Kyron Stokes Update

[ORUTerry]

From the Dallas Morning News (2-22-2007)

Mansfield Summit 60, Odessa 48:

At Abilene Christian, Kyron Stokes poured in 28 points to lead Mansfield Summit (28-5) past Odessa in a Region I bi-district game. Stokes also grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven steals.   Stokes scored eight of his points in the fourth quarter, when Summit outscored Odessa, 19-11. Summit was 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.

From the Odessa American (2-22-2007)

OHS eliminated by state-ranked foe in bi-district

By Craig Craker

ccraker@oaoa.com

ABILENE - The Odessa High Bronchos did everything right Wednesday except win.

Mansfield Summit wore down the Bronchos and advanced to the Class 5A area round with a 60-48 bi-district victory at Abilene Christian University?s Moody Coliseum.

The Bronchos (17-14 overall) played their best defense of the season, were solid on offense, received contributions from nearly everyone on the team and even made their free throws.

But they still came up short, as a much deeper Summit team pulled away in the end.

?It?s tough,? Odessa High?s Justin Najera said. ?We fought our hardest and just came up short.

?They are a good team. They are athletic. We thought we had them beat, but at the end of the game they were just a better team.?

Mansfield Summit (28-5), which is ranked No. 11 in the state, will play either El Paso Americas in the area round this weekend.

The game likely is to be played Friday night at Midland Christian.

Odessa High had Summit reeling for most of the game, after rallying from a 10-0 hole and taking a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

?I think we shocked them,? Odessa High?s Travis Nickens said. ?I think they thought blowout and we came in fighting our asses off.?

Nickens put forth his best game of the season, scoring 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bronchos.

Najera added 10 points and five rebounds, but both players were visibly tired in the fourth quarter against a team that rotated 10 players.

?We knew they would go on a run and we just had to play through it,? Mansfield Summit?s Kyron Stokes said. ?We knew we could wear them out in the end, that is our game.?

Stokes, who led all scorers with 28 points and had eight rebounds, has signed to play at NCAA Division I Oral Roberts University.

The Bronchos took control of the game late in the first half and early in the third quarter, going on a 10-0 run.

Trailing 26-24 with 1:25 left in the half, Cory Watson had a lay-in at the buzzer for a 26-26 halftime tie.

Travis Howard and Jeremy Flores added lay-ins to open the first half, Nickens hit two free throws and Howard had another lay-in for a 34-26 OHS lead with 5:21 left in the third.

But the Jaguars wouldn?t go away and closed the third on a 15-3 run to take a 41-37 lead.

Odessa High briefly regained the lead at 42-41 on a three-point play by Howard and again at 45-44 on a 3-pointer by Nickens, but it was the last lead the Bronchos held.

?We could have quit,? first-year Odessa High head coach James Johnson said. ?We hadn?t been playing well and we were down 10-0, but we held them down.

?I couldn?t be more proud of this team.?

Howard finished with seven points and Flores and Watson added five each.

The loss ends the careers of the seniors, most notably Najera. Najera has been contacted by Angelo State in San Angelo, Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Ark., and Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Both players hope to play at the next level.

Odessa High, meanwhile, looks ahead to next year where it will hope to play off of the experience gained by underclassmen down the stretch.

?They?ve played in this building now,? Johnson said. ?This is where the regional tournament is held and I told them we want to get back here for the regional tournament and not just a bi-district game. That is our goal.?

[Old Titan]

Great article, Terry!  Stokes sounds like a real player.  I was introduced to him last year on his official visit, and he seemed like a quality guy, too.

Gotta figure the starting frontcourt is set for next year with King, Ogunoye and Lewis, with Sango and Spicer spelling them off the bench.

Should be interesting, however, to see the backcourt battle for playing time between Ehambe, Liberty, Allen, Stokes and Jarvis.

[ORUTerry]

Where does Jordan fit into that equation?

[ORU Eli]

On the end of the bench.......

[Old Titan]

Where does Jordan fit into that equation?

Oklahoma Baptist?

I know that sounds cold, but the guy can't be having any fun riding the pine....

