Millwood 48 Hugo 40

Monday, 15 March 2010 00:00

By Zach Maxwell
Contributing Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – With tears and pride in their eyes, the Hugo Buffaloes returned home Saturday with the Class 3A State Runner-Up silver trophy.
The state championship game between Hugo and Millwood see-sawed back and forth, much as the Buffaloes’ season has done since the opening tip last November. But the Falcons emerged victorious at the “Big House,” taking a 48-40 win and taking the gold ball.
While the Hugo basketball team came within a few buckets of the school’s first state title since 1995, the bottom line remains: Only one team in all of 3A basketball can claim bragging rights over the 2010 Buffs.
Coach Darnell Shanklin and his players can be forgiven for feeling disappointed in Saturday’s result. But reaching the state finals has proven that this entire team is worthy of respect at the highest level.
“I told the team to remember all the things they’ve done right this year,” Shanklin said after Saturday’s final. “The kids worked hard, and they’ve done everything I asked them to do. I wanted them to have that gold ball.”
From an early-season peak to a mid-year roster shake-up, it has been a roller-coaster ride for these Buffs. “We had a good run early, then we had some (player) turnover,” Shanklin said of the 2009-2010 season. “Bouncing back from that is not easy. But as a result, we became a really close knit team.”
Perhaps it is fitting, then, that no Buffalo scored in double figures in Saturday’s final. It was a true team effort on both ends of the court, as Hugo took an early lead, then let the Falcons race ahead by as much as 10 points before mounting a second-half comeback.
The Buffs were within three points of Millwood in the final minutes, but costly turnovers down the stretch doomed Hugo in the closing moments of the game.
Millwood struck first on free throws with 7:06 in the first quarter, but Hugo got their first lead on a driving layup from Patrick Smith moments later. D.J. Shanklin and Carlos Henderson were crashing the boards, but the Buffs were not connecting on shots and had to rely largely on free throws to take an 8-5 lead after one period of play.
Hugo opened the second quarter committing three quick turnovers, and the Falcons capitalized for a 6-1 run to take an 11-9 lead. Henderson scored his first basket of the game at 4:50 to tie the contest. He also notched several monstrous blocks on the defensive end.
The Buffs kept putting Millwood players at the line, and the Falcon defense easily picked off Hugo’s long, dangerous backcourt passes. Millwood shooters found their stroke and won the quarter 18-6 to take a 23-14 lead into the break.
Henderson opened the second half with two layups and numerous blocked shots, and Hugo cut the Falcon lead to five at 23-18. The Buffs had some trouble with the Millwood full-court pressure, and the Falcons would take a 10-point lead into the final seconds of the third.
Patrick Smith’s three-point possession sparked a late rally by the Buffs. Josh Brown’s steal and layup with 15 seconds cut the lead to six, hen Rakeem Lennox hit two free throws after a hard foul. Hugo trailed 34-30 going into the fourth quarter, outscoring Millwood 16-11 in the third.
Early in the fourth, D.J. Shanklin got to the line for two free throws, and Hugo trailed 34-32 with 6:37 remaining. Millwood’s Kevonta Richardson then hit a jumper to extend the lead, 36-32.
Smith drove inside for two, and the Buffs trailed by a bucket with 4:55 left in the game. Hugo’s offense bogged down, but they kept the pressure on Millwood and only trailed by five with 3:20 to go.
Smith handed off to Henderson down low with 2:55 to go, and Hugo trailed 39-36. But there would be no more field goals for the Hugo Buffaloes. The Falcons hit two more free throws to go up 41-36 and dribbled out 45 seconds of clock before a foul was called.
Robinson hit both from the charity stripe, giving Millwood a dangerous seven point advantage at the 2:01 mark. Seconds later, Michael Ervin’s steal and jumper gave the Falcons a 45-36 lead with 1:10 to go.
Javon Jones tried to save the day, getting fouled on a hard drive to the basket and hitting both free throws (45-38 at 0:32). But Dre Triplett’s emphatic dunk with 19 seconds left pushed the lead back to nine and seemingly sealed the gold ball for Millwood.
Delford Robinson (Millwood) led all scorers with 15 points. Those in the scoring column for Hugo’s first state final game in 15 years:
•   Patrick Smith – 9
•   D. J. Shanklin – 9 (All on free throws)
•   Carlos Henderson – 8
•   Javon Jones – 6
•   Donyale Shanklin – 3
•   Rakeem Lennox – 2
•   Josh Brown – 2
•   Preston Wells - 1