Both boys, girls are playing for State
The excitement surrounding the Newcastle High School basketball teams has been building throughout the season, and will culminate this weekend with the possibility of a State Championship.
For the first time in school history, both teams are Area champions and both will play in the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletic Association Class 5A State Tournament.
Games begin at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman today (Thursday) starting with a 9 a.m. game time for the Racer girls as they face Glenpool. The Racers are 26-2 with their only losses coming from out-of-state tournament
STATE TOURNEY on page 2 play. Glenpool is 24-5 and lost to Jenks in the Area Tournament. Their other losses came to one out-of-state team and in tournaments. A tournament bracket from OSSAA is on this page of the Newcastle Pacer.
Newcastle’s Racer girls beat Carl Albert on Thursday to be named Area Champions. They play Glenpool at 9 a.m. today (Thursday) at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman for the first r ound of the State Playoffs.
STATETOURNEY: Games start today at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman
The Racer boys begin the State Tournament Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. game against Tulsa East Central at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Racers are 25-2 on the year with losses to Class 5A teams Del City and Classen School of Advanced Studies.
Tulsa East Central has a 21-7 record.
Their losses have come from Millwood (two times), an out-of-state team, against Class 5A Edison Prep, Class 6A Owasso, and in the Area Tournament against Booker T. Washington.
Racer Boys at Area
The Racers beat Carl Albert 56-53. Newcastle led throughout the game until later in the fourth period when Carl Albert took a short lead. The Racers, however, rallied back to reclaim the lead and the eventual win.
Ivan Antwi-Donkor led Newcastle scoring with 17 points. He was followed by Kolton Brammer with 15, and Tony (TJ) Williams Jr. with 11. Joey Folsom had 6, Owen Wright had 4, and Alan Price had 3. Brammer also had 6 assists and a steal. Folsom had 4 steals. Williams had 6 blocked shots and Antwi-Donkor had 3.
Racer Girls at Area
In probably one of the Lady Racers’ toughest games of the season, Newcastle beat Carl Albert 45-44 for the Area Championship.
The Racers were behind for the first three periods, after opening with only 4 first period points. Meanwhile, Carl Albert hit 12 first period points.
The Racers picked up two points in the second period scoring 14 points to Carl Albert’s 12, but Newcastle remained behind at halftime, 24-18.
Both teams managed 11 third period points, keeping the margin the same, but then came the fourth period. The Racers hit their stride with 16 points, while managing to hold Carl Albert to only 9 and claiming the one-point victory.
Amara King led Newcastle scoring with 27 points. Kalani Kindred had 12, Ziyah Sims had 4, and Lilly Taliaferro had 2.
