By Byron Beers/Staff Writer

El Reno had every intention of winning the championship at the University of Oklahoma Basketball Team Camp last weekend in Norman.

The Indians had proved themselves through their first 21 games over the summer, going 18-3 in three different leagues — Carl Albert, Putnam City and Okarche.

With assistant coach Brad Mallam taking the reigns over the final week with the absence of head coach Rodney Haydon, El Reno managed to get into the second round of the single-elimination tournament on Sunday before bowing out to Ardmore 57-52.

But the Indians came out far superior than what they did at this time last year in Norman where they struggled tremendously and were losing games by 30 and 40 points.

“The thing is they went out and competed hard all summer long,” Mallam said. “We really went down there to win the whole thing.

“For us to go 22-7 in just one month of play is very impressive. The sky is the limit for us if we continue to work hard and compete at a high level.”

The Indians were within striking distance and had leads in each of the games they lost. They either missed crucial shots at crunch time or misfired on free throws.

After defeating Mustang and Frisco Centennial (Texas) in the first two games on Friday, El Reno dropped a 62-59 decision to Plano West (Texas) to complete its first day in Norman.

Senior-to-be Taylor Wedman was a one-man show in the wins over Mustang and Frisco Centennial, combining for 70 points. Wedman has continued to improve his long-distance shooting from last season and it showed against the Broncos where he connected on 10 3-pointers and finished with 40 points. He scored 14 of the team’s first 16 points.

But Wedman wasn’t finished when it came time for Plano West as he poured in a team-high 24 points to complete an unforgettable day.

For the camp and through eight games, Wedman averaged 23.5 points.
In the setback to Ardmore, Wedman led the way again with 18 points. Jared Krittenbrink added 16, Thad Palmer had two, Fayzon Richey scored six points and Jordan Webb finished with two.

The Indians, who went into tournament play as the No. 7 seed out of 14 teams, defeated Frisco Centennial for a third straight time to open tournament play on Sunday by a score of 56-52. Palmer led the way with 18 points, Wedman followed with 17, Richey contributed with 12, Ryan Hughey had four, Krittenbrink finished with three and Webb scored two points.

El Reno suffered a pair of losses on Saturday with its lone victory coming against Frisco Centennial for a second time.

The Indians fell to Edmond Memorial 55-46 and were handed a 60-54 setback to Norman High School. They defeated Frisco Centennial 63-56.

Against Edmond Memorial, Wedman finished with a team-high 26 points, Richey added 12, and Krittenbrink, Webb, Hughey and Palmer each had two points.

Wedman led the way with 15 points in the six-point loss to Norman. Krittenbrink also finished in double figures with 11 points. Palmer added nine points, Richey ended with eight, Webb had six and Hughey contributed with five.

Wedman had 18 points in the win over Frisco Centennial on Saturday. Richey followed with 15, Krittenbrink had 11, Terry Hubbard had three, Palmer finished with two, and both Tyler Hill and Webb had one point apiece.