Deer Creek tops Midwest City to win Bruce Gray Invitational
EDMOND — Clyde Davis Jr.'s unwavering faith kept him leveled amidst the heat of the moment.
A pair of free throws from Midwest City initially seemed to be the dagger with 90 seconds remaining. Davis managed to keep his cool as Deer Creek trailed by four with a minute remaining Saturday night in the Bruce Gray Invitational basketball title game.
It was familiar territory for Davis and the Antlers, who'd found themselves in a fair share of high-intensity games down the stretch in the past.
"It was important for us to remember who we were and what got us in the finals at that moment," Davis said after Deer Creek edged Midwest City 66-63 to win the Bruce Gray Invitational for the second consecutive year. "Coach preaches every day about being us and not taking plays off. He tells us to keep going no matter what and that there'd be no resets in times like these."
However, Deer Creek soon began to acknowledge the advantage that they had at their disposal.
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With the Antlers in the bonus, they made it to the free throw line three times in the final minute, where they nailed all five free throws. An and-1 layup from forward Mason Smith gave the Antlers a three-point lead with less than 11 seconds remaining.
As Midwest City needed a three-pointer to tie the game, Davis swooped into Bombers guard Deshawn Denson's blind spot for a game-sealing steal. He then pushed the ball to the other end as time expired, roaring in unison with cheers from the Deer Creek student section.
"There wasn't anything that I wasn't ready to do for us to win tonight," Davis said. "My shot wasn't falling in the second half, so I wanted to affect the games in other areas. It's always about making winning plays."
Davis scored 17 points while dishing seven assists to earn the tournament's Most Valuable Player honors.
The win marked Deer Creek's seventh consecutive win as the Antlers improved to 14-3. They currently sit second in the District 6A-1 standings behind reigning two-time Class 6A champion Edmond North.
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Antlers forward Mason Smith, assigned to defend four-star Midwest City guard Carlsheon Young for most of the night, had a strong performance on both ends of the floor. The junior forward finished the night with 10 points and nine rebounds.
"Wins like tonight are huge for us and our momentum in the second half of the season," Smith said. "Winning three days in a row, just like what we've got to do in the state tournament to win a gold ball, I'd say it's a pretty big deal."
The tournament win highlights Deer Creek's affirmation of a larger goal: to win its first basketball state championship in 50 years.
After losing to Owasso in last year's state quarterfinals, Antlers' head coach Mike Donnelly remains motivated to recapture the glory Deer Creek basketball last displayed during their 1974 state title run.
"Over the last few weeks, I feel that we've found our stride as a unit," Donnelly said.
"We've looked at these past few weeks of tournament play as a launching pad into the stretch run. It's certainly given us confidence heading into February, and hopefully, we can continue into March. Ultimately, we dictate our fate and best believe we have our eyes on the ultimate prize of holding up that gold ball."
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Updates from other Oklahoma basketball tournaments
Cashion County Line Tournament
Saturday championship at Cashion
After 17 years, Blake Griffin's record has been broken.
Luke Gray became the all-time scoring leader for Oklahoma Christian School's boys basketball program on Saturday. He reached a career total of 1,676 points during a 75-48 win over Fairview in the Cashion County Line Championship.
Gray surpassed Griffin, who finished his high school career in 2007 with 1,663 points. The Oklahoma City native then spent two seasons at OU and 13 seasons in the NBA. He's currently a free agent.
Meanwhile, Gray's basketball career is just getting started.
The 6-foot-7 senior forward is rated by 247Sports as a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and the No. 3 overall player in the state of Oklahoma. He holds Division I offers from programs such as Liberty, North Carolina Greensboro and South Carolina State.
—Justin Martinez, Staff writer
Shawnee Invitational
Saturday championship at Shawnee
Roman Miller led Mustang with 26 points to defeat Choctaw, 56-48, in the Shawnee Invitational finals.
Miller received tournament MVP honors. Tyson Pogi of Mustang and Ja’Mon Valentine of Choctaw also made the all-tournament team.
—Hallie Hart, Staff writer
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS basketball: Deer Creek wins Bruce Gray Invitational
