The Preston varsity basketball program came away with a pair of Top 5 finishes at their annual home tournament - the Preston Invitational - this past Saturday.

The host Lady Pirates took home the third-place plaque with a 49-44 win over the Sperry Lady Pirates, while the Pirates finished as the tournament runner-up after falling to the Okay Mustangs in the title game, 48-37.

The Preston cage squads were back in action Tuesday evening with a home meeting with their Okmulgee County rivals, the Morris Eagles and Lady Eagles.

The Pirates and Lady Pirates will close out the first-half portion of their 2021-2022 regular-season schedule Friday with a trip to Eufaula for a showdown with the Eufaula Ironheads and Lady Ironheads. Friday’s road contest at Eufaula is a rescheduled event that was originally scheduled to take place last Tuesday, but was moved back 10 days due to the Eufaula football team competing in the Class 2A state semifinals on December 3.

The Preston squads began their tournament action with first-round wins over Okmulgee (girls - 85-24) and Sperry (boys - 81-43), respectively.

The Pirates punched their ticket to the tournament title game with a 46-39 win over Kiefer last Friday against Sperry, while the Lady Pirates fell into the third-place contest after suffering a 46-40 setback to Warner in the semifinal matchups.

Below are summaries from the Preston basketball program’s participation at the 2021 Crowder Invitational Tournament last Thursday-Saturday.

Preston Invitational First Round

First Round

Girls Bracket

Preston 85, Okmulgee 24

The Lady Pirates took the opening frame by a 31-6 margin then outscored the Lady Bulldogs 17-5 in the second stanza for a 48-11 halftime advantage.

The Preston ladies finished the double-digit victory by coming out of the final two quarters with margins of 22-9 and 15-4, respectively.

Jadyn Roberts led the host Lady Pirates in scoring with a game-high 18 points. Adrianne Wilson and Shaunassi Jordan were next for Preston with 16 points apiece, followed by Ashlynn Foster with 11 and Emilie Stidman with 10.

The other Preston scorers in the county showdown were Mya Tiger with eight, Pheobey Finch three, and Kyla Johnson two.

Tori James led the Okmulgee offense with 16 points. Cyann Powell and Dalazia Hammon were next with three points each, followed by Emma Harrison with two points.

Boys Bracket Preston 81, Sperry 43

The Pirates came out of the high-scoring first period with a 25-15 advantage, then outscored the visitors 27-6 in the second stanza for a commanding 52-21 lead at the intermission. The Preston gentlemen took the third quarter by a 16-11 margin to take a 68-32 edge into the final eight minutes of action. The host Pirates finished off the dominating first-round win by outscoring Sperry 13-11 in the final quarter, walking away with the 81-43 decision.

Malachi Ligons led a balanced Preston offensive attack in the opening-round win with 16 points. Keyton Smith and Tucker Webb also reached double figures for the victorious Pirate cage squad with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Other Preston scorers against Sperry were Jervais Goree and Orlando Bagby with nine points each, Kaedon Bagby eight, Markhi Johnson seven, Cooper Ausbrooks five, and Jayden Smith two.

Semifinals

Girls Bracket

Warner 46, Preston 40

The Lady Pirates led 11-5 after the first eight minutes of action, then saw the visitors even the score at halftime, 17-17, with a 12-6 advantage in the second period.

The Preston ladies went back in front, 31-27, with eight minutes left in regulation after a 14-10 margin in the third quarter. The Lady Pirates were unable to hold off their semifinal opponents in the final frame, as Warner took the stanza by a 19-9 margin to hand the Preston ladies the 46-40 defeat.

Mya Tiger was tops for the Lady Pirates in the semifinal loss with 13 points. Jadyn Roberts and Emilie Stidman just missed double figures with nine and eight points, respectively.

Adrianne Wilson and Shaunassi Jordan rounded out the Preston scoring against Warner with five points apiece.

Boys Bracket

Preston 46, Kiefer 39

The Pirates came out of the opening frame with a 10-6 advantage, then Kiefer took the second quarter by a slim 11-10 margin, sending the semifinal contest into the halftime break with Preston clinging to a 3-point lead, 20-17.

The host Pirates finished off the 46-39 semifinal victory with a pair of 2-point advantages - 10-8 and 16-14, respectively - in the second half.