[djenkins13]

Is Jarvis the Juco guard? Supposedly has played very well and will be one of the top 3 guards. Don't know how well the Kstate transfer is fitting in right now. Still looking at a couple of guys these next 2 weeks from out of state. A big swing would come in handy. Really don't think Jordan will ever play at ORU.

[ORUTerry]

Jarvis is the juco guard (Seminole JC) who is about 5'10". He is averaging 23.2 ppg and is shooting 94% from the free throw line - so he must be somewhat of a shooter. I think I have heard that the coaches expect him to be a 'combo' guard who can also play point guard.

Our guard position looks to be fairly strong with:

Liberty - pg

Ehambe - sg

Allen - sg

Stokes - sg

Jarvis - pg/sg

Curtis Allen (K-State transfer) is doing well from little I have heard. When I saw him playing in practice before the season, he showed great speed with the dribble and a decent shot from the perimeter. Look for him to use his athleticism to drive to the basket. At 6'3" he is also a nice sized guard.

[ORU Eli]

Thank goodness Liberty isn't a tiny PG. Having your SG stand at 5'10" has gotta create a little bit of a defensive liability in several situations ala JB.

[ORUTerry]

Kyron Stokes and Mansfield Summit (30-5) take on FM Marcus (29-6) Friday night in the Region I semi-finals at Abilene Christian University. The winner will take on either EP Montwood (27-5) or Duncanville (35-0) who also play tonight - for the Region I championship.

[ORUTerry]

Marauders fall to Summit in overtime

By Al Pickett, Special to the Leader

(Created: Friday, March 2, 2007 10:56 PM CST)

 

Story Link

ABILENE

Flower Mound Marcus? terrific season came to a heartbreaking end Friday night as Mansfield Summit edged the Marauders 60-57 in the Region I-5A boys basketball tournament semifinals at Abilene Christian University?s Moody Coliseum.

Summit sank five of six free throws in the overtime to claim the victory. The Jaguars will take a 31-5 record into today?s noon championship game against top-ranked and unbeaten Duncanville.

?We had a great season,? Marcus coach Jody Bass said. ?29-7 is nothing to be ashamed of. We hit a big three to get it into overtime, and we gave it everything we had. I?m proud of the kids.?

Marcus, which trailed by five, 52-47, with just 1:35 remaining in regulation, got a 3-pointer from Shane Rogers with a minute left and another trey from Jon Miller with 14 seconds to go to tie the game at 53-53 and send the contest into overtime.

The Marauders drew first blood in the extra period when Clinton Houston (poetic justice - this is the kid that chose San Diego over ORU), who led Marcus with 19 points, hit a baseline jumper.

Summit tied the game, 55-55, on a bucket by Derik Gibson. Marcus then turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions, miscues which Bass called the critical plays in the overtime.

Kyron Stokes hit one of two free throws with 1:27 to go to put Summit ahead 56-55. Stokes added two more free throws with 14 seconds left. Miller missed a 3-pointer, but Cameron Taggart tipped it in for Marcus with five seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one, 58-57.

Preston Davis sank two free throws with four seconds to go to make it 60-57. After a Summit timeout, Marcus inbounded the ball to Cooper Land, who dribbled into forecourt to try to shoot the game-tying 3-pointer. Land, however, lost the dribble and the Jaguars recovered the loose ball as time expired.

Summit sank seven 3-pointers in the first half, but the Jaguars led by just one, 31-30, at halftime.

?I didn?t think we played very well offensively in the first half,? Bass said. ?We turned it over too many times against their quickness. But we did a great job in the third quarter.?

Marcus? tremendous defensive effort in its 2-3 zone limited to the Jaguars to only four points in the third quarter as the Marauders took a 39-35 lead. Marcus were still in front 45-41 midway through the fourth period, but Summit answered with a 8-0 run n fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Davis and Will Gordon n to regain the lead, 49-45.

The Marauders outscored Summit 6-1 in the final minute of regulation to send the game into overtime, however.

Davis paced Summit with 17 points.

