LCT Day 2: Whitesboro clutch dig highlights Round 2

Big first halves by Smith, Hardwick for Pocola

Pocola’s basketball teams earned blowout wins at Panama on Tuesday in advancing to the LeFlore County Tournament semifinals.

Girls Pocola 67, Spiro 41

Spiro (2-7) stayed within competitive distance for most of the first half before Pocola (13-0) pulled away.

Jasmine Dees hit two 3-pointers and Lily Blankenship knocked one down to give Spiro an early 9-8 lead. After Dees stole the ball and made a free throw to tie it 12-all, Pocola scored the last nine points of the quarter, capped by a turnaround shot by Allyssa Parker at the buzzer for a 21-12 lead.

Madilyn Lovell made a shot at the 3:25 mark of the second quarter to get Spiro within 25-17. Pocola’s Kail Chitwood hit a 3-pointer from the left wing 45 seconds later as the girls in black and maroon scored nine of the last 13 points for a 34-21 halftime lead.

Pocola scored the first 10 points of the third quarter, including a 3-pointer from the left corner by Bailey Lairamore, for a 44-21 margin.

Also, Pocola tallied the last 10 points of the quarter, with Chitwood and Kylee Smith hitting treys, for a 56-25 lead.

After Pocola attained a 62-27 lead, Spiro went on an 11-2 run, trimming the margin to 64-38.

Smith led Pocola with 17 points, including 12 in the first half, while Parker had 16, Mika Scott had 13, Lairamore had 10, Chitwood had seven and Presleigh Riggs had four.

Kambrie Rogers led Spiro with nine points, followed by six by Reagan Gist, five each by Blankenship and Kailee Martin and four each by Lovell and Akrissa Williams.

Boys Pocola 58, Heavener 37

Pocola started the game on a 10-3 run and hardly let Heavener close again.

After a Bryce Morrison trey cut the gap to 10-6, Ian Hardwick nailed a bomb from the left corner and a 15-foot jump shot to give the Indians (12-1) a 15-6 lead to finish the first quarter.

Hardwick made a pair of free throws with in the last minute of the half after tweaking his right knee. Eli Garrett hit a jump shot at the halftime buzzer for a 31-16 lead.

Six straight Pocola points early in the third put the margin at 37-18. The Indians led 48-26 through three quarters.

Tre Elam led Pocola with 17 points while Ian Hardwick had 11 (all in the first half), Garrett had 10 Austin Hardwick and Dakota Terrell both had five and Zac Jones had four. Landon Thurman led Heavener with nine points. Morrison had eight points.