The Central High School basketball teams swept the Class 2A Regional Tournament consolation title games last Saturday afternoon in Haskell to make sure there was at least one more week of basketball practice.
The Lady Tigers upset No. 16 Pawnee 53-39 to win Saturday’s consolation championship and earn a trip to this week’s Class 2A Area Tournament in Henryetta, where they will meet Kansas in the area consolation quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Thursday. They must win three games in three days to make it to state.
The Lady Tigers suffered their first postseason loss when they lost 74-39 to Class 2A’s third-ranked Hartshorne Lady Miners in the Class 2A Regional Tournament championship semifinals on Feb. 24 at Hartshorne Event Center, but Central bounced back to beat Morrison 59-37 last Friday afternoon.
The Tigers made it a hat trick in Class 2A Area Tournament appearances as they defeated the Vian Wolverines 60-51 to win the regional consolation title. The win marked the third straight victory for the Tigers over the Wolverines after Vian won the first three meetings.
The Tigers will meet Summit Christian at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Class 2A Area Tournament consolation quarterfinals in Henryetta and will need three victories in three days to win the area consolation title and earn a trip to state.
Like the Lady Tigers, the Tigers suffered a Class 2A Regional Tournament championship semifinal loss to Hartshorne as the eighthranked Miners defeated them 68-50 on Feb. 24 at Hartshorne Event Center, but they staved off elimination with a 44-28 rout of Oktaha on Friday in Haskell.
In the girls’ consolation finals, the Lady Tigers (16-11) led 16-9 after a quarter, 24-17 at halftime and 44-27 after three periods.
For the game, Cheyenne Busch scored a game-high 21 points to lead Central, followed by Cambree Bair with 10 points, Sara Williams with nine points, Brianna Taylor with five points, Paris Campbell and Charlie Petree with three points each and Sarah Buchanan with two points.
In the boys’ consolation title game, the Tigers (16-10) rallied from an 18-12 first-quarter deficit by outscoring the Wolverines 48-33 over the final three periods to get the come-frombehind win — and advance to the area tournament.
For the game, Gavin Randolph and Noah Buzzard each scored a game-high 18 points to lead Central, followed by Josh Brunk with seven points, Jake Woods and Cale Stewart with six points each and Paitton Merrill, Aiden Cawhorn and Brycen Chandler-Eisman with two points apiece.
In the girls’ consolation semifinals, the Lady Tigers had a 13-10 lead after a quarter, which became a 28-22 halftime advantage. Then, Central used a 15-4 third quarter to up its lead to 43-26 heading to the final period.
For the game, Central put a trio of players into double figures, led by Campbell’s game-high 17 points, followed by Busch’s 16 points and Williams with 12 points. Bair had nine points, while Taylor added five points.
In the boys’ consolation semifinals in which it was a battle of Tigers, Central led Oktaha 9-8 after a quarter en route to a 20-17 halftime advantage and a 33-22 lead after three periods.
For the game, four Central players reached double figures in scoring, led by Randolph’s 12 points and 10 points apiece from Brunk, Buzzard and Cawhorn. Woods had two points.
In the girls’ championship semifinals, the Lady Miners (21-3), ranked No. 3 in Class 2A, led 15-12 after a quarter, but used a 2614 second period to up their advantage to 41-26 at halftime en route to a 60-34 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, Campbell scored 11 points and Bair added 10 points to lead the Lady Tigers, followed by Williams with nine points, Petree with three points and Busch, Gracie Thompson and Alivia Meadows with two points apiece.
In the boys’ championship semifinals, the Miners (20-6) jumped out to a 9-7 lead after a period, which became a 23-19 advantage at the half. The Miners used a 27-14 third quarter to take a 50-33 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, the Tigers put a trio of players into double figures, led by Buzzard’s 11 points and Randolph and Brunk each scoring 10 points. Cawhorn and Stewart scored six points each, followed by Merrill with four points and Kage Poindexter with three points.
