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SALISBURY — There was no way around the unusual circumstances Oakdale faced at this year’s Governor’s Challenge. All the Bears could do was “control what they could control,” according to Coach Terry Connolly.
Though, at times, the Bears had difficulties focusing on what they could control, they stayed the course to thump North Caroline in the Session I Boys Bracket 1 championship at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, 79-38.
Oakdale originally was slated to play Potomac on Tuesday, a team the Bears were eager for because it pitted a rematch of the 2014 MPSSAA Class 2A state championship.
Those plans were derailed Tuesday morning due to transportation issues. So, the Bears played Indian Creek in a scrimmage, and ran away in a 60-31 rout.
The Bears were also staying in a hotel as a team, which altered game-day routines against opponents they’ve never seen before.
Oakdale did what Connolly had hoped for from the onset, knocked down four 3-pointers to take a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“Anytime we start a game, we try to take what the defense gives us,” Connolly said. “They were in a zone, and they were kind of tight in that zone. Shooting a couple and making a couple opened them up a little bit.”
Oakdale exploited North Caroline’s decision to switch to man-to-man defense in the second quarter while riding senior 6-foot-5 forward Cory Schlee (22 points on 10-for-12 shooting and six rebounds) and sophomore guard Colin Schlee (12 points and five assists) on offense to outscore the Bulldogs 20-2.
The Schlee brothers recorded 14 of the Bears’ 20 points in the second quarter, using transition offense and strong inside play to power the Bears to a 37-13 halftime lead.
The elder Schlee set the second half pace with a one-handed jam off an assist from his younger brother, Colin, to extend Oakdale’s lead to 26.
“When we’re shooting good, everything falls in place and we just took what they gave us,” Cory Schlee said, who averaged 18 points at the Governor’s Challenge. “Our best is running flex, getting the ball inside, inside out so once we knew they were in man we knew we had them.”
After that, the Bears played all 15 players, with 12 registering in the scorebook.
Sean Jodrie finished with a double (10 points and 12 rebounds), earning Bracket 1 Most Outstanding Player by the DMVelite.
Despite outside distractions, Connolly is able to look back at the holiday trip in positivity as his Bears will look to make a push in the competitive Class 3A West.
“It’s great coming down here because we get more out of this trip than basketball,” Connolly said. “We get to stay overnight, they get to know things about their teammates and it brings teams closer together.”
