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Carson Fellers -
Carson Thomas -
Logan Williams -
Carson Thomas (23) and Carter Owens (0)
Kejuan Reynolds got the ball in the post and powered through defenders as he laid it in.
The junior’s late shot forced overtime Monday night in Edmond, where the Oklahoma Christian Academy boys’ basketball team fell 58-53 to Reynolds and Porter Consolidated in a district playoff game.
Porter (12-7) claims the Class 2A Area IV District 3 title thanks to a late road comeback.
OCA (12-8) now faces a more difficult task at the regional tournament, needing a perfect weekend to advance.
OCA coach Jeremy Roman said it was a frustrating loss.
“We definitely thought we had a good chance to win this game,” Roman said. “It’s frustrating when you lose not playing your best. We just got to grow from it. We got to learn how to get through some of those games. I think our guys played hard, just didn’t make good decisions tonight.”
The Eagles led most of the game. The Pirates held three leads in regulation, but OCA retook the lead every time.
Porter scored first with a 3-pointer, but OCA responded with a 10-0 run. The Pirates retook the lead late in the second quarter, but OCA finished the half with a 7-0 run, capped off by a buzzer-beating layup from senior Carson Fellers. The Pirates took the lead once more near the end of regulation with a 6-0 run, but Fellers hit a 3-pointer to take it back.
Reynolds’ late shot tied it at 46 to end regulation. This was the only tie other than 0-0.
After never leading by more than 2, Porter outscored OCA 12-7 in overtime to take the win.
Fellers led all scorers with 30. He was the only Eagle to score after the third quarter until junior Thompson Whitehead scored the game’s final shot as time ran out. Sophomore Carson Thomas scored 14, much of that from four 3-pointers. No other Eagle had more than 3.
“(Fellers) did a great job,” Roman said. “He did a great job, and other guys need to step up so he doesn’t have to demand so much.”
Reynolds led Porter with 22. Senior Chris Atkins had 12, and junior Caden Willard had 11.
Despite the loss, OCA still advances to regionals. The Eagles will have to play through the consolation bracket needing a 3-0 weekend to advance. They will start their run at Porter against either Canadian or Okemah.
Fellers said the Eagles must take it one game at a time.
“We want to forget about this game and move straight on to the next game,” Fellers said. “Just focus on getting it done.”