Bartlesville-area basketball: Both Dewey and Nowata teams claim tourney victories

The concept of moral victories seems to be a  disarming dichotomy in the metaphysical lexicon of sports competition.

Either one wins or one loses. Right?

But, somewhere between the opening whistle and final buzzer, a game takes on a life of itself. Players cover ground they’ll never cover again. All that will remain will be memories and experience.

The memories could last a lifetime; the experience could help them become better players and a better team.

Thus the idea of a moral victory — that somewhere down the line the lessons learned and skills improved in that game will help build up to success in the future.

With that in mind, several area prep basketball teams absorbed lessons — both in triumph and defeat — in tournaments last weekend that might be a springboard to future wins.

Following are some of those teams:

DEWEY BOYS

The Doggers finished 1-2 at the Oologah Tournament, but dropped only one of its decision by seven points to Salina, 67-60. Dewey beat Cleveland, 65-58, and lost to Pryor, 50-35.

“We didn’t rebound very well,” Dewey head coach Lance Knight said about the loss to Salina. “It was close to the end. We had to foul. We kind of ran out of gas (fourth game in five days). We missed some shots when we needed them.”

Dewey (5-5) has been led offensively this year primarily by Jace Williams and Zaiden Masters. In the win against Cleveland, Masters tallied 19 points and grabbed 13 boards. Other major offensive contributors during the weekend were Williams with double-digit points in multiple games; Ryder Muninger with 21 points in a game; and Austin Eastham with double-digit points against Cleveland.

NOWATA GIRLS

The Lady Ironmen finished 1-2, including a two-point setback against Ketchum, 39-37. Kansas also downed Nowata, 75-29, and Nowata leveled Mounds, 45-29.

“We did not play up to par against Kansas,” Nowata head coach Thad Hewitt said. “We had a really good bounce-back game against Mounds. That might be one of the better games we’ve played together as a team. We distributed the ball well and looked for open teammates. We played pretty well.”

Early foul trouble doomed Nowata’s chances against Ketchum. Jordan Ashley, who has been one of their most powerful weapons, played only five minutes — due to fouls.

But, other factors played into the two-point loss.

“We hit only five-of-12 from the free throw line and we missed several layups. … It was a good learning point,” Hewitt said.

For the season, Ashley and Nadine Stamps are leading the team in scoring. In the tournament, “Dakota Brown shot the ball well,” Hewitt said. “She just doesn’t shoot it enough. Her shooting percentage is really good.”

Mesa Holt also has played well in recent games for Nowata, the coach added, noting she hit a key three-pointer to spur a big rally a few games ago against the Caney Valley (Kan.) team.

DEWEY GIRLS

Dewey came in at 1-2 in its tournament, highlighted by a 49-32 thumping of Oklahoma Union. In the first two games, Dewey dropped close decisions to Oologah, 41-33, and Pryor, 53-43.

“We knew we didn’t want to be in the last place game,” Dewey head coach Michael Sanders said. “Even so, we decided we could go out and play our best and try to get on the right path. A lot of our girls started to click in.”

Point guard Matney Epperson scored 10 points against Oklahoma Union.

“She’s a great kid, top-notch,” Sanders said. “She always has a good attitude. … She always does the right things.”

C.J. Jones is starting to find her offensive rhythm, Sanders said, adding she produced 12 points — a quarter of Dewey’s scoring — against Oklahoma Union.

Freshman Shatana Sutton has been a defensive warrior that is “a hard worker,” Sanders said. “She has a high motor, it never stops. … I thought she did an excellent job adding some points here and there. She’s learning every game.”

NOWATA BOYS

The Ironmen finished 2-1 in the Chelsea tourney, with wins against Caney Valley, 66-56, and Mounds, 64-56. Kansas outlasted Nowata in the semifinals, 54-39.

Nowata entered this week with a 5-6 record.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: AREA HOOPS: Both Dewey and Nowata teams claim tourney victories