MIDWEST CITY — Jay Price quietly wondered if the deficit was too great to overcome.

The Carl Albert boys’ basketball coach looked on as his team’s 10-point shortfall at halftime ballooned to 17 late in the third quarter. Price could have let on to his guys that it just was not their night. Instead, the Titans looked for any opportunity to grab a sliver of momentum.

They found it with Quincy Hopkins.

“He’s just grown up to be a really great leader for us,” Price said after Carl Albert used a stunning 25-6 explosion to upend first-place Crossings Christian, 51-49, in a crucial District 5A-1 game Thursday night.

“Just to stay consistent and continue to fight the fight and then see some shots go down, then he made a couple big 3s for us. He’s a warrior for us right now. He’s our guy. He’s our leader. He showed that tonight in the second half and led us back to an amazing win.”

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After being held scoreless in the first half, Hopkins broke through in the second. The senior shooting guard made Carl Albert’s first basket of the third quarter, then added a pair of free throws later in the frame. Still, Crossings Christian managed to extend its lead to 43-26 in the waning seconds of the period with an effort that was reminiscent of the Knights’ 14-point home win over the Titans two months ago.

“Settle down, lock in, make free throws and lock in on the defensive end,” Hopkins said. “We knew our shots were going to start falling. Just don’t let up on defense.”

The final quarter was a sensational display on both ends of the floor for Carl Albert (17-4, 10-2 5A-1), which found its stroke on offense and smothered the Knights on defense. Hopkins drilled a pair of 3-point baskets and poured in 13 points as the Titans outscored Crossings, 23-6, in the fourth period.

“Just settling into the game,” said Hopkins, who finished with a team-high 16 points. “We knew it was going to be a tough game to win. “We settled in and our team played relentless. We just didn’t quit.”

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Crossings’ terrific inside-outside tandem of forward Cam Parker and guard Cal Furnish combined for 24 points in the first half. In the second, the duo accounted for just five thanks to a staunch defensive effort from the Titans’ led by Hopkins and reserve Brandon Rogers.

“We just all had to get together,” Rogers said. “Just keep believing and keep working and going at it. We just had to try to limit Cal as much as possible.”

Apart from a 3-2 lead at the beginning of the contest, Carl Albert trailed for the entirety of the game until Hopkins – who surpassed 1,000 career points Jan. 30 at Elgin – capped the raucous comeback with a bucket with 15 seconds left that put his team up for good, 50-49.

“What a great finish,” Price said. “It was unbelievable.”

Both Rogers and senior Hutch Russell finished with 10 points. OU football commit Marcus James grabbed six rebounds, while Lebron Royal corralled five off the bench.

Furnish led all scorers with 18 points for Crossings (16-5, 11-2), which saw its district lead trimmed to just a half-game over both Carl Albert and Guthrie (18-3, 10-2).

All three teams are vying for a top-two spot in the district standings, which would secure a homecourt advantage for their first two playoff games. Crossings finishes the regular season Tuesday at Guthrie, while Carl Albert – winner of 14 of its last 15 games – closes with home tilts against Western Heights and Altus over the next five days.

“We don’t need to overlook either of the two teams,” Price said. “We just need to go out and continue to play hard and execute and do the things that we are needing to do to finish it up.”

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Carl Albert girls roll past Crossings Christian

In the first game of the girl-boy doubleheader, senior Ausha Moore scored 18 points and sophomore Essence Curry added 12 as the Carl Albert girls' basketball team won for the eighth time in 10 games, 68-23, over Crossings Christian.

The Titans are now 17-4 overall and 9-3 in District 5A-1, just a half-game behind Shawnee (14-7, 9-3) for second place in the district led by undefeated El Reno.

Both Carl Albert and Shawnee have two games remaining in the regular season.

Clara Bebee led Crossings (7-14, 3-10) with eight points.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS basketball: Quincy Hopkins become leader for Carl Albert