Up-tempo success

Quicker, sharper Shawnee outplayed a big Deer Creek team and raced to a season-opening road win Tuesday night, 83-68.
“I don’t know about sharper,” Wolves head coach Ron Arthur said. “But quicker, yes. We knew that was our strength. You see their size and we can’t match that, but our quickness really showed.”
The Antlers feature a 6-10 center (Chase Almen) and a 6-6 power forward (Zach Trujillo) in their starting lineup. Shawnee’s biggest starter is 6-2 Wayne Arnett.
The Wolves had to come from behind at Leroy Estes Fieldhouse, west of Edmond.
The Antlers made five 3-pointers while surging to a 17-12 lead in the first quarter. Deer Creek’s lead grew to 24-17 early in the second quarter. That’s when Delino Graham and Cody Stanford got hot.
Graham, a 5-10 senior, scored 10 points in the second quarter, including four of six free throws. Graham scored 13 more points in the second half for a game-high 23 and was 11 of 15 from the foul line. At one point, he made 10 in a row.
Stanford, a 5-11 senior guard, scored nine points in the pivotal second quarter that saw SHS surge to a 42-38 lead at halftime. Stanford finished with 20 points.
Jordan Robbins also scored in double digits for the visitors, tossing in 15 points, including 10 in the first half.
In the locker room after the game, Arthur told his players they had done an excellent job and had played about 3 1/2 quarters of good, solid defensive basketball. He was also happy with the enthusiasm he saw and heard on the bench throughout the game.
“You got guys cheering for each other and helping each other out,” Arthur said. “That’s something that doesn’t show up in the box score.”
Deer Creek’s top scorer was Adam Bird with 16 points.