The 7th-ranked Panthers (pic 1) claimed the Area IV Boys Basketball Championship Friday night in Cleveland and forced the number-one Stuart Hornets into the "Win or Go Home" game to be played Saturday night.
Glencoe defeated the Jeff Weedn-led Hornets, 48-44, Friday, in a surprisingly low-scoring contest to earn one of the first four spots in the Class B tourney. Each of the first four is undefeated at this point and hold an advantage over the second set of four which will have to win their play-in games Saturday night to earn a spot in the bracket. Because they already will have one tournament loss, another defeat will send any of the second four home.
Glencoe will play its first game Thursday in Oklahoma City. The Panthers' opponent will not be official until after Saturday's games.
Friday night, the Panthers trailed Stuart 14-13 after one quarter and the Hornets slowly built the lead to double digits in the third quarter. With 6:03 remaining in the game and trailing by 11 at 41-30, the Glencoe defense came alive and from that point to the end of the game, held Stuart to just three points while scoring 18 of their own. In fact, Stuart didn't score again until only 1:03 remained in the game and the Panthers were up 46-43.
Glencoe finally had tied the score at 41 on a drive to the bucket by Maddox Schubert (pic 2) with 3:45 remaining. In pic 3, the Glencoe crowd erupts as Maddox's lay-up drops through the net. Styler Hendren put the Panthers in the lead with 1:21 left on the clock with an unchallenged three-pointer he calmly gathered himself to shoot (pic 4).
Schubert went to the line with 15.3 seconds left to extend the lead to four points (pic 5) and the final tally of 48-44. Unofficially, Hollis Garfield scored 15; Styler Hendren had 10; Maddox Schubert and Preston Bates each had eight, and Camron Racy had six.
Stuart will play Wilson (Henryetta) Saturday night in Cleveland in both teams' last chance to make the State tournament. The Panthers beat Wilson here in our Regional tournament last week, 79-55.
Buzzer beaters are always fun for the crowd and the Panther fans cheered loudly but the shot also was a dagger for the Wilson faithful who saw the score pushed back to a full 30 points, 66-36, to end the quarter. Wilson had staged a couple of small rallies in the third quarter but Preston's buzzer-beater was also a crowd killer.
If Glencoe must play ninth-ranked Wilson again Saturday night in Cleveland, they will face a team which will bring the sting of a painful loss with them. They will have a completely different mindset and motivation. The Panthers will do well to remember that.
Seventh-ranked GHS Panthers will play the top-seeded and undefeated Stuart Hornets Friday night at 7:30 in the Cleveland Event Center. Since neither team has a loss in the qualifying bracket yet this year, the winner will immediately qualify for State while the loser of Friday's game will have a chance to advance to the state tourney with a win Saturday night in Cleveland.
If Garrett Schubert's Panthers have to play that Saturday night game, it is possible that their matchup would be against one of two teams they defeated in the Regional Tournament they hosted in Glencoe over the weekend. Both Wesleyan Christian and Wilson (Henryetta) will be in the mix of possible opponents Saturday.
The Panthers were crowned the Region C Champions at the Jennifer Lazenby Event Center Saturday night with a win over ninth-ranked Wilson, 79-55. Hollis Garfield led all scorers with 19 points, many of which he earned by repeatedly attacking Wilson's backdoor as their defense moved out to try to stop the Panthers' long distance shooters. Styler Hendren scored 14; Preston Bates and Cameron Racy each added 13; Kent Rossander scored 11; Maddox Schubert had eight and Carson Racy made a free throw.
For Wilson, Ke'Shon Shelburn (1) scored 18 and Andrew Wilson (12) added nine. Earlier in the Regional Tournament, the Panthers beat Wesleyan Christian 77-65
GHS Athletic Director Tony Holt noted that the Panthers' first state championship in 2000 came after a loss in the Area tournament that year.
Glencoe will face top-20-ranked Henryetta (Wilson) at 7:30 Saturday in the JLEV and while both teams will earn a spot in the Area Tournament, the loser will face elimination in their first area game if it loses. Wilson beat Earlsboro 83-62 Tuesday night in Earlsboro.
The Lady Panthers will face Wesleyan Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday night in Glencoe. Both ladies' teams suffered a loss in their district contests so only the the winner Thursday will continue to advance .
The Panthers took control of their game in the first few minutes with a strong full court press and forced several early turnovers which led a 19-9 first quarter lead and their half court defense kept Wesleyan off balance all night. Glencoe led 40-24 at the half but Wesleyan did pull within single digits a few times late on the strength of some outside shooting which had eluded them in the first half. In the end though, the Panthers' in-your-face defense and an offense that seemed to attack the basket from every angle withstood the late-game challenges.
A good home crowd attended the game and the Lady Panthers hope for equally loud support from their fans Thursday. Number one fan and former GHS coach and principal Chad Speer will keep the spectators dancing with (mostly) oldies rock and roll. See your there!
We don't need your copy, we're just looking for the information on it. If you could email the pics, that would be great.
We need the class motto, the class colors and the class officers for the Senior Panel in the HS foyer. The yearbook staff and especially the families of the Class of 22 would be most appreciative. Thank you!
GHS is honored to have been selected to host the Class B1, Area IV Regional Basketball Tournament at the Jennifer Lazenby Event Center.
Hopefully Panther fans will come out in large numbers to support the girls and boys as they try to take advantage of playing at home for this important stage of the state tournament. Both teams will play Wesleyan Christian School . The Panthers play at 7:30 Tuesday evening and the Lady Panthers will play at 6 pm Thursday.
Glencoe varsity is pictured playing Pawnee on Senior Night to conclude the regular home season schedule.
If anyone has old Glencoe High School items they would like to donate to be displayed, please bring it to the Glencoe High School or contact the office at 580-669-2261.
$10 cash at the door - a portion of cash sales goes to the host school
$8.35 Go Fan tickets - on the GoFan app or at GoFan.co - all proceeds go to OSSAA
