T-Wolves refocused for playoffs

Jared Beal says this team feels a lot more like the Norman North squad that started the season 8-0 and charged up the Class 6A rankings than the one that lost four of the final seven games of the regular season.

That renewed focus showed Saturday night in the 63-54 win over Putnam City North in a 6A regional final.

“It’s really about motivation,” Beal said. “Playoffs, to me, that’s a whole new season. We’ve just got to come out and try to get back to where we were.”

Up next, the Timberwolves will get a shot at the east’s top seed, Broken Arrow, which defeated Enid 70-44 Saturday. That means PC North will take on the Enid one-man show of Chris Fitzpatrick. All 5A and 6A games are at currently undetermined sites and times.

No one with Norman North seemed too concerned about Beal’s knee, which he injured late in the game when a PC North player fell onto the back of his leg. Coach Butch Roberts believed it to be a “mild sprain,” and Beal simply said he needed to get some ice on it.

He was a beast inside, coming up wtih 10 of his 12 points in the first half and grabbing 18 rebounds.

Norman North really took control of the game in the final two minutes of the first half, when it got going on an 8-0 run that turned a 25-23 edge into a 33-23 halftime advantage. PC North cut it to five a couple times in the second half, but couldn’t draw any closer.