Lawton High boys heading to State

BRIDGE CREEK—Lawton High secured a hard-fought 58-54 win over the Carl Albert Titans Thursday to earn the Wolverines’ first trip to the state tournament since 2009.

For a time LHS seemed ready to put the game away early but the Titans were not finished just yet but the Wolverines made just enough free throws and a couple of big buckets to seal the outcome.

Following Thursday’s win LHS head coach Chevis Smith and the players were filled with emotion.

“I feel amazing. I’m super excited and proud of our guys,” said Smith.

At halftime, the game was tied 18-18 as the Titans’ deliberate pace was affecting the style that the Wolverines love.

However, Lawton’s offense came alive in the third quarter led by Tavaris Deans and Pene Vaisagote. Vaisagote hit two quick three-pointers, while Deans added two baskets in the paint. Corey Barnes and Marcus Rucker extended the lead, helping the Wolverines go up 32-22 with three and a half minutes left in the quarter.

Champ Brewer’s three-pointer and a steal-turned-dunk by Vaisagote pushed Lawton’s advantage to 39-24. The offensive surge and strong defense limited the Titans to just eight points in the third, and the Wolverines led 41-26 heading into the final quarter.

Vaisagote started the fourth with a slam, giving Lawton its biggest lead of the night at 17 points. With two and a half minutes left, the Wolverines were still up by 16, but Carl Albert wasn’t done fighting.

Xavier Garcia led a late Titan surge, converting an and-one and making key free throws. A three-pointer by Garcia and another from Austin Johnson brought Carl Albert within seven points with 1:34 left. After missed free throws from Lawton, Johnson cut the lead to five.

Avery Young responded with a layup for LHS, but Carl Albert kept pushing. Young later hit two free throws, giving Lawton a seven-point cushion. Johnson drained another three with 26 seconds left, but the Wolverines held on to win 58-54, claiming the 5A Area Championship.

Lawton held a comfortable lead in the third quarter and through most of the fourth but Smith admitted that this deep into the season, even when you’re up, you never have it easy.

“It took believing in ourselves and not second guessing anything,” Smith said. “To finish on top we went back to our game-plan and started playing as we should.”

Lawton hit four three-pointers on the night, and in the third quarter, scored 23 points while shutting the Titans down to only six. Vaisagote totaled 18 points for the Wolverines with 16 of those points coming in the second half. Deans followed with nine second-half points and Young with seven.

Lawton now will advance to the OSSAA 5A State tournament next week with times and opponent to be announced either Saturday or Sunday by the OSSAA.