Muldrow splits Senior Night NOAA Conference games with Roland
To say that a jammed-packed Roger Sharp Activity Center was rockin’ last Friday night for the latest “Battle of 64” on the hardwood between the visiting Roland teams and the host Muldrow squads on Muldrow’s Senior Night is an understatement.
Both games had a hand in deciding the 2025-2026 NOAA Conference champions, and both games were worth the price of admission.
In the girls’ game, the Muldrow Lady Bulldogs got their first win over the Roland Lady Rangers since a 39-37 overtime win on Feb. 2, 2024, at home as the hosts played stingy defense en route to a 38-32 victory, costing the Lady Rangers an outright conference title. Instead, the Roland loss, coupled with the Sallisaw Lady Diamonds’ 6324 road conference victory over Checotah, means the Lady Rangers and the Lady Diamonds are co-conference champions, with the Lady Bulldogs a game back for a third-place conference finish.
“We’re still (conference) champs,” Roland girls coach Scott Nelke said.
The boys’ game was just as exciting as the Roland Runnin’ Rangers held off a late rally by the Muldrow Bulldogs for a 62-60 win, earning Roland another NOAA Conference boys championship with the ‘Dogs finishing a game back to be conference runners-up.
GIRLS
MULDROW 38, ROLAND 32
The Lady Bulldogs (13-8 overall, 7-3 in NOAA Conference play) jumped to an 8-0 lead, thanks to the game-starting run being capped by Kilah Ellingberg’s basket with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
The Lady Rangers (15-4, 8-2) did not score until the 2:25 mark of the period on Lillian Cole’s free throw to cut the deficit to 8-1.
The Lady Bulldogs ended the quarter on a 5-2 run, capped by Kilah Ellingberg’s basket at the buzzer, to give Muldrow a 13-3 lead after a period.
The Lady Rangers cut the Muldrow lead to five points at 19-14 on a 3-point basket by Cole with 2:51 left before halftime.
A basket by London Hardin and a pair of free throws by Kayla Ellingberg got Muldrow’s lead back to nine points at 23-14 with 61 seconds remaining in the first half.
Ryanne Nelke’s buzzer-beating basket cut Roland’s deficit to 23-16 at halftime.
It was a rough night for Nelke as she was held to seven points, thanks to Muldrow’s “Diamond-and-1” defense — with the “1” basically sticking like glue to the Roland junior, nearly making it impossible for Nelke to get the ball consistently.
The Muldrow lead got to as high as 11 points as a pair of free throws by Kayla Ellingberg with 2:28 left in the third quarter put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 2918.
“We scored, and we did a better job defending,” Muldrow Lady Bulldogs coach Jana Armer said about two crucial keys that helped her team end its fivegame losing streak to Roland. “They have great scorers. We were trying our best to take them out of the game.”
For the second time in the game, the Lady Bulldogs got a buzzer-beater to end a period as Hardin hit a bucket at the buzzer to put Muldrow up 31-21 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lady Rangers would not go away. A basket by Halle Freeman with 1:54 left to play pulled Roland to within a point of Muldrow at 33-32.
However, the Lady Bulldogs scored the final five points of the game.
“They made a comeback, which we knew they would,” Armer said. “We talked about it (at halftime). We knew they were going to make a run. I was very proud of my seniors for stepping up there. It was three seniors there in the end that made free throws.”
As the buzzer sounded they jumped for joy at ending a five-game losing streak to their archrivals — then went to the student section, a.k.a. “The ‘Dawg Pound,” to celebrate with their classmates.
“It (the win over Roland) just shows the kind of fight and the resilience my seniors bring to the team,” Armer said. “This group wanted to win for them so bad. I think it just shows a group that came together and fought hard. It’s a big win. It’s a big win for our program. It’s a big win for my girls. Roland is a great team. You’re looking at probably a state-tournament team. We had a game plan, and they followed the game plan. They played their butts off. I can’t ask for anything else of them.”
For the game, Muldrow put a trio of players into double figures, led by Kilah Ellingberg’s game-high 12 points, while Hardin and Kayla Ellingberg each added 10 points. Jaydin Dean and Gracie Prewett with two points apiece.