Keyton Smith led the way offensively for the victorious Preston cage squad with a team-best 23-point performance. Jervais Goree was next for the Pirates with 16, followed by Markhi Johnson with five and Orlando Bagby two.

Third Place Girls Bracket

Girls Bracket

Preston 49, Sperry 44

The Lady Pirates escaped the opening period with a narrow 10-9 margin, then outscored Sperry 15-13 in the second stanza for a 25-22 halftime lead.

After the visitors cut the Preston lead to one, 37- 36, with a 14-12 advantage in the third quarter, the host Lady Pirates put the game on ice with a 12-8 margin in the final eight minutes of regulation for the 49-44 decision and the third-place trophy.

The top scorer for the Preston ladies against Sperry was Adrianne Wilson with a team-best 23 points, followed by Jadyn Roberts with 16.

McKenna Jones and Shaunassi Jordan were next for the Lady Pirates with four points each, while Emilie Stidman rounded out the Preston scoring with two points.

Championship Boys Bracket

Boys Bracket

Okay 48, Preston 37

The Pirates trailed 11-6 after one and 27-17 at halftime. The visiting Mustangs extended their lead to 40-27 with a 13-10 margin in the third quarter.

The Preston squad attempted to overcome the double-digit deficit in the final stanza, but was only able to outscore Okay 10-8 in the last eight minutes of regulation to suffer the 48-37 defeat.

Jervais Goree led Preston with 13 points, followed by Orlando Bagby with seven, Markhi Johnson and Malachi Ligons five each, and Keyton Smith three.

Cooper Ausbrooks and Kareffren Bagby rounded out the Pirate scoring with two points apiece.

Preston Invitational

First Round

Girls Bracket

Preston 85, Okmulgee 24

Okmulgee: 6 - 5 - 9 - 4 (24) Preston: 31 - 17 - 22 - 15 (85)

Preston: 31 - 17 - 22 - 15 (85)

Okmulgee Scoring: Tori James 16, Cyann Powell 3, Dalazia Hammon 3, Emma Harrison 2.

Preston Scoring: Jadyn Roberts 18, Adrianne Wilson 16, Shaunassi Jordan 16, Ashlynn Foster 11, Emilie Stidman 10, Mya Tiger 8, Pheobey Finch 3, Kyla Johnson 2.

Boys Bracket

Preston 81, Sperry 43

Sperry: 15 - 6 - 11 - 11 (43)

Preston: 25 - 27 - 16 - 13 (81)

Preston Scoring: Malachi Ligons 16, Keyton Smith 15, Tucker Webb 10, Jarvais Goree 9, Orlando Bagby 9, Kaedon Bagby 8, Markhi Johnson 7, Cooper Ausbrooks 5, Jayden Smith 2.

Semifinals

Girls Bracket

Warner 46, Preston 40

Warner: 5 - 12 - 10 - 19 (46)

Preston: 11 - 6 - 14 - 9 (40)

Preston Scoring: Mya Tiger 13, Jadyn Roberts 9, Emilie Stidman 8, Adrianne Wilson 5, Shaunassi Jordan 5.

Boys Bracket

Preston 46, Kiefer 39

Kiefer: 6 - 11 - 8 - 14 (39)

Preston: 10 - 10 - 10 - 16 (46)

Preston Scoring: Keyton Smith 23, Jervais Goree 16, Markhi Johnson 5, Orlando Bagby 2.

Third Place

Girls Bracket

Preston 49, Sperry 44

Sperry: 9 - 13 - 14 - 8 (44)

Preston: 10 - 15 - 12 - 12 (49)

Preston Scoring: Adrianne Wilson 23, Jadyn Roberts 16, McKenna Jones 4, Shaunassi Jordan 4, Emilie Stidman 2.

Championship

Boys Bracket

Okay 48, Preston 37

Okay: 11 - 16 - 13 - 8 (48)

Preston: 6 - 11 - 10 - 10 (37)

Preston Scoring: Jervais Goree 13, Orlando Bagby 7, Markhi Johnson 5, Malachi Ligons 5, Keyton Smith 3, Cooper Ausbrooks 2, Kareffen Bagby 2.