LHS boys, Mac girls get intracity wins

Lawton High School boys used their prowess on the boards and an aggressive press to take a 69-51 victory over MacArthur Tuesday at the Highlanders’ Gym.

In the girls game, Mac’s talented group rained in a bunch of early treys and coasted to a 76-28 victory that got to the point where the coaches and officials agreed for a running clock in the fourth quarter.

The boys game, though, had excitement most of the way and even though the Wolverines surged out to a 15-point lead early in the game, Mac hung around and made a run in the third period to cut the deficit to just four, 39-35, after three players went down in a heap and tempers flared. However, LPS administrators and police quickly got the players separated and calmed things down.

Garrett Herring hit both technical foul shots after an LHS player was hit with the technical and that made it a, 39-31, LHS lead. After the teams traded turnovers, Mac’s Anthony Thomas hit a nice floater and then after LHS missed at the other end, Keyion Brown, hit a bucket to cut the LHS lead to four and gave the Mac fans hope.

But just as quick the Wolverines went on a 13-2 run to regain complete command.

Then it was Madden Padilla time as the former Mac player scored six straight points on layups, all after Mac turnovers. He had a pair of steals and it was quickly 52-37 and from there the Wolverines just kept stretching the lead until it arranged the final score.

“Our press and rebounding were vital tonight,” LHS coach Chevis Smith said. “And our depth really helped. We went 10 deep at one time.”

The first-year coach was not happy about some items.

“We have to be more disciplined and value possessions more,” he said. “We also took some shots late that I sure wasn’t happy about. That’s what I told them after the game; value every possession.”

Mac boys coach Marco Gagliardi was most upset about the turnovers his club committed.

“We probably had a million turnovers tonight,” Gagliadi said. “They are so athletic that it’s hard for us to match up with them. Plus when we turn it over like that it just makes our job tougher. We get to within four there and then I think we sent them to the foul line on two or three possessions.”

Both teams will put this non-district doubleheader behind and swing into the final few district games that will assign the playoff pairings.

Lawton High boys are 4-4 in District 6A-2 heading into a Friday game against district foe Eisenhower but the Eagles are at the bottom of the district standings and are trying to rebuild for the future.

Mac boys are in good shape in 5A-2 with a 5-2 record heading into a Friday home game against OKC Southeast.

“We are in pretty good shape in our district sitting third,” Gagliardi said. “If this hold like it is now, we’d get the sixth-place team from District 5A-1. We have some games coming up we should be able to win if we just clean up a few things.”

The Mac girls were just too much for the Wolverines but LHS did make it close for a few minutes before the Highlanders’ pressure started to take a heavy toll. The Highlanders were able to sink several big treys in the early going and then just pulled away with their superior athletic ability and depth.

Otis Gentry’s Mac girls are in great shaped in District 5A-2, sitting second with a 5-1 record entering the home game with Southeast Friday but the visitors are at the bottom of the standings and struggling.