The Morris varsity basketball program came away with a pair of Top 5 finishes at the Crowder Invitational Tournament this past Saturday.
The Morris varsity basketball program came away with a pair of Top 5 finishes at the Crowder Invitational Tournament this past Saturday.
The Eagles took home the tournament runner-up plaque Saturday night with a 48-37 loss to the Howe Lions, while the Lady Eagles brought home the third-place trophy on Saturday with a 39-26 victory over the Buffalo Valley Lady Buffaloes.
Both Morris cage squads kicked off their tournament participation last Thursday with first-round wins over a pair of junior varsity teams. The Eagles routed the Caddo JV 61-27 in their opening-round matchup, while the Lady Eagles dominated their firstround meeting with the Savanna JV, winning by a 54-17 margin.
The Morris cage squads had different outcomes in last Friday’s semifinal action with the Lady Eagles falling 51- 45 to the Liberty Lady Tigers, while the Eagles punched their ticket to the tournament finals with a 74-65 win over the Wetumka Chieftains.
Morris returned to the hardwood on Tuesday, traveling to Preston for an Okmulgee County showdown with the host Preston Pirates and Lady Pirates.
The Eagles and Lady Eagles are scheduled to close out the first-half portion of their regular-season schedule Thursday evening at home against Warner, beginning with girls action at 6 p.m. followed by the boys contest at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Below are summaries from the Morris basketball program’s participation at the 2021 Crowder Invitational Tournament last Thursday-Saturday.
Crowder Tournament
First Round
Girls Bracket
Morris 54, Savanna JV 17
The Lady Eagles took the opening frame by a convincing 24-1 margin, then outscored their opponents 19-2 in the second stanza for a commanding 43-3 halftime advantage.
Savanna’s JV came out of the third period with a 7-4 margin for a 47-10 Morris lead, then both teams tallied seven points in the final eight minutes of regulation to award the Lady Eagles the opening-round win, 54-17.
Marti Yaerger led the balanced offensive attack for the Lady Eagles, finishing with 12 points. Emma Duclos was next in the scoring column for Morris with eight points, followed by Emily Guynes with seven, Ashlyn Clevenger six, Jessica Wilson and Alexis Schell five each, Firé Clark four, Lillian Giddens three, and Kaleah Barnett and Rylee Whitaker two apiece.
Boys Bracket
Morris 61, Caddo JV 27
The Eagles led 13-7 after one and 28-9 at halftime. The Morris gentlemen took the final two frames by margins of 14-12 and 19-6, respectively, to walk away with the convincing 61-27 decision.
Jaxsun Fulton had the hot hand offensively for the Eagles, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Cody Smith was next for Morris with nine, followed by Jeremiah Jones and Giorgio Dunn-Spencer with eight each.
Other scorers for the Eagles in the first-round victory were Ryan Benavidez with six, Jaylen Zackery three, and Dakota Chaney and Jerrick Raines two each.
Semifinals
Girls Bracket
Liberty 51, Morris 45
The Lady Eagles jumped out to an 18-2 lead after eight minutes of action. Liberty took the second period by a 21-8 margin to send the semifinal contest into the halftime break with Morris clinging to a 3-point advantage, 26-23.
The Lady Eagles were doubled up 12-6 in the third period and were edged 16-13 in a back-and-forth fourth quarter to suffer the 51-45 defeat.
Morris’ top scorer against Liberty was Emma Duclos with a team-best 15 points. Kaleah Barnett was one point behind Duclos in the Lady Eagles’ scoring with 14, followed by Jessica Wilson with 10.
The remaining scorers for Morris in the semifinal loss were Alexis Schell with four and Marti Yaerger two.
Boys Bracket
Morris 74, Wetumka 65
The Eagles trailed 17-15 after one quarter of play, then took a 35-32 lead into the intermission after outscoring the Chieftains 20-15 in the second period.
Morris extended its lead to nine, 55-46, with a 20-14 advantage in the third quarter, then matched Wetumka point-for-point (19-19) in the final stanza to leave the Crowder gym floor with the 74-65 decision and punch its ticket to the tournament title game.
Cody Smith led the Eagles in scoring with a team-high 25 points. Jaxsun Fulton was next for Morris with 23, followed by Tucker Kelsey with nine.