“We didn’t play very well,” Roland Lady Rangers coach Scott Nelke said. “Give them credit. They played hard on Senior Night. We just didn’t get shots to fall. Hopefully, they’ll fall in the (Class 3A) playoffs. That’s what we’ve got to get ready for.”
In defeat, Freeman shared game-high honors with 12 points to lead Roland, followed by Cole with eight points, Nelke with seven points and Molly Carver with five points.
BOYS
ROLAND 62, MULDROW 60
Back-to-back baskets by Roland’s Damonte “Bubba” Owens and Mason Kemp put the Runnin’ Rangers (19-1 overall, 9-1 in NOAA Conference play) ahead 60-51 with 2:58 left in the game.
The Bulldogs (14-7, 8-2), who knocked off the Runnin’ Rangers 55-54 on Jan. 31 at the Ranger Dome, clawed their way back as they went on a 7-2 run, capped by a basket by Teaguen Collins with 39 seconds remaining to play, to cut Roland’s lead to 62-60.
With four seconds left to play, a jump ball was called — with the possession arrow favoring the ‘Dogs.
Collins got the inbounds pass and drove to the basket, but his short-range jumper missed the mark.
Teammate D.J. Massey got the rebound and shot a second short-range jumper, but, just like Collins’ attempt, just missed the mark as it bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
“You want a chance to win,” Muldrow Bulldogs coach Terry Collins said. “We had that. This time, it didn’t fall our way.”
When the buzzer sounded, it gave the Runnin’ Rangers the NOAA Conference boys title.
“I owe it all to my players,” Roland Runnin’ Rangers coach Eddie Lewis said. “They played hard.”
The first quarter saw four lead changes and a tie, but a 7-0 run to end the period for the Bulldogs, capped by Parker Sevenstar’s 3-point basket with nine seconds left in the quarter, put Muldrow ahead 12-6 after a period.
After Muldrow’s Jesse Kilinc opened the second quarter with a basket to put the Bulldogs up 14-6 with 6:51 left before halftime, the Runnin’ Rangers went on a 13-0 run as Kade Shook’s 3-pointer gave Roland a 19-14 advantage with 4:40 remaining in the first half.
A 6-0 run by Muldrow regained the lead for the ‘Dogs as back-to-back baskets by Jermauree Palmer put them ahead 20-19 with 3:07 left in the first half. That ended up being the final lead for Muldrow on the night.
The Runnin’ Rangers ended the first half with a 9-0 run, capped by a pair of Owens free throws with 32 seconds remaining before halftime, to put Roland ahead 28-20 at the half.
The Bulldogs made second-half runs against the Runnin’ Rangers. Their first run was a 10-2 run, capped by another trey by Sevenstar to knot the game at 30all with 5:51 left in the third quarter.
After Kilinc’s free throw 4:49 remaining in the period cut Muldrow’s deficit to 3231, the Runnin’ Rangers went on a 16-7 run, capped by Kemp’s basket with 1:19 remaining in the quarter, put Roland ahead 48-38.
Collins hit a basket with 55 seconds left in the quarter to cut Muldrow’s deficit to 48-40 entering the final period.
The ‘Dogs cut their deficit to five points three times in the first 3:50 of the fourth quarter, with the last time at 56-51 with 4:10 left to play on Massey’s basket.
Back-to-back baskets by Owens and Kemp pushed Roland’s advantage to 60-51 with 2:58 remaining in the game, setting up the contest’s dramatic finish.
“They didn’t give up,”Lewis said. “Some things went against us. We missed some free throws, but we just kept battling. That’s probably what won the game for us.”
For the game, Owens led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, followed by Kemp with 15 points, Raidyn Knight with 14 points, Shook with 11 points and Cason Perryman with a free throw. “I liked the way we fought,” Collins said. “It’s hard when you dig a hole for yourself. Roland is a good team. They take care of the basketball. They have good shooters. They crash the boards. They play good defense. It made it tough to come back against a team like that.” In defeat, Muldrow put a quartet of players into double figures, led by Sevenstar’s 19 points, followed by Collins with 15 points and Kilinc and Massey with 10 points apiece. Palmer scored four points, while DeShawn Willson added two points. Prior to the game, Sevenstar was honored for reaching 1,000 points in his prep career.
