Sallisaw gets sweep over Heavener
The Sallisaw High School basketball teams opened the 2026 portion of their seasons Tuesday night at Paul Post Field House with a sweep of the visiting Heavener squads.
The Lady Diamonds opened the night with a 70-45 victory over the Lady Wolves for Sallisaw’s fifth straight win, then the Black Diamonds used a second-half comeback to defeat the Wolves 59-54 for their third consecutive victory.
GIRLS
SALLISAW 70, HEAVENER 45
Trailing 4-3 after a basket by Heavener’s Mia Billings with 5:08 left in the first quarter, the Lady Diamonds (6-2) ended the period on a 14-2 run to take a 17-6 lead into the second quarter.
However, the Lady Wolves (55) refused to go into hibernation as they outscored the Lady Diamonds 11-10 in the second period to cut Sallisaw’s lead to 27-17 at halftime.
It was the third quarter that proved to be the deciding period.
The Lady Diamonds outscored the Lady Wolves 34-4 in the third quarter, which included a 22-0 run where the Sallisaw lead went from 36-19 with 6:05 left in the period to a 58-19 advantage at the 1:35 mark of the quarter.
“The first half was exactly how I thought it would go,” Sallisaw Lady Diamonds coach Greg Pratt said. “We had parts where we looked really good on both ends and some parts that looked really bad. The first quarter was the good, but the second quarter was the bad. We had some good shots. They just didn’t fall. Defensively, I was afraid we might get out of position, and we did. We talked about it at halftime, and the kids responded in a great way. Give credit to the kids for coming out and taking care of business and pretty much put the game away (in the second half). I’m proud of how we responded. We have three more games this weekend (at the Henryetta Knights Tournament) coming up. They’re going to be tough games — and four games this week coming back (from Christmas Break). This is a long week, and we got it started off the right way (with the win over Heavener).”
The Lady Diamonds enjoyed two 40-point leads in the second half, the last time coming at 6323 on Kaycie Girdner’s basket with 7:15 left in the game. The majority of the fourth quarter saw the Sallisaw junior varsity players hit the hardwood.
For the game, Sallisaw put four players into double figures, led by Hannah Palmer’s gamehigh 17 points, followed by Alayna Locust-Trammell’s 14 points, Jaycie Cox’s 11 points and Katelyn Carlton’s 10 points. Kynli Adams had five points, followed by Channing Wilson with four points, Emma Martin with three points and Girdner, JoLee Curson and Cherokee Davis with two points apiece.
BOYS
SALLISAW 59, HEAVENER 54
With the game tied at 49-all with 4:39 left to play, the Black Diamonds (5-3) ended the game with a 10-5 run to get the win.
The first quarter saw the Black Diamonds connect on three 3-point baskets, two of them from Brodi Nickell, as they took a 15-6 lead into the second period.
Another 3-pointer by Asa Ulrich gave Sallisaw an 18-6 lead with 6:45 left before halftime.
However, the Wolves (5-6) ended the first half with a 19-4 run, capped by a basket by Ryland Roberts with 26 seconds remaining in the first half, to put Heavener ahead 25-22 at halftime.
The Wolves built as great as a nine-point lead as a conventional three-point play by Brandon Sanchez upped Heavener’s advantage to 39-30 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
Then, it was the Black Diamonds’ turn to go on an offensive spurt as Sallisaw ended the period on a 16-6 run, capped by Brodi Nickell’s trey with a second left in the quarter, to put Sallisaw back ahead 4645 going into the final period.
After Heavener’s Brecken Barnes hit a bucket to regain the lead for the Wolves at 47-46 with 7:48 to play, a free throw by Elijah Hill and a basket by Grayson Griffey put Sallisaw ahead 49-47 with 5:38 remaining in the game.
A basket by Roberts knotted the game at 49-all with 4:39 left, but Sallisaw doubled Heavener’s offensive output the rest of the way to get the home win.
“Heavener is a good team,” Sallisaw Black Diamonds coach Zac Rogers said. “They forced us into some tough shots. It’s really good to see resiliency. We would like to not have every game be an absolute war or battle down to the end, but I do love seeing our guys fight and battle together. A lot of teams get in those adverse situations, and they come apart. Tonight, our guys glued together and started making plays for their teammates. It was impressive. Our guys played great. I’m proud of our guys. I thought we came together really well. Brodi had another unbelievably good game. The season he’s having is impressive.”
For the game, Brodi Nickell scored a gamehigh 27 points, including six 3s, to lead Sallisaw, followed by Ulrich with 11 points, Griffey with eight points, Hill and Rowdi Nickell with five points each and Tae Muskrat-Flynn with three points.
The win was a nice way for the Black Diamonds to enter this three-day weekend’s Henryetta Knights Tournament.
“It’s going to be tough,” Rogers said. “These will be three (straight) games. That’s always difficult. We’re excited about the opportunity. We’re going to play some good teams.”
