The rivalry continued Friday night. After two straight blowout victories, the Fighting Irish were put to the test in one of the most hostile environments they will see this season.

Deer Creek had given the Irish a close call last season, and they did the same tonight. Despite leading by a decent margin for most of the night, Deer Creek found a way to tie it up near the end. With the clocking still ticking, Joe Edmonds drove the length of the court to make the game-winning shot and keep the Irish perfect.

Edmonds’ game-winner left no time for the Antlers, but the Irish will have to get up tomorrow and play against the Millwood Falcons in their final game at the Deer Creek Festival.

Hopefully the Irish can bring the same kind of intensity, but that will be hard to accomplish after this performance. Not only did Joe get the Irish Nation going bonkers, but an emphatic slam from not Matt Christiansen, but Miles Newcomb sent the crowd in to a frenzy.

(Click here to see Miles Newcomb’s dunk from last night)

The Irish just looked like the better team, and it was probably good for them to face some adversity. Ponca City and Enid did not provide any sort of challenge for Coach Durham’s boys, so this win should only solidify that these guys are for real.

Deer Creek clawed their way back in to the game, but it just was not in the cards. Give any D1-commit eight seconds to make a play, and more than likely he will do it.

The one thing that made this game just as exciting, though, was the student section. It was like a home game away from home, because the students showed up and made themselves heard often.

Both fanbases are very vocal, and it provided a great atmosphere that you can only find in high school basketball.

As mentioned, the Irish will be back in action at 1:30 PM against the Millwood falcons at Deer Creek High School.