Paden Takes Down Medford in First Round of State Tourney

The game was close for most of the second half, but the Pirates put it away with a late run.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 6:08 pm

By: News On 6

Paden Takes Down Medford in First Round of State Tourney

Originally Published: Mar 3, 2011 3:33 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Paden Pirates used a late run to break open what was a close game for most of the second half Thursday in a 65-54 victory over the Medford Cardinals at Southern Nazarene University.

With minutes ticking down in the fourth quarter, Medford quickly hit back-to-back buckets and trailed 50-47. But the Pirates responded with an 11-4 run – the only extended run of the quarter – to go back up by 10.

The Cardinals frantically tried to come back with quick possessions as time wound down, but they rushed shots and failed to grab offensive rebounds. Paden sank four consecutive free throws to seal the victory.

Paden also outscored Medford in the waning minutes of the first half and took a 30-20 lead into halftime. But the Cardinals came out of the locker room firing and went on a 7-0 run to quickly cut the lead to three.

For the rest of the third quarter and much of the fourth, the teams traded baskets and the lead never grew to more than five points. But Medford also never completely erased the deficit, allowing Paden to put the game away with its late run.

The victory will advance Paden to the second round of the state tournament, where it will await the winner between Forgan and Lookeba-Sickles. Those teams will play each other at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Southern Nazarene.