Mustang, PC West upsets lead a wild night in boys hoops

I walked out of the Midwest City gym last night thinking I had surely seen the best game of the night.

No. 1 Edmond Memorial rallies from 13 down in the fourth quarter to knock off No. 3 Midwest City on its home floor, hitting four of four free throws in the final 13 seconds to avenge the overtime loss to the Bombers in the first round of the state tournament (well, sort of, though let’s not equate December wins to March wins).

Had to be the biggest drama of the night, right?

Wrong.

Three metro-area games go overtime, with Shawnee nipping Western Heights, Norman North taking down Southmoore and the big one — Putnam City West winning 55-51 at No. 4 Edmond Santa Fe.

That’s a huge win for the Patriots, simply to show themselves and the rest of Class 6A that just because Tyler Neal and Amric Fields are gone, the Pats aren’t going to be a doormat.

Guard Kyndall Dudley hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and overtime to spark the win and Dante Lewis had 10 boards and three blocked shots as the pair of seniors carried PC West to the victory.

“All our kids stepped up and made big plays,” first-year PC West coach Lenny Bert said. “They left their heart on the floor. After the game in the locker room, it wasn’t some big celebration. It was like we were supposed to win. It’s good to get that feeling early, because it showed us we can beat a legitimate team and gives us the belief that we can be good if we do what we’re supposed to do.”

Mustang didn’t need overtime to take down No. 2 Putnam City at PC. David Glidden scored only six points in a loss last week, so I wondered if maybe the ankle he injured in the final football game was still an issue. Then he busts out for 20 against the Pirates. Robert Shaw added 14 and Zac Grismer had 13 in the win.

Back to Memorial-MWC… these are two really good teams who will be hanging around in March. Memorial’s Obi Emegano is a horse, but we all knew that. The Bulldogs play some tough defense, too.