Summit 60, Marcus 57 (OT)

Marcus      13    17      9    14    4 n57

Summit      16    15    4    18    7?60

    Marcus n J.T. Samford 5, Cameron Taggart 8, Jon Miller 7, Cooper Land 6, Vic Leak 4, Shane Rogers 8, Clinton Houston 19.

Summit n Stephen Mudiay 7, Evan Randall 5, John Smith 1, Derik Gibson 6, Will Gordon 3, Kareem Smith 1, Kyron Stokes 12, Preston Davis 17, Landon Thomas 8.

[ORUTerry]

Pressure lifts Summit boys in win

01:42 AM CST on Saturday, March 3, 2007

By RANDY JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News

rjennings@dallasnews.com

ABILENE ? Mansfield Summit senior Preston Davis spent a lot of his Friday evening looking up at taller Flower Mound Marcus players.

But the 6-1 senior guard had a giant-killing plan.

"We knew if we could keep the pressure on them," Davis said, "we could control the tempo."

Davis and his Summit teammates hounded Marcus into nine turnovers in the final 12 minutes of a 60-57 overtime victory in a Class 5A Region I semifinal at Abilene Christian's Moody Coliseum.

Summit (31-5) will meet Duncanville (36-0) at noon today in the regional title game.

Davis led Summit with 17 points, including two free throws with 4.34 seconds remaining in overtime.

Marcus' chance at forcing a second overtime ended when 6-8 senior Cooper Land was stripped of his dribble near mid-court.

"Summit's athleticism bothered us a lot," said Marcus coach Jody Bass. "They applied a lot of pressure."

Two free throws by Kyron Stokes upped Summit's lead to 58-55 with 14 seconds left. A tip-in by Cameron Taggart brought Marcus within one with five seconds left.

Marcus' Jon Miller forced overtime by hitting a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Summit made six of its eight 3-pointers in the first half, when it broke to an early lead.

Marcus (29-7) took control of the second and third quarters with the inside play of 6-7 senior Clinton Houston. Houston led all scorers with 19 points.

[ORUTerry]

Duncanville boys show no signs of slowing

Dallas Morning News Link

March 4, 2007

By RANDY JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News

rjennings@dallasnews.com

ABILENE ? For many high school teams, Kevin Butler would be the star.

For Duncanville, the state's top-ranked team, the 6-5 junior forward patiently waits on the bench until summoned by coach Phil McNeely.

Butler came off the bench in a big way, contributing 15 points and 11 rebounds, in Duncanville's 68-48 win over Mansfield Summit in the Class 5A Region I championship game Saturday afternoon at Abilene Christian's Moody Coliseum.

In rolling to its first state tournament since 2000, Duncanville (37-0) won its five playoff games by an average of 17 points.

Butler said he was motivated by one thought: "I just kept thinking we've worked too hard not to go to state now."

McNeely said Butler has a nose for the ball and a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

"He came up huge today," McNeely said.

Butler was needed earlier than usual when starter Roger Franklin drew two quick fouls in the opening two minutes. Butler responded with 10 points in the second quarter, helping Duncanville open an 11-point halftime lead.

After Summit (31-6) clawed within six early in the third quarter, Duncanville showed its versatility by going to its outside game. D'walyn Roberts, a 6-8 post, hit a pair of 3-pointers and 6-7 sophomore Shawn Williams hit another to push the lead back to 13.

Roberts, a Texas Tech recruit, led Duncanville with 22 points and matched Butler's 11 rebounds.

"We went to a bigger lineup in the second half and got it to six," said Summit coach Jason Mutterer, "and they hit those 3-pointers. That's what makes them so tough to defend."

Roberts said he tried not to think about what was at stake. He treated it as just another game.

"I didn't really think about Austin until we started holding the ball in the final minute," he said about the site of next week's state tournament.

"They just get so many offensive rebounds and put-backs," said 6-6 post Landon Thomas, who scored 11 points to lead Summit, which made its deepest playoff run ever.

"They gave it everything they had," Mutterer said. "Duncanville is just very good."

The trip to state is the fifth for McNeely, but the first for all of his players.

"I'm happiest for our three seniors," the coach said of Roberts, Corey Johnson and Brent Stanton. "They've been with me the longest, they've worked hard and been great leaders."