Other Eagle scorers against Wetumka included Jeremiah Jones with seven and Keegan Burgess and Giorgio-Spencer with five each.
Third Place
Girls Bracket
Morris 39, Buffalo Valley 26
The Lady Eagles struggled offensively in the opening frame, tallying just four runs. Buffalo Valley put up 12 points in the period for an 8-point lead after the first eight minutes of action.
A 7-5 margin in the second quarter cut the Morris deficit to six, 17- 11, at halftime, then the Lady Eagles doubled up on their opponents 10-5 in the third stanza for a 22-21 deficit, heading into the final frame.
The Morris ladies erupted for 18 points offensively, while holding Buffalo Valley to four points defensively in the final period to walk away with the 39-26 decision and the third-place trophy.
The Lady Eagles were led offensively by Kaleah Barnett, who tallied an 11-point performance in the win. Emma Duclos and Marti Yaerger were next for Morris with eight and seven points, respectively, followed by Jessica Wilson with six and Alexis Schell four. Emily Guynes rounded out the Lady Eagle scoring with three points.
Championship Boys Bracket Howe 48, Morris 37 The Eagles came out of the first period with a narrow 11-9 margin, then saw Howe go in front 24-19 at halftime after taking the second stanza 15-8.
The Morris gentlemen edged out the Lions 11-10 in the third quarter to send the title contest to the final frame with the Eagles trailing by four, 34-30.
The Eagles attempted to complete their second-half comeback in the final period, but were outscored 14-7 to wind up on the short end of a 48-37 outcome.
Giorgio Dunn-Spencer was tops for Morris in the title game, finishing with 11 points. Jaxsun Fulton also reached double figures for the Eagles against Howe, chipping in 10 points in the contest.
The other Morris scorers in the championship battle were Jeremiah Jones with seven, Ty Long six, and Tucker Kelsey three.
Crowder Tournament
First Round
Girls Bracket
Morris 54, Savanna JV 17
Morris: 24 - 19 - 4 - 7 (54)
Savanna JV: 1 - 2 - 7 - 7 (17)
Morris Scoring: Marti Yaerger 12, Emma Duclos 8, Emily Guynes 7, Ashlyn Clevenger 6, Jessica Wilson 5, Alexis Schell 5, Firé Clark 4, Lillian Giddens 3, Kaleah Barnett 2, Rylee Whitaker 2.
Boys Bracket
Morris 61, Caddo JV 27
Caddo JV: 7 - 2 - 12 - 6 (27)
Morris: 13 - 15 - 14 - 19 (61)
Morris Scoring: Jaxsun Fulton 23, Cody Smith 9, Jeremiah Jones 8, Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 8, Ryan Benavidez 6, Jaylen Zackery 3, Dakota Chaney 2, Jerrick Raines 2.
Semifinals
Girls Bracket
Liberty 51, Morris 45 Morris: 18 - 8 - 6 - 13 (45)
Liberty: 2 - 21 - 12 - 16 (51)
Morris Scoring: Emma Duclos 15, Kaleah Barnett 14, Jessica Wilson 10, Alexis Schell 4, Marti Yaerger 2.
Boys Bracket
Morris 74, Wetumka 65
Wetumka: 17 - 15 - 14 - 19 (65)
Morris : 15 - 20 - 20 - 19 (74)
Morris Scoring: Cody Smith 25, Jaxsun Fulton 23, Tucker Kelsey 9, Jeremiah Jones 7, Keegan Burgess 5, Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 5.
Third Place
Girls Bracket
Morris 39, Buffalo Valley 26
Morris: 4 - 7 - 10 - 18 (39)
Buffalo Valley: 12 - 5 - 5 - 4 (26)
Morris Scoring: Kaleah Barnett 11, Emma Duclos 8, Marti Yaerger 7, Jessica Wilson 6, Alexis Schell 4, Emily Guynes 3.
Championship
Boys Bracket
Howe 48, Morris 37
Howe: 9 - 15 - 10 - 14 (48)
Morris: 11 - 8 - 11 - 7 (37)
Morris Scoring: Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 11, Jaxsun Fulton 10, Jeremiah Jones 7, Ty Long 6, Tucker Kelsey 3.