Preston cagers near State berth following regional title sweep

The Preston varsity basketball program is one win away from earning their first state tournament appearance since 2017.

The Pirates and Lady Pirates began their postseason journey February 18 with decisive wins over Mounds in the Class 2A, Area IV, District 6 championship games in Preston.

The Preston cage squads continued their winning ways last weekend with a pair of wins each at their regional tournament.

The Pirates (ranked 2nd in 2A) began regional tournament action last Thursday with a 71-52 win over the Pawnee Blackbears in Preston, then moved to within one win from State this past Saturday with a hard-fought 33-30 win over the 14th-ranked Rejoice Christian Eagles at Rejoice Christian School in Owasso.

The Lady Pirates (ranked 5th in 2A) kicked off their regional tournament schedule last Thursday at home with a convincing 61-23 win over the Morrison Lady Wildcats, then defeated the 11th-ranked Okemah Lady Panthers by a 51-42 margin to capture the regional championship at Rejoice Christian School in Owasso.

Standing in between the Preston cage squads and a spot in the state tournament are the 18th-ranked Hartshorne Lady Miners and 8thranked Pocola Indians.

The Lady Pirates will square off against the Lady Miners in the Class 2A Area IV championship game Friday at 6 p.m. at Wilburton High School, followed by the Pirates taking on the Indians in the boys area title game at 7:30 p.m.

Wins Friday will put the Preston cage squads in the Class 2A state basketball championships for the first time since 2017, while losses Friday will drop the Pirates and Lady Pirates into Saturday’s area consolation championships and one final chance at punching their tickets to State.

Two-straight losses this weekend in Wilburton will extend the Preston cage squads’ state tournament drought to six seasons.

Below are summaries from the Preston cage squads’ sweep of the Class 2A, Area IV, regional tournament last weekend.

--- Class 2A Regional Tournament First Round Girls Bracket

Preston 61, Morrison 23

The Lady Pirates led 17-8 after the first eight minutes of action, then took the second stanza by a 12-7 margin for a 29-15 advantage at the intermission. The final two quarters went in favor of the Preston ladies, 13-4 and 19-4, respectively, to award the Lady Pirates the convincing 61-23 victory. During the final quarter, Preston’s Jadyn Roberts reached the 1,000-point plateau in her high school basketball career with a 3-point basket.

Roberts finished with a game-high 16 points in the Lady Pirate win and was joined in double figures by Shaunassi Jordan and Emilie Stidman with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Other Preston scorers against Morrison were Savannah King with eight, Adrianne Wilson six, Pheobey Finch and Taylan Starr three each, and Ashlynn Foster two.

--- Boys Bracket

Preston 71, Pawnee 52

The Pirates took the opening period by a 16-10 margin, while Pawnee came out of the second stanza with a 15-11 advantage to send the teams to their respective locker rooms with the host Preston squad leading by two, 27-25, at halftime.

The Pirates extended their lead to 11 (46-35), heading to the final eight minutes of action following a 19-10 margin in the third quarter, then came out of the final frame with a 25-17 advantage to put the finishing touches on their 71-52 decision.

The top scorer for the Preston gentlemen against Pawnee was Giorgio Dunn-Spencer with a team-best 16 points. Malachi Ligons (15) and Jervais Goree (14) also tallied double- digit scoring for the Pirates in the decisive win.

The remaining Preston scoring came on eight points by Kareffren Bagby, five by Keyton Smith, three apiece by Tucker Webb, Markel Holloway, and Jayden Smith, and two each by Brady Long and Kaedyn Bagby.

--- Championship Girls Bracket

Preston 51, Okemah 42

The Lady Pirates took the first two quarters by margins of 10-7 and 10-8, respectively, for the 20-15 advantage at halftime. The Preston ladies doubled their lead to 10 (35-25) following a 15-10 margin in the third quarter. Okemah attempted a comeback in the final stanza, but managed just a onepoint advantage - 17-16 - in the frame to award the Preston Lady Pirates the 51-42 decision and the regional championship.

The Lady Pirates were led offensively by the trio of Adrianne Wilson, Jadyn Roberts, and Savannah King with 14 points apiece.

Shaunassi Jordan and Emilie Stidman rounded out the Preston scoring against Okemah with seven and two points, respectively.

--- Boys Bracket

Preston 33, Rejoice Christian 30 The Pirates found themselves in an early hole (10-5) after the first eight minutes of action. The Preston gentleman took the second period by a 10-7 margin to cut the deficit to two, 17-15, at the intermission.

The third quarter was low scoring for both teams with the Pirates edging the host Eagles 5-2 in the frame for a 20-19 lead, heading into the final stanza of regulation.

The host Eagles tallied 11 points in the fourth quarter, while Preston countered with 13 points in the period to walk away with the 33-30 victory and the regional title.

The Pirates were led in scoring by Giorgio Dunn-Spencer with 10 points. Other Preston scorers against Rejoice Christian were Malachi Ligons and Jervais Goree with eight points each and Keyton Smith with seven.

--- Class 2A Regional Tournament First Round Girls Bracket

Preston 61, Morrison 23

Morrison: 8 - 7 - 4 - 4 (23) Preston: 17 - 12 - 13 - 19 (61) Preston Scoring: Jordyn Roberts 16, Shaunassi Jordan 12, Emilie Stidman 11, Savannah King 8, Adrianne Wilson 6, Pheobey Finch 3, Taylan Starr 3, Ashlynn Foster 2.

--- Boys Bracket

Preston 71, Pawnee 52

Pawnee: 10 - 15 - 10 - 17 (52) Preston: 16 - 11 - 19 - 25 (71) Preston Scoring: Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 16, Malachi Ligons 15, Jervais Goree 14, Kareffren Bagby 8, Keyton Smith 5, Tucker Webb 3, Markel Holloway 3, Jayden Smith 3, Brady Long 2, Kaedyn Bagby 2.

--- Championship Girls Bracket

Preston 51, Okemah 42

Okemah: 7 - 8 - 10 - 17 (42) Preston: 10 - 10 - 15 - 16 (51) Preston Scoring: Adrianne Wilson 14, Jadyn Roberts 14, Savannah King 14, Shaunassi Jordan 7, Emilie Stidman 2.

--- Boys Bracket

Preston 33, Rejoice Christian 30 Rejoice: 10 - 7 - 2 - 11 (30) Preston: 5 - 10 - 5 - 13 (33) Preston Scoring: Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 10, Malachi Ligons 8, Jervais Goree 8, Keyton Smith 7.