Shots misfired, free throws were off the mark and No. 7 Ardmore was unlucky on Thursday.
The Tigers bowed out of the Class 5A state tournament with a 56-48 loss to third-ranked Tulsa East Central at the Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center.
Ardmore finished its season 17-11, but without the shooting that carried it through the West Area consolation final over defending state champion Guthrie. The Tigers trailed 29-19 at halftime and didn’t score more than 10 points in a quarter until the fourth.
“Some of it was due to them (East Central), some was due to us missing some shots,” Ardmore coach Mark Wilson said. “We shot it poorly from the free throw line and missed layups the first couple of quarters.
“And we took good shots; it’s just one of those nights they didn’t go in.”
Even with nothing falling for the Tigers — and the Cardinals (21-5) holding what Wilson called “a significant edge” in rebounds — Ardmore still had a chance to cut the deficit to six points with 30 seconds left. Ardmore outscored East Central 21-14 in the final period, and buckled down on defense in the third, keeping the Cardinals from scoring for close to 3 minutes, to close the gap.
East Central, however, had the muscle to control the offensive glass, while knocking down 17-of-28 from the line to Ardmore’s 6-of-14.
The Tigers’ duo of Trey Cohee and Nino Jackson had only eight points combined through three quarters. Cohee finished with a team-high 14 points and Jackson added 12.
Senior post Cody Nall scored 11 to join them in double figures. Damion Hooks led three double-digit scorers for East Central with 19 points.
“I told them in the locker room after the game it’s a disappointment, not a failure,” Wilson said. “We were prepared for what they were gonna do to us, we just got into a game where we didn’t make a lot of shots.”
