The Rangers turned a six-point halftime lead into a blowout while cruising to a 65-39 win over the Wildcats at the Hilldale Event Center.
Senior Brandon Lewis and sophomore Robert Thompson keyed the second-half surge for Roland as both players netted 13 points after the break to finish as co-leading scorers with 15 points apiece.
The Rangers harassed Checotah into a dismal shooting performance and also dominated on the glass while collecting their seventh win in a row. The Wildcats hit just 25.4 percent from the floor while attempting 51 shots. Meanwhile, Roland snagged most of those errant shots and outrebounded Checotah by a 46-20 margin.
Senior power forward Tony Brown grabbed a game-best 15 rebounds for Roland to go with his 11 points. Thompson came down with nine boards. Lewis and Dwight Williams six each and Andrew Crow five.
Junior point guard Nick Mooney added 10 points to become the fourth Ranger in double figures and Williams finished with nine points as Roland shot just under 50 percent (28-of-57) from the floor.
Checotah, which defeated Muldrow in the district playoffs last week, missed 17 of its 19 shots in the first quarter and trailed 13-6 entering the second period. Roland twice led by 11 in the first half and was up 23-12 after Mooney's passes set up Thompson and Crow for consecutive baskets.
The Wildcats reeled off seven-straight points to get within four, but Lewis drilled a short jumper at the buzzer to put Roland up 25-19 at the break.
The Rangers then seized the momentum after halftime with a 13-2 run in the third period. Lewis sparked the run with an inside basket, Thompson added three more and Lewis made it 38-23 with a three-point shot.
Roland extended its lead to 18 by the start of the fourth quarter and continued to pull away. Thompson added six points down the stretch before both teams closed out the contest with their reserves on the floor.
The victory improved Roland's record to 22-2 and sent the Rangers into Saturday night's regional championship game at Fort Gibson. They'll take on Fort Gibson, which defeated Eufaula 57-52 in overtime in Thursday night's other semifinal.
Sallisaw 74, Poteau 51 (Boys)
FORT GIBSON - In two regular season games against Poteau, the Black Diamonds lost once and barely won the other. Thursday afternoon's match-up in the Class 4A Area IV regional losers bracket was an entirely different outcome.
Sallisaw outscored the Pirates by 23 points during the middle two quarters and romped to a blowout win over their NOAA conference rivals, dumping Poteau from the playoffs in the process.
Senior guard Trent Whitekiller rained down five three-pointers on the way to a game-high 24 points for the Diamonds. Sam Tehee poured in another 16 points, Dustin Edgmon 14 and Dan McHenry nine as Sallisaw evened its record at 12-12.
Poteau, which closed its season at 14-9, was led by Casey Hemphill's 18 points.
Sallisaw took a six-point lead into the second quarter and then pulled away for a 41-24 halftime advantage. A 16-4 run in the third period upped the lead to 29 points and the Diamonds never looked back.
The victory put Sallisaw in a Friday afternoon elimination game against Checotah at Fort Gibson's Harrison Fieldhouse. The winner of that game will play again on Saturday afternoon for the right to advance to the Area IV tournament.
Hilldale 72, Muldrow 70 (Boys)
MUSKOGEE - The Bulldogs made a valliant run at Hilldale, but couldn't quite make up a 17-point deficit and were knocked out the Class 4A Area IV regional on Thursday afternoon at the Hilldale Event Center.
The long-range marksmanship of Jason Drew fueled Hilldale to a 65-48 lead in the early moments of the fourth period before Muldrow began its comeback bid. The Bulldogs closed the contest with a 22-7 spurt and had a chance at the buzzer, missing two shots as time expired.
Drew led all scorers with 36 points, including seven treys. Hilldale teammate Charley Brown added 18.
Muldrow (6-17) was led by Caleb Cawhorn's 21 points, while Brandon Cardwell pumped in 18 and Trevor Earls 17. Each of those players also made three three-point shots. Billy Spann netted another 10 points for Muldrow.
