The Diamonds evened their league record at 3-3 and moved to 8-9 overall as Robert Raborn scored 12 points and Matt Oberste flirted with a triple-double. Oberste contributed 13 points, 12 boards and nine assists to help Sallisaw rebound from back-to-back losses against Hilldale and Stilwell.
Jake Peterson’s free throw with no time left in the first half handed Muldrow a 20-19 edge at the break, but Sallisaw rallied in the third quarter. The Diamonds broke open a tied game with a 10-3 run over the final five minutes of the period, sparked by Raborn’s 3-point bomb and capped by Oberste’s basket and free throw.
Sallisaw took a 34-27 lead into the fourth and grabbed its biggest lead of the night when Damon Lynch and Oberste dropped in baskets for an 11-point advantage. Muldrow fought back to within four on a pair of free throws from Peterson with 1:36 left. However, the Diamonds hit 3 of 6 free shots and Oberste threw a pass the length of the court to hit Trey Wiley for a lay-up that helped seal the win in the closing seconds.
Lynch and Garrett Langley finished with six points each for Sallisaw. Wiley added five, Tyler Clifton two, Nick Walker two and Blake Zinck one. Wiley grabbed seven rebounds, including several key boards in the final two minutes, and Langley pulled down five rebounds.
Muldrow dropped to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the NOAA despite 13 points and five rebounds from Peterson. Donathan Caudill added 10 points and nine rebounds, while Nate Hamilton scored eight, Tim Chandler six and Dillon Ross four.
Muldrow 48, Sallisaw 29 (G)
The Lady Bulldogs stayed unbeaten in the NOAA on Tuesday night as Debra Silva led the way past Sallisaw with 15 points.
Class 4A No. 8 Muldrow improved to 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference, thanks to a 12-0 surge in the second quarter that saw the Lady Bulldogs break open a close game.
Sallisaw was within 9-6 at the end of the first quarter, but went without scoring for just over six minutes as Muldrow extended its lead to 15 points. Brandie Holt ignited the run with two baskets and Silva scored twice on fastbreaks before the Lady Diamonds halted the run with a Caitie Goff basket with 1:50 left in the half.
Muldrow pushed its lead to 19 by the end of the third quarter. Fontana Tate sank three free throws, Holt scored off a steal and Silva scored to make it 37-18 entering the fourth period.
The Lady Bulldogs’ biggest lead was 23 after Natalee Frederick sank a trey with a two minutes left in the contest.
Sallisaw guard Caitie Goff matched Silva for game-high scoring honors with 15 points in addition to a team-high six rebounds. Courtney Eldridge scored five, Lacie Smith four, Whittany Netz two, Morgan Kostka two and Caitlyn Sawney one for the Lady Diamonds (7-10).
Holt and Tate both netted nine points for Muldrow. Frederick finished with five, Destiny Wilhite and Jordan Chambers four each and Katelyn Williams two. Senior post Chambers snagged a game-high seven rebounds for Muldrow and Wilhite grabbed six.
Both schools will play again on Friday and host make-up games on Saturday. Muldrow travels to Spiro on Friday night and will face Stilwell at home at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Sallisaw hosts Roland on Friday night before hosting Westville on Saturday afternoon with the girls’ game tipping off at 2:30 p.m.
