Midwest City tops Booker T. Washington for title
CLASS 5A BOYS BASKETBALL
NORMAN — Torey Noel’s ascent to Midwest City head coach is officially golden.
As a player from 2010-14, Noel twice helped the Bombers reach the finals of the basketball state tournament, but the gold ball and a state championship proved elusive.
A decade later – in his first season as head coach of the Bombers – Noel has that coveted state title.
“When I first got the job, that is what I told y’all, right?” Noel said to Midwest City players Carl’Sheon Young and Deshawn Denson after the Bombers edged Tulsa Booker T. Washington, 6966, in the Class 5A state championship game Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.
“From the start, I told them we can have the best turnaround Oklahoma has ever seen. Me being here as an assistant, I already knew the guys and knew what they could do if they just bought in and just came to practice to work every day.”
The “turnaround” is indeed terrific. One year after winning just six games, Midwest City has earned the fifth title in the history of its program, and its first since a Class 6A crown in 2007.
“How long? Seventeen (years)?” Noel said. “That’s crazy. I’ve been in two (state finals) of them. The last time we were there, I was actually playing, so for me to be coaching now and to get one, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
After the game, Noel paid tribute to deceased former Midwest City teammate Cornell Neal by donning Neal’s No. 15 Midwest City jersey.
“The last time we were here, he was playing with me,” Noel said.
The win was the 14th in a row for Midwest City (26-3), which was forced to climb out of a pair of 13-point deficits in the first half. The Bombers managed to get within eight points by halftime at 39-31, then opened the third quarter with a 14-6 surge that tied the final at 45-45.
“Just accept the challenge,” said Young, a 6-foot-4 guard who committed to Oklahoma State last October. “Just because we’re down, that don’t mean nothing. There’s a lot of basketball, so we kept our heads and got it done.”
Midwest City led by six points midway through the fourth quarter at 61-55, but Tulsa Booker T. Washington used an 11-4 burst – capped by a steal and driving layup by sophomore Isaac Sanders with 36.5 seconds left – to claim the lead at 66-65.
“Let’s just stay poised and stay aggressive,” Noel said. “Let’s try to get to the free-throw line. That way, we can shoot easy baskets. That’s what I preached the whole game. Just put pressure on their defense and get downhill. That’s what we did.”
A couple of defensive stops and two free throws apiece from Young and senior Roy Henderson capped off the title.
“Be the tougher team,” said Young, who transferred from Newcastle after last season. “Be tougher than them. That’s the way we got the job done.”
Young led all scorers with 22 points, while Denson capped a spectacular sophomore campaign with 14 points, plus a team-high eight rebounds and five assists with just two turnovers.
“It’s crazy,” Denson said. “I’m still young, so I’ve still got another two years. … It hasn’t set in. It hasn’t. It’s an unbelievable feeling and just us winning that game, it’s crazy.”
The final was another testament to the grit and guts the Bombers displayed this week in winning three state tournament games — 57-56 over Collinsville, 56-54 against Carl Albert and now the title tilt – by a combined six total points.
Mason Matulis scored 16 points for Tulsa Booker T. Washington (25-3), which was denied a 17th boys basketball state championship that would have tied the state record held by Millwood, which lost the Class 3A title game earlier in the day.
This season, Midwest City had four players score 25 or more points in a game and six that scored at least 18. That formula proved successful yet again as Henderson’s 16 points and 10 from junior Jarvis Nash gave the Bombers four double-figure scorers.
“It’s huge,” Noel said. “At any moment, whoever’s night it is, we have got to roll with it and trust in them. And that is what we have done.”