Boy’s team
By Brent Smith
The Christmas break is never much of a vacation for the likes of Athletic Director Taylor Wiebener or Superintendent Brian Brister. They have been working all year to put together the 2022 New Year’s Classic Basketball Tournament. The tournament looks to be as competitive as ever. Here is a preview of the boy’s bracket.
The Dale Pirates will stake claim for the #1 seed, as well they should. They are riding a nine win and one loss wave and ranked #1 in Class 2A. They have a young team, starting two sophomores and a freshman, and should be exciting to watch. They will take on Talahina as the away team at 5:40 p.m. on January 6, 2022.
The #2 seed goes to Marlow. They are riding the wave of winning football state championship and the basketball team has only played two games and won them both. The OSSAA has them ranked #5 in 3A. They will take on Latta (1-7 record) in the first round at 3:00 p.m. on January 6.
The Redskins will have the third seed. Even though they are coming off a Lake Country Conference loss to the Sulphur Bulldogs, they will still go into the tournament with confidence. They will be matched against the Atoka Wampus Cats who they defeated earlier this season. A win would do a lot to restore that confidence.
Fourth seed goes to the 2A Silo Rebels who are currently ranked # 7 and have a 7 - 3 record. They will take on the Broken Bow (4A). Game tips off at 12:30 p.m.
One would think that the Dale Pirates should prevail in the tourney, and they might. A second-round battle with Silo on Friday should be a very good contest. The Redskins should handle the Wampus Cats.
It’s the second-round match that is a puzzle. Marlow looks to be the better team over Latta but they only have two games under their belt. Marlow could be the sleeper in this tournament.
Girl’’s team
By Brent Smith
The holidays are over, and students and teachers are headed back to school. The 2022 edition of the New Years Classic is here. This year’s tourney looks to be a good one, as always. Here is a preview of the teams that will be in action this week.
The number one seed on the ladies’ bracket will be the girls from Latta. They are currently ranked #3 in Class 2A and sport an 11 win and two loss record. They recently picked up those losses at the Mid-America tournament.
They were defeated by Perry who was # 3 in Class 3A. In the second round, they lost to Hammon who is #2 in Class B. They rebounded by defeating the #2Amber-Pocasset (2A). Their opponent will be the girls from Talahina. The game will tip off at 1:40 p.m. on January 6.
The Dale Lady Pirates will claim the #2 seed and are ranked #4 in Class 2A. They are coming in with a 7 - 3 record. However, don’t let those three losses fool you. They lost to #2 Amber-Pocasset, #3 Latta and Jones #1 in 3A. They will match up with the ladies from Atoka at 4:20 p.m.
The Lady Redskins come in as the # 3 seed, and # 13 in Class 3A. They have a 5 - 2 record but are coming off a solid Lake Country Conference win against Sulphur. Their opponent will be the Class 3A ladies from Marlow. This game will tip off at 7:00 p.m.
The Silo girls have a good 8 and 2 record and are ranked # 7 in Class 2A. Despite this, they are a fourth seed in the tournament. One of the losses was to Dale.
If both teams win their opener, they will face each other again in the second round. Silo has beaten Dale before and would love to get another crack at them. To begin the tournament, their opponent will be Class 4A Broken Bow at 11:00 a.m.
On paper, this looks to be a very competitive tournament. Over the last few years, the NYC tournament has shown to be a preview of the Class 2A state tournament.
With the third, fourth, and seventh ranked teams, it could happen again. Don’t overlook Silo, though. That possible second round match with Dale could be the game of the tournament. Silo will count this as a home game and bring a huge crowd with them.
Dale fans love the NYC and will have a big following as well. The winner will need to have something left in the tank to take on Latta or Kingston in the final. This is as good as Oklahoma girls’ basketball gets.