-
Elgin senior Christian Reed shoots the ball over the outstretched hands of a Plainview defender during the Purcell Tournament. Elgin lost to Tuttle last Friday but will try to get back on the winning track Feb. 3 at Bethany. HUGH SCOTT JR. | SOUTHWEST CHRONICLE
ELGIN — A low-scoring second half doomed Elgin last Friday, as Tuttle ran away from the Owls with a 47-31 victory.
The loss dropped Elgin to 9-8 for the season.
“We played pretty good the first half and scored pretty handily,” Elgin head coach Ryan Green said.
However, Tuttle switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half and all but eliminated Elgin’s ability to score.
“We just couldn’t do much after that,” Green said.
None of Elgin’s players scored in double figures. The leading scorers for the Owls were Christian Reed and Tres Lorah with nine points each.
Elgin led 14-13 after the first quarter but tallied only three points in the second frame to trail 26-17 at halftime. The Owls pulled to within 33-27 heading into the final quarter, but Tuttle’s defense was too much, holding Elgin to only four points.
“This has been a tough stretch (of games), and it doesn’t get any easier,” Green said.
Tuttle is ranked No. 10 in Class 4A.
Next up for Elgin is Bethany, which is ranked No. 16, on Feb. 3, followed by No. 18 Blanchard on Feb. 6, No. 1 Kingfisher on Feb. 10 and No. 3 Weatherford on Feb. 11.
“I like this level of games,” Green said. “It lets us know where we’re at with the playoffs coming up and, hopefully, gets us ready for district play.”
The Class 4A district tournaments begin Friday, Feb. 17. Games, times and places had not been announced as of press time since several district games remain to be played.