Sallisaw basketball teams drop home games to Stigler

SALLISAW HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

The Sallisaw High School basketball teams did not enter the Christmas break the way they had hoped as they were swept at home by Stigler’s squads Tuesday night at Paul Post Field House.

The Lady Diamonds lost 29-25, then the Panthers rallied from a late one-point deficit to pull out a 5654 road victory over the Black Diamonds.

GIRLS STIGLER 29, SALLISAW 25

Trailing 19-17 after Sallisaw’s Emma Martin hit a 3-point basket with 6:39 left in the fourth quarter, the Lady Panthers (5-2) went on an 11-0 run, capped by Ashton Hollie’s basket with 2:57 left in the period, gave Stigler a 28-19 lead.

The Lady Diamonds (3-5) went on a 6-0 run, capped by Martin’s basket with 16 seconds left, to cut the deficit to 28-25.

With nine seconds left, Stigler’s Hiahni Howard was fouled. She missed her first free throw, but made the second attempt to seal the deal for Stigler.

Back-to-back baskets to start the game by Madi Jones and Howard put the Lady Panthers ahead 4-0, but a basket by Sallisaw’s Hannah Palmer with 64 seconds left in the first quarter cut the Lady Diamonds’ deficit to 7-5 entering the second period.

A 6-2 run by Sallisaw, capped by Kayli Macon’s basket with 4:34 left before halftime, gave Sallisaw an 11-9 lead, but Howard’s basket with 4:14 remaining in the first half knotted the game at 11 at the break as the final 4:14 of the first half was scoreless.

After Hollie’s 3-pointer gave Stigler a 14-11 lead with 7:40 left in the third quarter, the Lady Diamonds went on a 8-3 run, capped by Martin’s 3-pointer with 6:39 left in the game to up Sallisaw’s advantage to 19-17. It ended up being the last time the Lady Diamonds led on the night.

The Lady Diamonds had a rough shooting night — both from the field as several shots rimmed in and out as well as from the free-throw line where Sallisaw was 1-of-10.

“We shot the ball just as bad (from the field) as we shot the free throws,” first-year Sallisaw girls coach Eric Carr said. “Our field-goal shooting was pretty poor. There’s nothing in my mind that says we don’t win that game if we go shoot the ball a little bit better. Then, we started pressing a little bit in the second half and had some bad turnovers. For the most part, it’s just a matter of us being better at shooting the basketball. When that clicks for us and we start making shots, it’s going to be fun. We did a good job on the defensive end. We guard the right way. I like this team. I like what they give us every day. We just have to find a way to get some confidence with putting the ball in (the basket). When that happens, I think it’s going to be a bit exciting around here.”

In defeat, Martin led Sallisaw with 10 points, followed by Palmer with eight points, Abby Kate Qualls with three points and Macon and Addy Orendorf with two points apiece.

BOYS STIGLER 56, SALLISAW 54

A basket by Cooper Cox with 1:41 left in the game put the Black Diamonds (4-4) up 51-50, but the Panthers (5-2) ended the game with a 6-3 run to win the game.

Sallisaw had one last opportunity to get the game tied in the final 19 seconds, or even regain the lead, but the Black Diamonds could not get into a real offensive set in their final possession.

The first quarter saw eight lead changes and three ties as Jayden Gould’s 3-points basket with 68 seconds left in the period gave Stigler a 15-13 lead heading into the second period.

After Kenyan Hill’s 3-pointer to open the second quarter gave Sallisaw a 16-15 lead with 7:14 remaining before halftime, the Panthers went on a 9-3 run as Hunter Self’s bucket with 3:48 left in the first half gave Stigler a 24-19 lead.

Hill’s trey with 2:28 left before halftime capped a 5-2 run by Sallisaw to cut the Stigler advantage to 26-24, but the Panthers answered with a 5-0 run to take a 31-24 lead with 1:26 remaining in the first half. Cox’s basket with 40 seconds left cut Sallisaw’s halftime deficit to 31-26.

The Panthers built a 10-point lead twice in the third quarter, the last time at 38-28 with 2:34 left in the period on a basket by Self.

A trey by Cooper Jackson with 2:03 remaining in the quarter capped a 5-0 run for Sallisaw to cut the deficit to 38-33, but a conventional threepoint play by Self with 64 seconds remaining in the period gave Stigler a 41-33 lead going into the fourth quarter.

A basket by Cox with 3:47 left to play tied the game at 46-all, then a 3-pointer by Cooper Carter gave Sallisaw a 49-47 lead with 3:20 remaining in the game.

A free throw by Gould and a pair of free throws by Cameron Eakle put Stigler back on top at 50-49 with 3:08 remaining to play, but Cox’s basket regained the lead for the final time for Sallisaw at 51-50 with 1:41 left in the game.

“Our biggest issue was we weren’t ready to play at all,” Sallisaw boys coach Chadd Gehrke said. “We weren’t ready to play, and that (a loss) is what happens. When you’re not ready to play, you let a team stick around and get a lot of confidence. When you get a lot of confidence, you make a lot of shots. We weren’t ready to play, and that was the story of the whole game.”

In defeat, Cox led Sallisaw with 15 points, followed by Hill with nine points, Wes Rodriguez with eight points, Carter with seven points and Jackson, Max Stump and Rustyn Romero with five points apiece.