Sallisaw teams begin 3-game homestand with NOAA sweep of Checotah

There was no better way for a three-game homestand to begin for the Sallisaw High School basketball teams than the way it did Tuesday night at Paul Post Field House.

The Lady Diamonds and Black Diamonds got a NOAA Conference sweep of the Checotah teams. The Lady Diamonds started the night with a 58-30 win over the Lady Wildcats, then the Black Diamonds tamed the ’Cats 46-41.

The homestand will continue with tonight’s homecoming games against Stilwell, in which the boys game will take place first at 6 p.m. followed by the girls’ contest at 7:30 p.m. The homestand will conclude with a pair of home games next Tuesday night against Stigler.

GIRLS

SALLISAW 58, CHECOTAH 30

Both the Lady Diamonds (8-3 overall, 2-1 in NOAA Conference play) and the Lady Wildcats (5-5, 2-1) started slowly as Sallisaw took a 7-2 lead after a period.

Then, the Lady Diamonds started to shine when the second quarter arrived as they outscored the Lady ’Cats 23-9 to increase the Sallisaw advantage to 30-11 at halftime.

The rout continued as a 15-9 third quarter upped the Sallisaw lead to 45-20 heading into the final period.

“Our kids responded really well,” Sallisaw girls coach Eric Carr said. “We had a pretty good heartto- heart (Tuesday afternoon) about our focus and our ability to get the job done offensively. We have been great defensively, especially in the tournament we just played in, but we’re just so inconsistent. We made a lot of mistakes that don’t need to be made by kids who have played a lot of basketball. They really got locked in and focused like we asked them to (on Tuesday night). This was a good win, for sure.”

For the second straight home game, both the Sallisaw and visiting fan bases got to encourage a special Lady Diamond as Carr had reserve special needs player Abery Cox enter the game with about 90 seconds remaining. Just like she did against Poteau on Dec. 17, Cox hit a bucket as Tuesday night’s score against Checotah came from about five feet away in the lane with 42 seconds left to play. Just like on that Dec. 17 night against Poteau, both fan bases gave a mighty cheer when Cox’s shot went through the nylon.

Carr, whose team won the third-place game at the Henryetta Tournament on Monday afternoon, said he was hoping this three-game homestand would cap a strong six-game stretch to take some momentum into next week’s Pryor Tournament.

“Our goal was to at least go 5-1 in this six-game stretch, from the (Henryetta) Tournament through these three home games,” he said. “Right now, we’ve taken care of that. We’re going to go out and play a Stilwell team that’s a little bit inexperienced this year. Then, we get Stigler, who is hanging around that top 20 spot. They’re going to be a good opponent. They’re going to be a zone team, and we’ve struggled against that. Hopefully, we can get some things figured out to get ready for that one.”

For the game, Emma Martin scored a game-high 16 points and Alayna Locust-Trammell added 13 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Kayli Macon with nine points, Katelyn Carlton with seven points, Channing Wilson with four points, Hannah Palmer and Sydney Weedon scored three points each, Abrey Cox with two points and Jaycie Cox with a free throw.

BOYS

SALLISAW 46, CHECOTAH 41

Checotah’s Tyler Orman hit a basket to knot the game at 34-all with 4:48 left to play in the game.

However, from there, the Black Diamonds (6-5 overall, 2-1 in NOAA Conference play) ended the game with a 12-7 run to get back into the win column after they went 1-2 in the Henryetta Tournament.

First-year coach Zac Rogers believed a spark plug off the bench was a big reason for the strong finish to the game.

“Jackson Harris came in there and gave us a bunch of good minutes, especially in the fourth quarter” Rogers said. “He blocked two shots, then got a bunch of rebounds. He made a huge lay-up for us late (with 54 seconds left to put Sallisaw ahead 45-38). The energy he brought late in the game really changed our energy and gave us a boost.”

The Black Diamonds raced out to a 5-0 lead en route to a 7-6 lead after the first eight minutes of action.

After Checotah’s Arm Patel hit a 3-point basket to give the Wildcats (18, 0-3) a 9-7 lead with 7:12 left before halftime, the Black Diamonds ended the first half on a 12-6 run, capped by Cooper Jackson’s buzzer-beating 3-point basket with a second left, to give Sallisaw a 19-15 lead at the break.

Rowan Chapman’s basket capped a 6-2 run to begin the third quarter to get the ’Cats tied at 21-all with 4:24 left in the period. A 3-pointer by Patel re-tied the game at 26-all with 2:45 remaining in the quarter, then a basket by teammate R.J. Womack got the contest tied for a third time in the period, this time at 28all with 1:32 left in the quarter.

However, a pair of Cooper Cox free throws with 35 seconds remaining in the period put Sallisaw ahead 30-28 going into the final period.

Rogers was glad to see the three-game homestand begin with a win.

“It was exciting,” he said. “The guys have been working their tails off and working extremely hard. They’re doing everything we’ve asked them to do. Anytime you get that reward of a victory is really important, so I’m excited for them.”

For the game, Cox scored a game-high 14 points and Jackson added 10 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Brodi Nickell with nine points, Tae Muskrat-Flynn with eight points, Cooper Carter with three points and Harris with two points.