Roland enjoys homecoming sweep of Ozark
It was a happy homecoming for the Roland High School basketball teams Friday night at the Ranger Dome as they swept the visiting Ozark (Ark.) Hillbillies and Lady Hillbillies.
The Runnin’ Rangers began the night with a 68-50 win over the Hillbillies, then the Lady Rangers corralled the Lady Hillbillies 54-15.
BOYS
ROLAND 68, OZARK 50
The Runnin’ Rangers (8-0) never trailed on the night. After a 3-point basket by Ozark’s Slayde Williams cut the deficit to 3-2 with 5:47 left in the first quarter, Roland ended the period with a 16-8 run to take an 18-10 lead after a period.
The Hillbillies (8-8) stayed within striking distance of the Runnin’ Rangers, but a late Roland spurt to end the first half enabled the Runnin’ Rangers to take a 38-25 halftime lead.
The Hillbillies got the Runnin’ Rangers attention in the early stages of the third quarter as Ozark opened the period with an 8-3 run, capped by a 3-point basket by Cooper Duerr with 5:27 left in the quarter to cut the Roland lead to 41-33, prompting veteran Roland boys coach Eddie Lewis to call a timeout.
The Runnin’ Rangers got their advantage back into double digits at 5139 with 1:19 remaining in the period on a basket by Mason Kemp, but a 3-pointer by Koby Wilbanks with six seconds left in the quarter cut Ozark’s deficit to 5143 after three periods. However, that was as close as the Hillbillies got.
Roland outscored Ozark 17-7 in the fourth quarter to put away the game.
For the contest, Buck Triplett scored a game-high 23 points to lead Roland, followed by Damonte Owens with 19 points, Kemp and Landon Fowler with eight points each, Kade Shook with six points and Raesean Perryman with four points.
“We had some guys really step up in those runs,” Lewis said. “The whole ball game, Buck Triplett had a heck of a game. I thought Mason Kemp came off the bench and did a really good job for us. Defensively, I thought we played pretty good. They tried to screen us, and we got through a lot of them.”
GIRLS
ROLAND 54, OZARK 15
This game did not take long for the Lady Rangers (5-3) to take control.
Roland scored the game’s first 12 points for a 12-0 lead on a free throw by Molly Carver with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
The first points of the night for the Lady Hillbillies (4-12) came at the 4:32 mark of the period on a pair of free throws by Brooklyn Akers.
The Lady Rangers ended the quarter with a 11-0 run, capped by a basket by homecoming queen Julianna Trujillo with 26 seconds remaining in the period, to put Roland ahead 23-2 after the first eight minutes en route to a 35-9 halftime advantage.
The second half used a running clock. Roland led 50-13 after three quarters and outscored Ozark 4-2 in the final period.
“Tuesday’s win (over Muldrow on Dec. 17) was a big one,” Roland girls coach Scott Nelke said. “That’s always going to be a good one. Tonight, we played well the first two quarters. That’s what I’ve been waiting on for the first semester. Those first two quarters (against Ozark), we did some things that we’ve only been doing in practice. I was super proud of that.”
For the game, Haven Freeman scored a game-high 14 points and Ryanne Nelke added 13 points to lead Roland, followed by Halle Freeman with nine points, Carver with seven points, Trujillo with six points, Lilly Cole with three points and Danika Sevenstar with two points.
