The Preston Pirate varsity basketball team came up one win shy of punching their ticket to the state tournament for the first time in five years.
The Preston Pirate varsity basketball team came up one win shy of punching their ticket to the state tournament for the first time in five years.
The Pirates had their dreams of returning to the state basketball championships after a 4-year absence derailed this past Saturday night with a heartbreaking 56-53 loss to the Oklahoma Union Cougars in the consolation finals of the Class 2A Area II tournament at Skiatook High School.
After a 46-43 loss to Pocola last Tuesday in the regional championship game, the Pirates took on the tough challenge of winning three-straight games in three days in the area tournament.
The Preston squad’s journey through the loser’s bracket of the area tournament began last Thursday with a 73-53 rout of the Caney Valley Trojans. The Pirates then outlasted the Warner Eagles 55-45 in last Friday’s consolation semifinal contest to put themselves just one win away from State.
The one final opponent standing between Preston and ending a 4-year state tournament drought was the Oklahoma Union Cougars, who had their state tournament bid derailed slightly on Friday night with a 53-42 loss to Pocola in the area championship.
Preston and Oklahoma Union had met one time during the regular season - November 19 in Preston - with the Cougars defeating the Pirates by a 46-43.
In last Thursday’s consolation quarterfinal battle with Caney Valley, the Pirates took the opening frame by a 19-10 margin, then outscored their opponents 20-14 in the second stanza for a 39-24 lead at halftime.
The Preston squad capped off their 20-point season-saving win with a pair of narrow advantages - 15-12 and 19-17, respectively - in the second half.
Jervais Goree led a balanced offensive attack against Caney Valley with 16. Markhi Johnson and Malachi Ligons were next for the Pirates last Thursday with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Orlando Bagby and Keyton Smith just missed double-digit scoring for the Preston gentlemen with nine each, while the remaining Pirate scorers in the 20-point win were Kareffren Bagby with seven and Cooper Ausbrooks and Kaedyn Bagby with two apiece.
In Friday’s win over Warner, the Pirates doubled up on the Eagles 10-5 in the first period then extended their lead to 32-19 at halftime after coming out of the second quarter with a 22-14 margin.
Warner attempted to make a come back in the final two frames of regulation, but managed just a 3-point advantage in the second half.
The Eagles took the third period 15-13 to make it a 45-32 contest and were only able to escape the final frame with an 11-10 margin to award the Pirates the 55-45 decision.
The top scorer for Preston in the consolation semifinals was Jervais Goree with 26, followed by Markhi Johnson with 15. Orlando Bagby and Malachi Ligons were next for the Pirates with five points each, followed by Keyton Smith and Kareffren Bagby with two apiece.
In Saturday’s consolation title showdown with Oklahoma Union, the Pirates trailed by three (18-15) after the first eight minutes of action and four (29-25) at halftime. Oklahoma Union took the back-and-forth third quarter by a narrow 18-17 margin to send the contest to the final frame with Preston trailing by five, 47-42.
The Pirates were unable to take over the lead in the final stanza, managing just an 11-9 advantage in the period to come up on the short end of a 56-53 outcome.
Leading the way offensively for Preston in the season-ending defeat was Jervais Goree with 14. Malachi Ligons also found his way into double figures for the Pirates with 10. Marki Johnson was next for Preston with nine, followed by Orlando Bagby and Keyton Smith with eight each and Kareffren Bagby with four.
Class 2A Area Tournament
Consolation Quarterfinals
Preston 73, Caney Valley 53
Preston: 19 - 20 - 15 - 19 (73)
Caney Valley: 10 - 14 - 12 - 17 (53)
Preston Scoring: Jervais Goree 16, Markhi Johnson 15, Malachi Ligons 13, Orlando Bagby 9, Keyton Smith 9, Kareffren Bagby 7, Cooper Ausbrooks 2, Kaedyn Bagby 2.
Consolation Semifinals
Preston 55, Warner 45
Preston: 10 - 22 - 13 - 10 (55)
Warner: 5 - 14 - 15 - 11 (45)
Preston Scoring: Jervais Goree 26, Markhi Johnson 15, Orlando Bagby 5, Malachi Ligons 5, Keyton Smith 2, Kareffren Bagby 2.
Consolation Finals
Oklahoma Union 56, Preston 53
Okla. Union: 18 - 11 - 18 - 9 (56)
Preston: 15 - 10 - 17 - 11 (53)
Preston Scoring: Jervais Goree 14, Malachi Ligons 10, Markhi Johnson 9, Orlando Bagby 8, Keyton Smith 8, Kareffren Bagby 4.
