The senior guard scored a game-high 24 points for the Bulldogs, but it was during the second period that he really caught fire.
Earls did not miss a shot in the second stanza while knocking down all five of his attempts from beyond the three-point arc and also scoring off a steal. He buried two treys in the final 30 seconds of the half and, when the spree was over, Earls' 17 points had helped the Bulldogs turn a narrow lead into a 38-21 halftime advantage.
Muldrow held off the Black Diamonds in the second half and moved to 13-4 overall and 6-1 in the NOAA. However, Earls wasn't the only Bulldog to come up big on Friday night.
Backcourt mate Caleb Cawhorn dropped in another 18 points, while junior center Wayne Whitmer grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with his 15 points.
Sallisaw, which fell to 6-9 with the loss, had three players score in double figures. Senior guard Trevor Teel netted 15 points, Cory Jobe sank four treys to finish with 12 and Stephen Branham added 11 points and seven rebounds.
The game was close through the first quarter, but Cawhorn closed the period with a pair of long-range bombs to hand the Bulldogs a 13-6 lead.
Earls got the hot hand a few moments later and scored 11-straight Muldrow points during one stretch of the second quarter as the Bulldogs went up 28-10.
Both teams shot the ball well in the second quarter. Sallisaw nailed 7-of-10 field goal attempts, but Muldrow made 10-of-11.
Whitmer scored seven of his points in the third quarter. He ignited a 6-0 run late in the quarter as the Bulldogs went up by 22 points. A Jobe three-point pulled Sallisaw back to within 53-34 entering the fourth.
Sallisaw was unable to get the deficit back into single digits, though. The closest the Diamonds could get was 12 points when they scored the final seven points of the game.
Starters Nathan Byrd and Chris Waters rounded out the Muldrow scoring with four and three points, respectively. Byrd grabbed four rebounds, as did Chance Roberts.
Dustin Edgmon scored seven points for Sallisaw before fouling out in the third quarter. Mitch Lockhart added four points, Jacob Blount two, James Hoover two and Matt Hancock one.
Muldrow 50, Sallisaw 44 (Girls)
The Lady Bulldogs avenged a loss to their rivals two weeks earlier as Fallen Tate and Christy Neu both scored in double figures Friday night.
Tate and Neu pumped in 12 points apiece to lead Muldrow to its second victory over Sallisaw in three tries this season. Muldrow had previously topped the Lady Diamonds in the semifinals of the county tournament.
On Friday, Muldrow got off to a slow start and trailed 10-2 midway through the first quarter. Head coach Jana Armer sent five new players onto the court and Tate responded by converting a pair of three-point plays to get the Lady Bulldogs back into contention.
However, they were still down by five after Meghan Smith's basket in the final seconds of the quarter gave Sallisaw a 15-10 edge.
The Lady Diamonds maintained the lead up until the end of the first half. Kendra Click broke a 25-25 tie with a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to hand Muldrow a two-point halftime lead.
Muldrow never trailed after that, although the visitors stayed within striking distance. Sarah Snider's put-back with 2:15 left in the game pulled Sallisaw within four, but Neu and Tate both sank two free throws in the final minute to preserve the Lady Bulldog win.
Muldrow improved to 11-6 overall and 5-2 in the NOAA. Taylor Cawhorn scored seven points for the Lady Bulldogs, Click six, Courtney Waters five, Tiffany Chandler three, Sarah Martin three and Mashiah Akin two.
Sallisaw (6-9) was led by Ashley Covington, who scored 10 of her 12 points after the break. Smith and Snider both added nine points, Amanda Toney eight, Caitlyn Hall four and Lyndsey Daggs two.
