Upset bid falls short
The Santa Fe boy’s basketball team led No. 1-ranked Putnam City for much of the first half, and the first three minutes of the third quarter, before an 18-1 run by the Pirates doomed any hopes of a Wolves upset bid, as PC went on to a 65-47 win.
No. 8 Santa Fe (10-7) made it clear early that PC’s Xavier Henry was not going to get any easy baskets, as they held the talented junior to eight points through the first half, six of which came at the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, the Wolves hit 6-of-9 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes of play, with Nic Combs hitting 3-of-3 beyond the arc, while Michael Spinner hit two, and Ross Morrisett hit another, as Santa Fe went into halftime tied 28-28 with the Pirates.
Spinner hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the second quarter, but PC’s Garrond Wright hit one as time expired to get the tie.
In the second half things were looking up for the Wolves as Combs scored Santa Fe’s first seven points, as they jumped out to a 35-32 lead with 4:56 left in the third.
But all was not well for the Wolves, who were in deep foul trouble — Brandon Willis and Ricky Vick, who each did exceptionally well stopping Henry, each had three fouls, while Combs also had three.
Henry took advantage scoring the final six points of the third, as PC took a 43-36 lead into the fourth.
The lead grew to 49-36, before Victor Driver drained a 3-pointer from the left wing, to cut the lead back to 10 points. Santa Fe hit just one shot — a conventional three-point play by Brandon Willis with 1:46 left — from the field for the remainder of the contest.
Putnam City outscored Santa Fe 37-19 in the final 16 minutes.
Combs led the Wolves with 20 points, while Xavier Henry scored a game-high 22 points, while hitting just five shots from the field.
Santa Fe will take on Choctaw on Tuesday night.
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