but was tagged with an offensive foul with :39.5 left in the third quarter.

Then, Piedmont junior Jacob Campbell drained a 3-pointer to extend the lead. On the other end, Carter went to the bucket but had the ball stripped away with five seconds left.

The Wildcats sprinted down the floor and Hite drilled a top of the key trey just before the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.

Piedmont had a 10-0 run and a 44-36 lead.

Wright said the sequence was full of “big momentum plays” for Piedmont.

“The little things I’m talking about are finishing plays, rebounding, and defense,” Wright said. “We just didn’t do it at a high enough level to win the game.”

The Wildcats got the ball to start the final period and hit back-to-back buckets for double-digit lead, 48-36. Wright called a timeout to try and stem the tide.

West got back within nine points, 56-47, with 3:51 left after two free throws from sophomore JaMauri Kimbrough. Wheeler added a bucket off of a steal and Piedmont coach Brian Beale called timeout.

The Wildcats then went on an 8-0 run to put things out of reach.

SENIORS ‘DIDN’T RUN FROM ADVERSITY’

Wright was proud of Carter and Wheeler, his two seniors.

“It hurts (for them), and it’s supposed to,” But one thing I know about those two, they’ll be better men for it.”

The duo went through three different coaches in three years at West.

“I’m forever indebted to those two. They poured into this program all four years. They stayed here. 
They didn’t run from the adversity. They didn’t run from the challenge, and they’re a huge part of why we had the success we had this year.”

Carter scored seven of his 20 points in the fourth quarter while trying to keep West close. He hit two 3-pointers, had a rebound and two assists.

Wheeler added seven points, six rebounds, eight assists and a pair of steals.

BUILDING BLOCKS FOR WEST

The loss marks the fourth straight season that West has been knocked out in the area round of the 6A playoffs, but Wright is hopeful after an 18-8 season that came after struggles over the last three seasons, coupled with the coaching changes.

Wright, in his first season as head coach after being an assistant, was proud of his team’s progress

“Considering the fact that, 12-15, two years ago, last year, 11-17, this year we won 18 games. We put ourselves in position to make the state tournament.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my group for their resiliency and everything they fought through all season.”

Wright said the team had higher expectations than those on the outside.

“I think it’s safe to say that nobody expected us to do the things that we did this year. 
We fell short of our ultimate team goals that we had in mind. Getting to this point, was never a question for us.”

While losing Carter and Wheeler stings, Wright sees a bright future.

“We’ve got a good young core. 
I wish (the seniors) the best, but we’ll take a couple days off and marinate on this one and then we’ll right back to it to get better. Try to improve next year.”

TIP-INS

• West junior Andre Farrar dealt with foul trouble early but scored six points in the first half. He fouled out with 1:40 left in the game with nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
• Patriot sophomore Miekyel Armstead scored six of his eight points in the third quarter.
• Sophomore JaMauri Kimbrough scored four points, all in the second half. His two free throws pulled West within nine points, 56-47, with 4:02 left.
• West sophomore Earl Smith scored his two points with 48 seconds before halftime to cut the deficit to two points, 26-24. Smith drove into the paint and hit an off-balance shot against Piedmont senior Hudson Hornberger. The two players did some jawing while going down the court and were hit with a double technical foul.
• Piedmont’s Hite finished with 20 points, including two treys. Hainrihar added 16 points, including 10 points in the second half.

	1	2	3	4	F
Piedmont (22-6)	16	10	18	20	64
Putnam City West (18-9)	11	13	12	14	50