Early, a high school in Morrisville, Mo., had the Rangers down at halftime before Roland surged in front after the break to complete round-robin play in the Gold Bracket with a perfect 3-0 record.
The Rangers led 15-8 after the end of the first quarter, but Early took advantage of a tightly officiated game to hit its free throws while building a 34-29 lead by the intermission.
"They were in the double bonus by the end of the first quarter, so we had to back off a little in the second and that's when they had a big quarter," said Roland head coach Eddie Lewis.
Senior forward Robert Thompson sparked the Rangers in the third quarter by pumping in 16 points as Roland regained the lead at 54-51. The Rangers pulled away in the final stanza by outscoring Early 28-16.
Thompson finished with a team-high 25 points. Lee Massey added 21 and Colton Daniel 10 for the Class 4A sixth-ranked Rangers, who ran their record to 15-1.
Early was paced by Ryan Pressley, who sank 16-of-20 free throws while scoring a game-high 26 points.
Roland opened the tournament on Thursday with a win over Wyandotte and followed that with a 55-26 triumph against Commerce on Friday. Thompson had 21 points in the second-round win while Daxx Roberts added six and Daniel, Will Roam and Josh Angel added four each.
EDISON 65, ROLAND 50 (G)
The Lady Rangers suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to Class 5A No. 7-ranked Tulsa Edison in the championship game of the Blue Bracket at the NEO tournament.
Nicole Walton scored 20 points to pace the Lady Eagles, who took a big early lead and weathered a Roland run before pulling away in the closing minutes to seal the win.
The Lady Rangers trailed 15-4 in the second quarter, but surged into a four-point lead in the third period. Edison rallied to regain a 44-38 edge by the start of the fourth quarter and then scored 21 points down the stretch.
"It was just a game of runs," said Roland head coach Bobby Walters. "We were down by eight in the fourth quarter and had to take some chances with our press and shooting some threes. It was a six or seven point game, but we started fouling and they made some free throws."
Jenny Beshoner led Roland with 13 points in the final, while Ericka Edwards and Katie Beshoner both scored 10 and Jasmine Kirkwood had seven.
Roland slipped to 15-1 with the loss, but Walters felt the tournament was good for the Lady Rangers. They beat Miami in the opening round and downed Tulsa Hale, a Class 5A school, in the semifinals.
"We played two pretty good teams in Hale and Edison and it was good to get out and see some other competition," said Walters.
In the 57-39 semifinal win over Hale, Katie Beshoner led Roland with 18 points. Ericka Edwards added 13 and Jenny Beshoner 12.
