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Sean Pedulla (1) is guarded by Hudson Linsenmeyer (21) -
Sam Battle -
Owen Cunningham attempts a shot over several defenders -
JV Seat shoots from the post
Despite not playing in the fourth quarter, Sean Pedulla achieved an impressive milestone.
The senior guard led the Edmond Memorial boys’ basketball team to a dominant 61-43 win at Deer Creek in a crosstown matchup Tuesday night but did not realize his own accomplishment until after the game.
Pedulla, a Virginia Tech signee, surpassed 1,000 points scored in his Bulldog career during the game.
“It’s a pretty great accomplishment for me,” Pedulla said. “I’m grateful… just grateful.”
No. 1 Memorial (11-1) continued its push for the playoffs with a strong performance.
Deer Creek (2-11) struggled most of the night against the top team in 6A.
Memorial coach Shane Cowherd said he liked what he saw from his players early in the game.
“I liked their energy,” Cowherd said. “I liked the way that we played until we started off the second half, when we got a little lackadaisical. We got their attention again and we got it back where we wanted to be at on both ends of the floor.”
The Bulldogs led 37-13 at halftime, but the Antlers came out of the locker room on fire to start the third quarter. They hit four 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes, leading to a Bulldog timeout.
DC coach Mike Donnelly said he challenged his players to come out and play hard in the second half.
“The guys got into a little bit of a rhythm and hit some shots,” Donnelly said. “We still got a long way to go.”
Memorial reclaimed control after the timeout, and Deer Creek only scored 2 points the rest of the quarter.
Cowherd did not want to share what he told the Bulldogs during the timeout but said it came down to the Bulldogs holding themselves to a higher standard.
“We know what we’re capable of defensively and offensively,” Cowherd said. “Allowing us to be able to be below our standard on the floor is absolutely unacceptable, and that’s not what great teams do. Our goal is to be a great team. Our goal is to be playing that last night of the season, and you don’t get there by checking it in before the final whistle sounds.”
Pedulla led all scorers with 19 points, followed by junior JV Seat with 14. Neither played in the fourth quarter as the reserve players took over to finish the game.
Junior Camden Laskie led Deer Creek with 8.
With the playoffs not far off, Pedulla said the Bulldogs must stay focused in their preparation before each game.
“Just preparing every game, every practice like a state championship game,” Pedulla said. “Going about it like business. This is going to be the hardest part going forward.”