AREA BASKETBALL: CANEY VALLEY, DEWEY, NOWATA, WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN
Caney Valley High School’s Zac Longan (13) moves the ball against Nowata’s Daviionn Downing (0) during Tuesday’s game in Ramona. Nowata defeated Caney Valley 75-66.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Dewey High School’s Austin Eastman drives the ball during a game last season. The Bulldoggers defeated Chelsea Tuesday, 55-39, on the road.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Dec. 5, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Following are summaries of recent area high school basketball games.
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BOYS: Dewey 55, Chelsea 39
Although he wouldn’t rate his team’s performance as a ’10’, coach Lance Knight said Tuesday night’s win was a good learning experience.
“My guys know we didn’t play our best,” Knight said about his Dewey Doggers (2-0). “We’re always striving to get better. … I think we’ve got it all figured out now.”
Three Doggers dialed in double-digit points — Austin Eastman, 18; Karson Johnson, 12; and Gage Hawkins, 12. Zach Renfroe and Jay Murguia added seven and six points, respectively.
“I think they (Chelsea) were a little better than we thought,” Knight said, adding they used three different defenses to try to slow the Doggers.
On the other end of the court, the Doggers shut down their opponent’s offense like a condemned taco stand in Tijuana.
“I think any time you can hold a basketball team under 40 points it’s good,” Knight said. “It was a good game for us.”
Next up, the Doggers play host Friday to Washington Country rival Caney Valley.
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GIRLS: Dewey 46, Chelsea 26
Dewey is off to a 2-0 start after its second-straight lopsided victory.
Adrianna Hicks dropped 11 points down the nylon chimney, followed by Cassie Snead with 10 and Chanley Herren with six to lead the Lady Doggers.
“Our defense was what won it for us,” head coach Michael Sanders said. “We started pretty rough. We got into foul trouble very early. … It took us a while to separate from them.”
Sanders credited Dewey’s relentless defensive pressure for finally wearing down Chelsea, leading to turnovers and layups.
“I was very pleased with how we handled their pressure,” he continued. “They put a lot of pressure on us.”
Chelsea adapted three different defenses for Dewey “and we were able to come out with a victory,” Sanders said.
Dewey next takes on unbeaten Caney Valley (2-0) on Friday evening in Dewey.
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Caney Valley High School’s Bryor Bonde (33) looks to pass the ball while Nowata’s Caleb Woolman (14) defends during Tuesday’s game in Ramona. Nowata defeated Caney Valley 75-66.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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GIRLS: Caney Valley 57, Nowata 23
For the second-straight game the Caney Valley Lady Trojans (2-0) held their opponent to single-digit scoring every quarter.
Veteran Lady Trojan head coach Deric Longan gave the majority of the credit for the win to “just defensive intensity. The girls came out and played really hard.”
Nowata trailed, 18-2, before it could take a second breath. Caney Valley’s three double-digit scorers included Presley Smith, 14; Adesta Henry, 12; and Sydni Brown, 11.
Next up, Caney Valley faces its stiffest test so far when it travels Friday to Dewey — Dewey’s first home game and Caney Valley’s first road contest.
Nowata: 8-2-7-6 — 23
CV: 18-16-12-11 — 57
Caney Valley
Presley Smith 14, Adesta Henry 12, Sydni Brown 11, Khloe Crawford 8, Harper Watts 7, Roxy Hawkins 2, Faith Davis 2, Jaycee Tant 1.
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BOYS: Nowata 75, Caney Valley 66
Nowata opened up the season with a strong offensive showing.
Caney Valley saw its record evened at 1-1.
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Wesleyan Christian School’s Owen Hay looks to pass the ball during a game last season. The Mustangs defeated Mingo Valley 49-46 on the road.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BOYS: Wesleyan Christian 49, Mingo Valley 46
The WCS Mustangs’ rebuilding team gave itself a major boost earlier this week with an early-season win against Mingo Valley.
“They’re really solid,” veteran WCS head coach Steven Cooks said about Mingo Valley. “They’ve got a sophomore that is really good. We had to change our defensive scheme to adapt for them. … We were able to hold the course.”
A pretty good achievement considering Cooks graduated four starters off last year’s 25-5, area-semifinalist team.
The lone returning starter, Owen Hay, netted 13 points to fuel the offensive effort. Carter Kennard and Wyatt Williams added nine and seven points, respectively.
Despite its varsity inexperience, WCS displayed a steady maturity to rally from a double-digit deficit.
“(Mingo Christian) came out really hot,” Cooks said. “They made several shots. One of the things I was preaching to (the Mustangs) was to stay the course.”
WSC improved its offensive execution and slowly turned the tide in its favor.
The Mustangs improved to 1-1.
“We’re still figuring out the roles,” Cooks said. “Some of the guys that are here did get some playing time last year. But they’re ultimately in different roles this year. I think that first game (a loss to Riverfield) we were still trying to find that.”
The Mustangs will participate next week in the Copan Tournament.
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GIRLS: WCS
Wesleyan Christian School is off to a 2-0 start with wins against Riverfield, 47-44, and Mingo Valley, 42-27.
Next up, the Lady Mustangs — who are coached by Kendall Huntington — will compete next week in the Copan Tournament.