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Fisher writes history in Eagles' win over Mac


Ike's RJ Fisher (right) drives past MacArthur's William Bryant during Monday's regional championship. 

 

It took less than a half for RJ Fisher to enter the Eisenhower basketball record books. 


The senior, who is committed to play Division I football at Air Force this fall, reached an unprecedented milestone, becoming the first Ike hoopster to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in his career. The accomplishment put a nice gloss on the Eagles' 81-57 home victory over rival MacArthur in the Class 5A West Regional 3 championship game on Monday night.


The win also moved Ike (18-5) to within one game of qualifying for its fourth-straight state tournament appearance. 


Fisher received a commemorative ball for his feat and said he is proud to be considered one of the greatest players to ever wear an Eagles uniform. Only four players in school history have managed 1,000 points in their time with the program. 


"That's something I've always tried to do -- be a complete basketball player," Fisher said. "To reach this accomplishment means a lot to me."


Fisher needed only 10 points to reach the coveted mark, and he reached that early in the second quarter as Ike stretched its lead to double digits. He went on to finish with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, bringing his career points total to 1,007 going into the Area tournament later this week.


Fisher said he surprised even himself when his feat was announced to the raucous Eagles' Nest crowd. 


"I actually didn't know I had the 500 rebounds and 500 assists," Fisher said. "That's something that caught me by surprise. To be the only one in Eisenhower history to do it is a great feeling."


Ike coach Todd Millwee said it was an amazing accomplishment for Fisher in multiple ways. 


"The rebounds and assists is something everybody can kind of share in," Millwee said. "Those assists, that's 1,000 points he's contributed aside from the 1,000 he scored. It's amazing he can score that many points when he's a team-first, pass-first point guard."


Of course, Fisher wasn't the only player to contribute to Ike's fourth win of the season over the Highlanders. 


Antonio Gordon showed off his offensive and defensive skills, finishing with 18 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks. 


"I thought he dominated the game with those blocks and rebounds," Millwee said. "He can always score, but blocks and rebounds are huge. I was really impressed with the way he went to get the ball tonight."


If facing a city foe wasn't enough, Millwee said Gordon had some extra motivation going into the contest. 


"He wanted to get the 'Rebounder of the Game' shirt back," Millwee said. "RJ took it from him, so he wanted to take it back."


Meanwhile, Kevin Farmer left his mark on the game as well.


The senior tallied 17 points and six rebounds to extend his recent hot streak even further, making the Eagles even more of a threat to the rest of 5A as the playoffs resume to the latter stages.


Millwee said Farmer has grown into an exceptional player during his senior season. 


"He's almost like a second point guard out there because he's so smart," Millwee said. "Over the past six or seven games, something's just kind of clicked with him, and he's playing great."


Farmer also hit a momentous dunk in the second half, allowing Ike to seize the momentum for good. 


Dunks tend to exhilarate any team dishing out the punishment, but Ike becomes noticeably more energized when Farmer delivers such a play.


Millwee said his team gets excited for Farmer's dunks because they are not a regular occurrence like Gordon's or Fisher's. 


"The grittiness and toughness of it," Millwee said. "He grits his teeth, and you could almost see it from halfcourt tonight. He's getting it with that left hand and making a face, and nobody is getting in his way or he's going to go right through them."


Nasir Kemper led Mac with 14 points and five rebounds, while Sep Reese managed seven points, nine rebounds and seven assists. 


The Eagles now shift their focus to the area tournament and a peaking Del City squad. 


Del City upset No. 3 Carl Albert, 71-67, in a battle of Mid-Del schools in the Regional 4 championship on Monday.


Although Del City defeating the Titans was technically an upset, Millwee said he wasn't surprised by the result. 


"I told these guys and the coaches that when (Carl Albert and Del City) played earlier this year, it was a two-point game (67-65), and Del City led the whole way," Millwee said. "We've played Del City, and we've seen them in our conference. Early, they had some injuries and had a guy sit a game for some reason, but they're good. We beat them by one here with all of our guys. 


"It's going to be a battle, because they play great, tough defense. We're rivals, we had two really close games last year that went down to the wire, and this year, too, so it's going to be a tough game."


The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Edmond North.


Mac, on the other hand, looks to keep its season alive with a battle against Carl Albert at 8 p.m. on Friday at Moore High.

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