Norman North Hands Memorial First Loss

Oklahoma City – The last basket of the first half broke the tie for the final time.

Norman North senior Kayden Carter gave the Timberwolves a lead they would never relinquish as they handed the Edmond Memorial boys’ basketball team its first loss of the season Friday night at the McGuinness Classic, 62-47.

Memorial (6-1) came into the weekend as the top-ranked team in 6A, but the upstart Timberwolves led most of the night.

Norman North (6-2) kept the Bulldogs at bay as the Timberwolves cruised to their biggest win of the season thus far.

Memorial coach Shane Cowherd said this loss is a learning experience.

“I saw a group of guys that had been kind of skating by a little bit with some bad habits,” Cowherd said. “This is a great opportunity to be able to learn from getting some of those things exposed. When you have the opportunity to be able to do some of the things that this team has a chance to be able to do, you want to get them exposed early.”

Virginia Tech signee Sean Pedula, a senior guard, led Memorial with 26 points. Pedula tied the game with a shot late in the first half before Carter’s shot which gave North a 33-31 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs scored 16 in the second half.

Pedula said the Bulldogs were happy with some of their shots but could have done better.

“There were some shots down the stretch that we could have capitalized on,” Pedula said. “We let (them) get away, and that’s what kept the 9-point lead to stay the way it was. There was a mix of both, but we definitely should have got some better shot selection down the stretch.”

The fourth quarter was a rough-shooting quarter for both teams. Neither made a field goal until nearly five minutes into the quarter. Instead, both teams had to settle for free throws most of the final stretch.

After winning the McGuinness Classic last year, the Bulldogs will instead play for third Saturday. Cowherd said even though third is not what Memorial envisioned coming in, it should not be hard to get the players motivated.

“We always go into this second game of any tournament like it’s the second game of regionals,” Cowherd said. “It’s the opportunity to be able to say, hey, you can win and make your job at the state tournament a little bit easier, you only get one win to get into the state tournament. Or, if you lose, you gotta turn around and be able to play again, and your back’s against the wall, and every game matters.”

The Bulldogs will face Del City in the third-place game Saturday.