ENID — Brandon Burns lives by the old credo that actions speak louder than words.

Burns, one of only three sophomores for the NOC Enid men’s basketball team, won’t be putting up any bulletin board material when the Jets (16-6 overall, 8-3 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference) host archrival NOC Tonkawa (6-5 conference) tonight in the second half of a 6 p.m. women’s-men’s doubleheader.

He is direct and to the point.

“We just have to go out and play again like we did the last time (90-79 win at Tonkawa on Jan. 9),’’ said Burns. “It’s a big pride game. I really don’t like to talk that much.’’

Burns had only four points in the first game, but he’s not in the lineup for his offense (5.2 average). He is from the “defense wins championships” school.

“He’s really good on defense,’’ said NOC Enid head coach Greg Shamburg. “He takes a lot of charges, and can guard multiple positions. He’s long and athletic. He has the speed to guard a guard and the strength to guard a forward.’’

“All the coaches I’ve had from high school up have said you needed to stop people first before you look to your offense,’’ Burns said. “You would be on the bench if you didn’t do that.’’

The key to stopping people “is all about the mindset ... and not let your man score on you.’’

“You just have to keep them in front of you,’’ Burns said. “You have to know his tendencies ... how he plays, what are his go-to moves and take it away from him.’’

He watches film carefully. He sometimes prefers to come off the bench because he can pick up some things from there.

“The best satisfaction you get from that is the look on their faces whenever they can’t score,’’ Burns said. “It’s good when you see them get frustrated and mad at each other. I feel like I play pretty good defense when I put my mind to it.’’

Burns said he’s “always looking for improvement’’ on offense.

“If the first couple of them fall in, the confidence really escalates,’’ he said.

Burns and the Jets are in second place in conference, a game behind Eastern Oklahoma State, whom they will visit on Monday.

“We have a lot of good chemistry,’’ Burns said. “We have people who can step in and produce. Anybody can come in and step up any night.’’

Burns is part of a 10-man rotation. The depth keeps him fresh and intense for the 20-30 minutes he plays.

“You can come in with a lot of energy,’’ Burns said. “It helps to have a lot of depth because it takes a lot of pressure off you.’’

That makes for competitive practices with everyone fighting for more playing time.

“Every day, everyone is competing hard,’’ he said. “That makes everyone better. We’re a close team. Everybody hangs out with each other. We have no separate groups.’’

Burns has another motivation. NOC Enid was the lone school that recruited him out of his native Baton Rogue. A friend of a high school teammate informed Shamburg of him.

“I want to show people that I can play,’’ he said. “I appreciated the chance and I wanted to take advantage of it.’’

Going from Baton Rogue to Enid was a bit of a culture shock.

“But I adjusted,’’ he said.

Winning the conference and going to the nationals are his goals. The Jets have won five straight. They are 6-1 after blowing a 21-point lead to Eastern, 72-70 at home on Jan. 12.

That might have been a sign of the Jets’ character, he said.

“Coach told us to keep our head up and keep fighting,’’ Burns said. “We’re trying to take that to heart. We have kept scrapping.’’

The Jets are coming off a 68-67 win at Seminole on Monday. NOC Tonkawa has won six of its last eight games, but fell to Eastern, 82-72 Monday.

Xavier McClish (16.3) and Dalen Qualls (10.8) lead the offense. Trey Cohee added 12 points against Seminole, his second game in double figures in the last three outings.

Lady Jets go

for 12th straight

NOC Enid’s women, 11-0 in conference and 20-2 overall after a 79-65 win at Seminole Monday, will be going for their 12th straight win.

The No. 8-ranked Lady Jets beat NOC Tonkawa, 96-52 on Jan. 9 with four players in double figures — Marisha Wallace with 20, Ashlyn Briegge and Sherri Lang with 18 and Justice Payne with 16.

The Lady Mavericks are 6-5 in conference after beating Eastern 63-53 Monday.

“This is always a big rivalry game,’’ said Lady Jets head coach Scott Morris. “You can throw out the record books. Whatever happened the last time never matters. It’s why we call it Bedlam. Our kids will be kids and I know their kids will be ready. They will come in and give us their best effort and we have to do the same. Everybody is pretty rowdy, which makes it a lot of fun.’’

The Lady Jets have a three-and-a-half game lead on Northeastern A&M (8-4) in the conference race.

“We’re looking at the bigger picture,’’ Morris said. “We want to keep our record intact and keep our momentum.’’

Briegge had a season-high 29 against Seminole to raise her average to 17.9. Wallace is averaging 14.9 while Payne is averaging 11.1. Chelsea Bates had 14 points against Seminole, her third straight game in double figures.