LCT Day 1: Wolves, Savages graceful in crunch time

Heavener staves off late rallies by Talihina

During LeFlore County Basketball Tournament first-rounders on Monday, only one in the lower part of the bracket saw clutch memoents at the end.

At Talihina Boys Heavener 53, Talihina 44

Caleb Morrison led the Wolves through a tense start, scoring eight of their points as they finished the first quarter ahead 10-9.

Heavener led 15-10 early in the second quarter before a pair of Ramses Hernandez 3-pointers cut the gap to 17-16.

Morrison drained a pair of free throws with 1:18 left to start a string of six straight Heavener points that sent the boys in purple and white into halftime ahead 23-16.

Morrison made a 3-pointer for a 28-19 Heavener lead with 6:33 left in the third quarter. Talihina briefly came within 28-24 before Heavener (6-7) scored seven of the last nine points of the quarter for a 35-26 lead.

Talihina scored eight straight points to get within 41-38 with three minutes left. However, Landon Thurman hit a shot 16 seconds later to keep the Golden Tigers at arm’s length. Levi Hill hit a close-range jumper to get the boys in black within 46-42, but that was as close as they came.

Clubb made a pair of midrange shots between one and two minutes left to seal Heavener’s win, seven weeks after the Wolves lost 58-55 at Talihina.

Morrison finished with 18 points. Thurman had 12 points. Jackson Clubb added 10 points. Gunnar McAlester had six points.

Hernanadez led Talihina (1-10) with 16 points. Hill contributed 12 points. Noah Bryant had 11 points.

Spiro 67, Bokoshe 13

Spiro’s Ethan Robbins and Bokoshe’s Scooter Hastings knocked down 3-pointers in the opening possessions of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs (5-6) broke away in the latter part of the quarter. Braxton Peterson drove down the baseline for a layup to ignite a 10-0 run for a 20-5 lead before Spiro finished the quarter leading 20-7.

Peterson hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and Jared Huff made a layup during a 10-0 run for a 30-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Later, Robbins made a fall-away jump shot and Brycen Graham gained a tremendous amount of air for a layup during a 7-0 spurt for a 37-10 lead. Spiro stood ahead 39-10 at halftime.

Spiro scored the first 13 points of the third quarter, capped by a putback on a fast break by Kane Hendricks, before finishing the period ahed 52-12.

Coy Clark and Nathan Moore made fast-break layups as Spiro scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter.

Huff scored seven of his 14 points in the first quarter. Peterson scored seven of his 14 points in the third quarter. Robbins, Hendricks and Zander Riggs each had seven points. Graham had six points. Moore and Alan McKeefry both had four points.

Hastings led Bokoshe with seven points. Jon Goodman had four points.

Girls Poteau 54, Talihina 26

Poteau (4-8) found its highest scoring total thus far this season while reaching 50 points for the second time.

Brooklyn Garner heated up early, scoring six points in as Poteau grabbed an 8-0 run by the 5:56 mark of the first quarter.

Poteau led 14-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Annie Baker made a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 20-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Talihina’s Jessea Stowell and Courtney Hacker hit treys to cut the margin to 22-15 later in the second quarter.

Poteau responded with Annika Dill knocking down a 3-pointer from the right wing at the 1:10 mark and Baker connecting on one from the left corner with 10 seconds remaining for a 28-15 halftime lead.

Parker Patterson made a fast-break layup off an assist by Dill for a 32-15 lead early in the third quarter. Garner rolled up eight points late in the quarter, allowing the girls in black and red to enter the final frame ahead 43-22.

Poteau scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter, with six coming on free throws, to gain a 53-22 advantage.

Garner led Poteau with 19 points. Baker had 12 points while grabbing three steals. Patterson added 11 points. Dill had seven points.

Leah Dill led Talihina with 12 points. Stowell had six points.

At Wister Boys Wister 69, Whitesboro 34

The Wildcats (9-6) propelled away from the Bulldogs (3-11) in the second quarter before blowing them out the third.

Bryce McGee scored six of his 18 points in the first quarter to keep Whitesboro within 11-9. C.J. Halford led Wister’s propulsion in the second quarter by scoring 10 of his 23 points, helping the team to a 31-18 halftime lead.

He added seven points in the third quarter as the boys in purple and white advanced to a 54-26 advantage.

Supporting scorers for Wister include Ty Slone with 10 points, Braxton Hill with nine points, Riley Crane with eight points and Dartyn Meeks with seven points. For Whitesboro, Ty Culley had seven points while Zack Putman had four.

Girls

Spiro 65, Wister 41

Spiro struck fiercely in the first quarter and didn’t look back. Jasmine Dees scored five of her 11 points in the opening period to help Spiro to a 19-9 lead.

Spiro (2-7) advanced the margin to 34-20 by halftime and 56-35 by the end of the third quarter.

Kambrie Rogers, Lily Blankenship and Reagan Gist each had 10 points. Madilyn Lovell had eight points.

Kaylyn Upchurch and Kailey Seaton both had five points. Lindsey Wortham had four points.

For Wister (7-8), Kinley Branscum led the way with 15 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while Jordan Makovy had nine points, Kimbri Huett had six and Kaylea Underwood had five.