Fort Towson comes back to beat Porter

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

NORMAN—Welcome to the big stage, Phillip Clark.

Fort Towson’s Clark took over the Tigers’ first game of the Class A boys state tournament on Thursday against Porter at Norman High, scoring 22 as the Tigers advanced with a 49-44 win.

“We got off to a slow start but we just kept working,” Clark said. “My teammates were there for me. They fed me the ball.”

The Tigers are making their first state tournament appearance since 1973.

Fort Towson didn’t lead until nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Zack Samaha tied the game for the first time since the opening minutes with a 3-pointer from the corner, then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and hit a layup that put the Tigers up 33-31.

Samaha, who had just two points going into the fourth, finished with 12.

Clark also had 10 rebounds.

Fort Towson (23-6) will play the winner of tonight’s game between Garber and Thomas at 9 p.m. Friday night at State Fair Arena.

Porter’s season ends 24-5.

Andrian Mosley led Porter with 14. Jacob Richardson added 12.

Porter sophomore Erick Broadnax played with the composure of an upperclassmen early, scoring seven first-quarter points as the Pirates built a nine-point lead after eight minutes.

But the Tigers slowly chipped away throughout the game until Samaha finally put Fort Towson in front.

“It was just the nerves for us early, we still had confidence,” Clark said. “When we finally relaxed, we were all right.

“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had playing basketball.”