Basketball seasons come to an end for Central teams

McALESTER — The Central High School basketball teams saw their seasons come to a close in last weekend’s Class 2A Area Tournament.

After the Tigers staved off elimination with a 46-45 win over the Wilburton Diggers in Thursday night’s area consolation quarterfinals, Central was defeated by a team which it had beaten eight days before as the Oktaha Tigers avenged their 46-40 loss to Central in the Class 2A Regional Tournament championship semifinals on Feb. 20 in Hulbert by eliminating the Central Tigers 47-40 to end their season.

The Lady Tigers suffered a season-ending 56-42 loss to the Calera Lady Bulldogs in the Class 2A Area Tournament consolation quarterfinals.

In the boys’ win over Wilburton, the Tigers (18-9) rallied from a 26-20 halftime deficit as they outscored the Diggers 26-19 in the second half to get the come-frombehind victory.

For the game, Josh Brunk scored a game-high 17 points to lead Central, followed by Aidan Sainer with nine points, Paitton Merrill and Hardy Buzzard with six points each, Gavin Randolph with four points and Braxin Goodson and Noah Buzzard with two points apiece.

In the boys’ loss to Oktaha in a second battle of Tigers in eight days, Oktaha led 1110 after a quarter, 17-16 at the half and 34-27 after three periods.

In defeat, Randolph led Central with 11 points, followed by Noah Buzzard with eight points, Goodson with six points, Sainer and Brunk with five points each, Merrill with three points and Hardy Buzzard with two points.

In the girls’ loss to Calera, the Lady Tigers (20-7) fell behind 20-12 after a quarter, which became a 37-22 halftime lead for the Lady Bulldogs. Calera took a 49-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

In defeat, Cambree Bair scored a game-high 18 points to lead Central, followed by Hadlie Woods with nine points, Haley Cheek with six points, Ayrland Jiles with five points, Cheyenne Busch with three points and Paris Campbell with a free throw.