Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com
There’s a magic number for Piedmont’s boys basketball team as it enters the regional playoffs Saturday night at 6 against Woodward in El Reno.
The number is 60 or less, to be exact.
Since Eric Carr was named interim head coach on Dec. 15, Piedmont is 9-0 when it holds its opponents under 60 points. When Piedmont locks in defensively, its tough to beat. Statistically, at least, it is unbeatable this season.
“It’s been a struggle, at times, to get the guys to buy into that,” Carr said. “But they’ve done a good job lately and I think they realize how good they can be.
For a team that has a pair of 15 point per game scorers in Dylan Hahn and Hunter Oden, two more that average 10 a game in Sage Peyton and Rylan McDaniel, and another – Jalen Valentine – who puts in seven a night, offense is rarely an issue.
When Piedmont gets stops, the Wildcats can get into the open floor where they excel. They’ve averaged six 3s per game over their last six games and nearly five per game for the season. Through that same five-game stretch, PHS is averaging almost 20 fast break points per game.
“We’ve been going out and playing free and not letting anything distract us,” Carr said of the recent stretch which has included seven wins in eight games.
That has Piedmont confident that it can beat Woodward and set up a regional final matchup with El Reno, a team the Wildcats beat in their last meeting.
“The kids have proven they can beat El Reno and would love to see them again,” Carr said.
But before Piedmont can look ahead to its potential matchup with the Indians, the Wildcats have to get by the Boomers, which is expected, but not guaranteed to happen. Woodward enters the game at 9-14 overall, but has won four of five.
“They have a solid point guard and shoot a lot of 3s,” Carr said. “They’re not overly athletic, but they play hard and are well coached and will be prepared.”
Piedmont will head into Friday’s game as healthy as it’s been all season. Hahn (15.6 PPG) missed two games with a concussion, but has been cleared to return, and reserve Doran Hillman is healed up from a sprained ankle that kept him out for two weeks.
If the Wildcats can win Friday, they’ll be just two victories from a state tournament berth, the program’s first since 2013.
“One of our main goals from the start was to get to the state tournament, if we play well we’ll have a chance to get there,” Carr said.
