BARTLESVILLE BASKETBALL SWEEPS SEASON OPENERS; CHRISTENSON GETS FIRST WIN AS NEW BRUIN HEAD COACH
Bartlesville High School head boys basketball coach Jake Christenson reacts after a three-pointer in his first game as the Bruins head coach. The Bruins won their season opener 51-25.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Bartlesville High School’s Kenzie Denny (25) catches a pass during Thursday’s action against Rejoice Christian in Bartlesville. The Lady Bruins won 72-68.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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By Mike Tupa
Nov. 21, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Prior to Thursday’s season opener, one had to look back to January 2022 for the last time Bartlesville High School’s boys basketball team beat an opponent by more than 20 points. (BHS 85, Ponca 48.)
That was 62 games and two coaches ago.
Bartlesville ended that streak by knocking off visiting Rejoice Christian, 51-25, to tip-off the 2025-26 campaign.
The win also inaugurated the Jake Christenson Era as the new Bruin head coach.
Earlier on Thursday, the Lady Bruins made their coach Justyn Shaw and fans happy with a thrilling 72-68 point win against the Rejoice Christian girls.
The Bartlesville girls scored more than 70 points for the first time since January 2023. (Bartlesville 76, Memorial 17.)
Kenzie Denny poured in 24 points and Sami Sheaffer also contributed double-digit points along with a deep harvest of assists to help fuel the Lady Bruins to victory.
Next up, the Bartlesville teams will travel the week after Thanksgiving to Broken Arrow for a district showdown.
Following are summaries of Thursday’s wins:
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The Bartlesville High School Lady Bruins bench reacts during Thursday’s close game against Rejoice Christian in Bartlesville. The Lady Bruins won 72-68.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
The Bartlesville High School Lady Bruins bench reacts during Thursday’s close game against Rejoice Christian in Bartlesville. The Lady Bruins won 72-68.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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GIRLS: LADY BRUINS 72, REJOICE CHRISTIAN 68
This was a score-fest all the way. The fourth quarter turned into a white-knuckle ordeal for fans and players as the teams traded buckets.
The game would be tied four times in the final period (51-51, 57-57, 63-63, 65-65). Rejoice Christian had a chance to tie the game again at 70-70 with about 31 seconds left — but missed two free throws and Bartlesville still clung to a 70-68 lead. With eight seconds left, Denny dialed in two free throws — her 23rd and 24th points of the game — to seal the victory.
From the opening whistle, the Lady Bruins battled with all-out hustle and defensive intensity.
The Lady Bruins grabbed their first lead at 7-5 on a conventional three-point play by Cadence Gray.
Bartlesville retook the advantage, 13-11, on two Emma Zimmerman free throws late in the first quarter. Rejoice Christian squeezed ahead again, but on the last play of the first period, Sheaffer hit a fast-break layup at the buzzer.
The Lady Bruins led by nine points, 32-33, shortly before halftime but saw Rejoice Christian whittle the margin back to six, 33-27, by halftime.
Rejoice Christian opened the third quarter like a tidal wave of scoring fire, blazing out to a five-point lead, 46-41. This time it was Bartlesville’s turn to rally. The Lady Bruins finished the third period on a 7-2 run — including a Sheaffer three-pointer and a bucket by Shaylyn Ishem.
As mentioned, the fourth quarter was almost dead even — resembling a heavyweight boxing war during which the teams traded bruising blows.
Bartlesville’s biggest punches include a trey by Gray to make it a two-possession game, 56-51; Jones’ three-pointer to break a 57-57 tie; and a Denny trey to elevate the Lady Bruins into the lead, 63-61.
After the score was knotted, 65-65, Jones poured in another three-pointer to put Bartlesville ahead for good, 68-65. Bartlesville finished off its scoring on a backdoor layup by Gray (off a Sheaffer assist) and Denny’s two free throws.
Sheaffer finished with 16 points and Gray added 10.
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Bartlesville High School’s Hudson Eads (4) moves the ball during action against Rejoice Christian on Thursday in Bartlesville. The Bruins won their season opener 51-25.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BOYS: BRUINS 51, REJOICE CHRISTIAN 25
The script for this one was odd.
Bartlesville scored its first 15 points during a spurt that lasted only three to four minutes — and then hit another dry skid and finished with only 17 points for the first half.
But the Bruins flexed their offensive muscles in the second half to drain 34 points and storm to the historic win.
“I was happy that we finally started competing without being timid, without being fearful,” croaked a hoarse Christenson after the game. “It seemed like the first half we were just trying not to lose. … I was glad we finally relaxed and that we were not playing scared.”
Christenson’s crew evolved its team attack as the game progressed.
The scoring was well spread out. The unofficial totals were Dennis Duncan canned 13 points, followed by Luke Massey 9, Trey Collins with seven, Hunter Holmes and Titus Huck with six apiece and Hudson Eads with five Jaden Turner with three, and Sutton Huff with two.
The game couldn’t have hardly started more slowly offensively had the top of the baskets been covered with a cement lid.
Six minutes into the contest the teams had combined for only five points.
But Bartlesville then picked up a gust of momentum. From the last couple of minutes of the first quarter to the first couple of minutes in the second quarter, the Bruins zapped the nets for 15 points to go ahead, 15-3. Duncan scored eight points during that stretch, one of them set up by Eads’s offensive rebound.
Scoring slowed down again, however. By halftime, the Bruins led, 17-9.
At the start of the third period, Rejoice Christian slowly whittled Bartlesville’s lead to three, 21-18.
Massey then ripped a trey to re-energize the Bruins. They outscored Rejoice Christian, 30-7, the remainder of the game, including 24-6 in the fourth quarter.
Huck scored back-to-back buckets — one of them off a baseline feed from under the basket by Brycen Gutierrez — to fuel Bartlesville’s fiery fourth.
Holmes’ trey stretched the margin to 20 points, 41-21, and the Bruins cruised on home from there.