Sports Editor
In the midst of a brutal stretch of its schedule, Piedmont’s boys basketball team welcomes Carl Albert, 5A’s top-ranked team, to Collett Fieldhouse Friday evening. Here’s a look at what’s going right, what’s going wrong and what’s still to come for PHS this season.
“That’s hard to guard when that many guys are scoring,” head coach Wil Scofield said.
Piedmont extended a 6-point halftime lead to 20 points behind strong defense.
“It should always start with getting stops on the defensive end. There are a lot of things you can’t control, but you should be able to bank on defense and rebounding,” Scofield said. “You do that and you shoot well and you have something special.”
What’s going wrong: When Piedmont struggles, poor shooting is the main culprit. Saturday against Washington, the 10th-ranked team in Class 3A, the Wildcats converted only 4-of-25 from 3-point range (12%). Many of the shots were open looks off good ball movement, Scofield said.
“We shot so poorly that we didn’t have a chance,” he said. “We have to finish plays better and I told the guys that. When we do, we put ourselves in a lot of games.”
Piedmont fell to 4A No. 5 Classen SAS, 49-41, in their opener in Newcastle Thursday.
What’s next: Piedmont (4-12) is in the middle of a brutal three-game stretch that began Tuesday night with a loss to 5A No. 1 Del City. The Eagles are the defending 6A state champ, but enrollment numbers dropped them down a class this season. Scofield said they could be the best team in the state, regardless of class.
Friday night, Piedmont plays defending 5A state champ Carl Albert at Collett Fieldhouse then on Tuesday travels to El Reno to face the 10th-ranked Indians.
“All this looks like to me is an opportunity. That’s what I’ll tell the guys,” Scofield said.
