Shawnee boys top Tecumseh; Lady Savages down Lady Wolves

In matchups put together as a result of the pandemic, the Shawnee Wolves entertained the Tecumseh Savages Friday night in front of a large crowd at the SHS Performing Arts and Athletic Center.

Shawnee claimed a 63-58 decision in the boys' game while Tecumseh came out as the winner in the girls' game, 46-42.

The games were quickly set up Thursday after the opponents of both schools were forced to undergo COVID protocols. Shawnee was supposed to host Lawton Eisenhower while Tecumseh was scheduled to play at Noble.

At halftime of the boys' game, the 2011-12 Shawnee High School girls' basketball team was recognized on the 10th anniversary of its undefeated and state championship team. The team was inducted into the Shawnee Basketball Hall of Fame.

Shawnee 63, Tecumseh 58 (Boys)

Both teams were without one of their starting standouts on Friday. Shawnee missed Jaylon Orange while Tecumseh was without Brady Overstreet.

Four Wolves were able to pick up the slack and reach double figures in escaping with the victory.

Senior Tanner Morris recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals and a pair of assists.

Joining Morris in double figures were T.J. Bishop with 14, Jalen Wicks with 11 and Kayden Shaw with 10.

“Tanner did a great job in the first half, keeping us in striking range,” said Shawnee head coach Eric Litherland, who at one time coached at Tecumseh. “T.J. and Wicks hit some big shots for us in the second half. Down Jaylon, we had to have collective guys step up.”

Morris, who nailed four 3-pointers in the game, had 17 points and six rebounds in the first half. As a result of Friday's game, Morris needs just two points to join the Wolves' 1,000-point career scoring club.

Bishop hit one trey and had a dunk on his way to 14 points as he also collected three steals. Wicks scored all 11 of his points in the second half as he connected on three long-range shots. Shaw, who also grabbed six boards, also had two dunks and a massive amount of blocked shots, despite experiencing some foul problems.

“It hurt us losing Kayden Shaw (to fouls). But he did a pretty good job staying in the game late (without fouling out),” Litherland said.

Ben Corley paced the Savages with 21 points and Jase Edwards added 18. Jaxon Meyers was next with eight points.

Edwards drained four treys and Corley had three as Tecumseh connected on seven long-range shots in the contest. Edwards finished 6-of-10 from the floor while Corley was 9-of-16.

“Ben Corley played really well for them,” said Litherland. “Daveon Mays had only three points for them. I thought we did a good job defensively on him, because he can hurt you with his penetrations and their team is coming off beating Jones (Tuesday) and putting up 93 points.”

Brennon Carter and Marquan Krush added four points each and Mays' three points rounded out the scoring for Tecumseh. Carter also pulled down nine rebounds.

Daytain Patton and Collin Brooks rounded out the Shawnee scoring with two apiece. Patton also had three assists and two steals. Brooks also had a pair of steals.

The Wolves, 6-7 on the season, overcame poor foul shooting (7-of-15) while the Savages, who fell to 6-7, were 3-of-4.

Tecumseh 46, Shawnee 42 (Girls)

The Lady Savages (8-5) rode a hot start, overcame a cold-shooting second quarter and outscored Shawnee (4-9) by seven in the second half in securing the win.

Thirty-nine of Tecumseh's 46 points came from the starters as Kenzli Warden led the way with 11 and Serenity Jacoway finished with 10.

Sami Schweighardt, with seven, Jadyn Wilson, with six, and Reagan Berry, with five, rounded out the scoring for the starters. All seven of the Lady Savage bench points came from Schantel Evans.

Tecumseh drained eight treys in the game with Jacoway nailing three while Warden and Wilson knocking down two each. Schweighardt had the other.

“We made a lot of mistakes (21 turnovers), but found a way to win. We knew going in, it was going to be tough,” said Tecumseh head coach Eldon Gentry II.

One critical area which helped the Lady Savages was rebounding as Tecumseh owned a 38-24 advantage on the boards. Evans pulled down nine rebounds, Warden had eight, Jacoway hustled for seven and Schweihardt added six.

“That was one of our focuses this week was rebounding,” Gentry said.

Ansley Orell, behind six 3-point connections, poured in a game-high 21 points and Tristyn Napier added 18. Unfortunately for the Lady Wolves, only five more points came from the remainder of the team – a trey by Tylyn Thurman and a 2-pointer from Amaya Martinez.

Anneca Anderson didn't get into the scoring for Shawnee, but handed out five assists and ended up with two steals. Anderson shared team-high rebounding honors with Orrell at six.

The Lady Wolves, with 10 less turnovers than the Lady Savages, ended up with 11.

Tecumseh built an 18-10 lead through one quarter after converting 7-of-10 shots. The Lady Savages were 6-of-6 from the floor to start the game. Shawnee was only 2-of-10 during that span and was helped by a 4-of-4 effort from the line in reaching 10 points.

The Lady Savages hit an iceberg in the second quarter, connecting on only 3-of-15 attempts from the field. The Lady Wolves were a slightly better 4-of-9 in the second period, but Tecumseh maintained a 28-21 halftime advantage.

Shawnee was only 1-of-13 from the field in the third, but hit 7-of-10 foul shots in staying in contention, but the Lady Savages pushed their lead to 41-30 by the end of the third.

Tecumseh is scheduled to host Mount St. Mary on Tuesday while Shawnee's next action will be in its own invitational tournament on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on The Shawnee News-Star: Shawnee boys top Tecumseh; Lady Savages down Lady Wolves