Lady Rangers win Choctaw Nation Tournament, boys finish as runners-up

TALIHINA — Both Roland High School basketball teams brought home some hardware Saturday night from far southwest LeFlore County.

The Lady Rangers won the Choctaw Nation Invitation Tournament with a 4735 victory over the Pocola Lady Indians in the championship game Saturday night on Chris Gillespie Court at Ray Henson Gymnasium at Talihina High School. Roland’s girls reached the title game with a 57-35 rout of the Broken Bow junior varsity on Thursday afternoon, then handled NOAA Conference rival Poteau 56-30 in Friday night’s championship semifinals.

The Running Rangers also brought home hardware as they came in second after losing Saturday night’s boys title game 60-34 to Pocola. The Roland boys reached the championship game with a 45-43 victory over host Talihina on Thursday night and a 58-49 win over Rattan in Friday night’s championship semifinals.

In the girls’ championship game, the Lady Rangers (6-1) jumped out to a 10-8 lead after a quarter and a 22-13 halftime advantage, but a 19-8 third quarter helped Roland to a 41-21 lead going into the fourth period.

For the game, Roland put a trio of players into double figures as tournament Most Valuable Player Haven Freeman and All-Tournament Team member Ryanne Nelke each scored 14 points, while All-Tournament Team member Halle Freeman added 10 points. Lilly Medicine Bird had six points, while Kynlei Earnhart added three points.

In the girls’ championship semifinals, the Lady Rangers jumped out to a 15-4 lead against Poteau after a period, which swelled to a 30-8 halftime advantage.

For the game, Haven Freeman and Nelke each scored a game-high 14 points, while Halle Freeman added 13 points to lead Roland. Addison Cole scored four points, while Earnhart, Medicine Bird and Julianna Trijullo had three points apiece.

In the girls’ opening-round victory, the Lady Rangers rode out to a 24-6 lead over the Broken Bow JV after a period and were never headed.

For the game, Nelke scored a game-high 16 points, followed by Halle Freeman and Medicine Bird with eight points each, Haven Freeman and Cole each with seven points, Earnhart with six points, Brooklyn Decker with three points and Jazzlyn Tehee with two points.

In the boys’ championship game, the Indians doubled the Running Rangers 14-7 in the first quarter en route to a 27-12 halftime lead. Roland cut its deficit to 39-28 thanks to a 16-12 third period, but the Running Rangers (6-1) got no closer.

In defeat, DaVohn Hall scored a game-high 15 points to lead Roland, followed by Carson Wiggins with seven points, Mason Kemp with four points, Raesean Perryman and D.J. Massey with three points each and Buck Triplett with two points. In the boys’ championship semifinals, the Running Rangers trailed for most of the game, losing 34-30 to Rattan going into the fourth quarter. However, they rode off into the sunset with a 22-15 final period to get the come-from-behind win.

For the game, Roland put a trio of players into double figures, led by a game-high 16 points for Hall and 13 points each for Triplett and Wiggins. Kemp scored six points, followed by Cason Perryman and Paul Johnson with four points each and Kade Shook with two points.

In the boys’ opening-round win, the Running Rangers jumped out to a 17-9 lead after a period en route to a 27-19 advantage at the break. Talihina outscored Roland 23-18 in the second half, but its rally fell short.

For the game, Johnson scored 13 points and Wiggins added 10 points to lead Roland, followed by Hall with nine points, Kemp with eight points and Triplett with five points.

Hall and Wiggins were named to the All-Tournament Team.