Eisenhower’s Kevin Farmer, left, battles with Coweta’s Keshun Blair (20) and Andrew Keathley for a rebound during the first half of Thursday’s Class 5A State Tournament game at Mabee Center at Oral Roberts University. The Eagles earned a tough 65-52 victory to reach the semifinals.
TULSA — It took longer than normal for Eisenhower to find its rhythm, but that didn’t stop it from advancing to the Class 5A semifinals.
The Eagles were locked in a tight quarterfinal matchup with Coweta, leading by only five at halftime, but they eventually pulled away the down the stretch for a 65-52 win at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center in Tulsa on Thursday night.
“We were a little indecisive in the first half,” Ike coach Todd Millwee said. “In the second half, I thought we played hard and were confident in our shots, which got us going. They were the dominant team in the first half in the paint, (Andrew Keathley) out-rebounded our team, so that was an emphasis at halftime — go out and rebound.”
Ike returns to action at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday against Tulsa Memorial for a berth in the state championship game on the line. The No. 1 Chargers defeated the Eagles, who were missing point guard RJ Fisher, in the Prep Hoops Oklahoma East vs. West Showcase, 75-68, on Jan. 27.
Unfortunately, Ike will be without Fisher against Memorial once again.
With the game well in hand, Fisher threw down a ferocious dunk to give the Eagles a 64-46 advantage with 1:34 remaining. What happened next could play a major role in the outcome of the state tournament.
After landing, Coweta’s Andrew Keathley pushed Fisher, and as Fisher moved down the court in celebration, he collided with Gavin Underwood. The sequence earned the senior double technical fouls, ejecting him from the contest and subsequently suspending him from the semifinals.
Despite protests from Millwee, the ejection stood and Fisher was promptly removed from courtside.
After the game concluded and the Eagles were deemed victorious, Millwee immediately went to talk to an OSSAA official in an attempt to reverse Fisher’s fate.
Millwee was reserved on the subject, but he said he doesn’t expect a favorable outcome.
“It’s still kind of up in the air, but I don’t think it’s going to be a good verdict,” Millwee said of the untimely situation.
Fisher finished with six points, five assists and three steals.
Of course, Ike has proved it can play Memorial without Fisher on the court, and Millwee said he has confidence in his team’s ability to win even with the odds against it.
“When we played Memorial earlier this year, pretty close to their place, we didn’t play great early,” Millwee said. “We played great in the second half, though, and gave us some confidence. Kenneth Graham will fill the open spot. He started most of the year, so he’s used to that role.”
Antonio Gordon led Ike with 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting along with 10 rebounds and two steals, but perhaps the best overall performance belonged to Kevin Farmer.
Farmer recorded a double-double of his own, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Mark Berry also scored in double figures, adding 10 points for the Eagles.
“Mark was huge in the first half — he has a great midrange shot,” Millwee said. “He kind of carried us in the first half with the midrange, and Kevin has been consistent all year of making smart plays and some timely 3’s and dunks.”
Despite holding a slim 27-22 lead at halftime, the Eagles shot 13-of-35 from the floor in the first half, a measly 37.1 percent. Coweta, on the other hand, shot 42.1 percent in the opening frames, taking 16 fewer shots than Ike.
To make matters even worse, the Eagles went 0-of-8 from deep and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
However, the shooting improved in the second half, as Ike went 12-of-23 from the floor (52.2 percent), shooting 80 percent from the line in the process.
The Eagles also finished with 13 offensive rebounds, allowing them to tally 18 second-chance points.