Central sweeps Big 8 Conference games from host Vian
Two county rivals, Central and Vian, ended their respective regular basketball season in a pair of Big 8 Conference games at Vian High School’s B.J. Traw Gymnasium.
The Central teams got the sweep as the Lady Tigers started the night with a 50-25 victory over the Lady Wolverines, then the Tigers tamed the Wolverines 59-38.
GIRLS
CENTRAL 50, VIAN 25
The Lady Tigers (17-5 overall, 2-2 in Big 8 Conference play) scored the game’s first five points en route to a 10-2 lead after the first quarter.
After a pair of Haley Cheek free throws upped Central’s advantage to 14-2 with 6:59 left before halftime, back-to-back baskets by Shelbie Glass helped the Lady Wolverines (4-19, 0-8) cut their deficit to 14-6 with 6:24 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately, that ended up being as close as Vian got the rest of the night.
The Lady Tigers ended the first half with a 7-2 run, capped by a basket by Hadlie Woods with 53 seconds remaining before halftime, to put Central ahead 21-8 at the break.
A 13-3 third quarter for Central all but sealed the deal as the Lady Tigers took a 34-11 lead into the final period.
For the game, Cambree Bair, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career in last Saturday afternoon’s loss to Muldrow, led Central with a gamehigh 17 points, followed by Cheek with nine points, Woods with six points, Ayrland Jiles with four points, Zoey Lattimore and Ryleigh Pierce with three points each and Alexxus Bolin, Paris Campbell, Cheyenne Busch and Kimberlynn Fahrman with two points apiece.
In defeat, Halli Russell led Vian with nine points, followed by Rebel Simon with six points, Glass and Avery Wright with four points each and Kala Gibbins with two points.
BOYS
CENTRAL 59, VIAN 38
Trailing 7-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter, the Tigers (15-7 overall, 3-1 in Big 8 Conference play) ended the period with a 15-4 run, which ended by Central scoring the final 10 points of the quarter, to take a 15-11 lead after the first eight minutes. The Tigers would not relinquish their lead the rest of the way.
A basket by Vian’s Jeremiah Marshall with 7:03 left before halftime cut the deficit for the Wolverines (812, 1-7) to two points at 15-13, but that was as close as the Wolverines got on the night.
The Tigers ended the first half with an 11-7 run to take a 26-20 into the locker rooms at halftime.
The Tigers built as great as a 19-point lead in the third quarter, taking a 39-20 lead on a 3-point basket by Paitton Merrill with 3:56 remaining in the period. Central took a 40-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
A 3-pointer by Cash Trammel cut the Vian deficit to 42-32 with 5:55 left to play, but the Wolverines got no closer.
For the game, Josh Brunk scored a game-high 19 points and Hardy Buzzard added 11 points to lead Central, followed by Braxin Goodson and Noah Buzzard with nine points each, Aidan Sainer with six points and Merrill with five points.
In defeat, Trammel scored 13 points and Marshall added 11 points to lead Vian, followed by Caden Brannick with eight points and Trace Sanders with six points.
