David Seeley Sports Editor The Vian High School basketball teams beat this past weekend’s winter storm by playing in the Warner Eagle Classic, which took place last Wednesday through last Friday.
The Wolverines opened the tournament with a 59-29 rout of Mc-Curtain last Wednesday afternoon, but they lost 65-52 to Warner in last Thursday night’s championship semifinal.
The Wolverines were slated to meet Central for the fourth time this season — and second time this past week — in last Friday’s third-place game.
The Lady Wolverines suffered a pair of losses to open the tournament as they lost 66-19 in last Wednesday afternoon’s opening-round game, then fell 39-13 to Mc-Curtain in last Thursday night’s consolation semifinal.
The Lady Wolverines were slated to meet Haskell in last Friday morning’s seventh-place game.
Last week’s action started for the Vian squads with road games against Central’s teams on Martin Luther King Jr. Day evening at Roland High School’s Ranger Dome.
The Vian squads split with the host Central teams as the Wolverines got their third win of the season over the Tigers as Vian posted a 54-47 victory, but the Lady Tigers got things started with a 44-17 win over the Lady Wolverines for the Central girls’ third victory of the season over Vian.
In the boys’ win over McCurtain, the Wolverines (8-3) jumped out to an 11-9 lead after a quarter en route to a 22-14 halftime advantage. The Wolverines put away the game with a 33-6 third quarter to take a 45-20 lead into the final period.
For the game, Ledger Folsom led Vian with 10 points, followed by Masyn Wright and Rylan Lane with nine points, Jeremiah Marshall with eight points, Dee Antwine with six points, Trace Sanders and Trey Antwine with four points each, Braxton Drake with three points and Joe O’Neal, Isaiah Owens and Drake Collins with two points apiece.
There was nothing more reported by press time on the boys’ loss to Warner.
In the girls’ loss to Westville, the Lady Yellowjackets stung the Lady Wolverines (010) early as Westville jumped out to a 21-5 lead after a quarter to take control of the game.
In defeat, Kiah Richardson led Vian with five points, followed by Gracie Buttery and Rayleigh Terrill with four points each and Payton Crutchfield and Raylan McEver with three points apiece.
In the girls’ loss to McCurtain, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-4 lead after a quarter, which became a 23-5 halftime advantage thanks to a 14-1 second period for McCurtain to take control of the game.
In defeat, Buttery led Vian with five points, followed by Richardson with four points and Crutchfield and Aliyah Tucker with two points apiece.
In the boys’ win over Central on MLK Day night, the Wolverines broke a 9-all tie after a quarter by outscoring the Tigers the rest of the way by a count of 45-38 as Vian enjoyed a 21-17 halftime lead and a 3828 advantage after three quarters.
For the game, Wright scored 17 points to lead Vian, followed by O’Neal and Dee Antwine with nine points each, Folsom and Marshall each with seven points, Lane with three points and Sanders with two points.
In the girls’ MLK Day evening loss to Central, the Lady Tigers jumped out to an 11-2 lead after a quarter, which became a 23-5 halftime advantage and a 38-14 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, Aliyah Tucker led the Lady Wolverines with six points, followed by Buttery and Terrill with four points each, Tinley Gibson with two points and Crutchfield with a free throw.
Editor’s Note: Look for the rest of the details about the Warner Eagle Classic in next week’s edition.
