Boys hoops roundup: Stephen Clark drops 51, Allonzo Trier handles the pressure, and some big OT battles

Matt Christiansen and Bishop McGuinness had a fight on their hands with Stillwater Tuesday night.

Tons of good basketball action on Tuesday night… too  much to fit into the roundup for Wednesday’s paper, but I did my best. Here’s a look at some of the games I touched on, along with a few extra thoughts.

Douglass’ Stephen Clark scores 51 on Star Spencer

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark picked up where he left off in Louisiana.

In his first game since scoring 65 points at a tournament in Bossier City, Clark had 51 points in a 114-71 win over Star Spencer on Tuesday night.

Clark, who already has scholarship offers from more than a dozen Division I colleges, didn’t see the floor in the fourth quarter, with Douglass holding a 31-point lead. It wasn’t just a scoring barrage for Clark. The junior finished with 15 assists and eight steals as well.

The Trojans have a busy weekend, visiting Millwood on Friday and hosting Northeast on Saturday, before heading back to Louisiana next week. Douglass will take part in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Basketball Classic in New Orleans Jan. 19-21.

Scott’s take: There is not thesaurus big enough for me to keep coming up with adjectives to describe Clark’s performance this season. If you combine his second half from Bossier and first half from Tuesday, he scored 81 points in four quarters. The kid is for real. We get to watch him for another year-and-a-half, so if you haven’t seen him yet, pick a game and get out there.

McGuinness holds off Stillwater in OT

In a game when Bishop McGuinness struggled from the free throw line, it’s ironic that foul shots are how Tuesday’s 38-33, overtime win over Stillwater was sealed.

Joe Edmonds’ two late free throws in overtime gave the Irish a four-point lead, and Matt Christiansen added another as McGuinness eeked out a close victory over Stillwater (9-2), which continues to surprise given its lack of returning experience.

McGuinness missed nine of its 17 free throw attempts in the game.

“It came back and bit us, but we won,” said Edmonds, who himself missed a late free throw in the fourth quarter.

Christiansen and Edmonds, both seniors and San Francisco signees, scored 15 and 10 points, respectively, for McGuinness.

Junior John Holcomb led Stillwater with 13 points. Holcomb was the Pioneers’ leading returning scorer from last year, averaging just under three points in 2010-11.

“They’re a good team,” said McGuinness coach Tondrell Durham. “They’re a tough team, and we are very fortunate to win this game.”

Scott’s take: Gracias to Jason Kersey for doing the work on this one. McGuinness is a team full of guys who don’t mind doing the dirty work, and that’s a great quality to have. Beating Norman last week was impressive, and taking down Stillwater — one of the hottest teams around right now — was as well.

Stillwater might be the biggest surprise of the season so far. Hardly anyone with significant experience returning, but Michael Davis has them playing at a high level already. Keep an eye on the Pioneers the rest of the way. Jason is working on a VERY interesting story about what is at the heart of their team chemistry. You won’t want to miss it.

Northeast tops Millwood in OT

Northeast showed exactly how to win a game with free throws on Tuesday night.

The Vikings outscored Millwood 8-0 in overtime — all eight points coming at the line — to seal a 50-42 win.

Millwood rallied from an early double-figure deficit to take the lead in the third quarter, but the fourth quarter saw six ties and four lead changes.

Four Northeast players scored from the line in overtime, with senior point guard Gabe Houston making three of four as the Vikings closed out the win. Houston finished with a team-high 16 points and C.J. Jones had 11 as both teams struggled to make field goals.