The Preston varsity basketball program began its journey for back-to-back state tournament appearances this past Friday night at Okarche.
The Preston varsity basketball program began its journey for back-to-back state tournament appearances this past Friday night at Okarche.
The Pirates and Lady Pirates earned their first state tournament appearances since 2017 last season and kicked off the 2023-2024 season with a road sweep over the host Okarche Warriors and Lady Warriors, who also made appearances at State last season.
The Lady Pirates, under new head coach Jordan Garner, began the road sweep with a hard-fought 64-57 victory in the opening contest, while the Pirates, who were just seconds away from reaching the Class 2A state title game last season, capped off the opening-night sweep with a convincing 75-55 win in the nightcap.
The Preston cage squads will return to action this Friday at Dale and a showdown against the defending Class 2A state champion Dale Pirates and Lady Pirates. Friday’s road game at Dale is scheduled to get started with girls action at 6 p.m., followed by the boys contest at approximately 7:30 p.m.
In last Friday’s girls game at Okarche, the Lady Pirates came out of the opening period with a 24-13 advantage, then edged the host Lady Warriors 13--10 in the second stanza to go into the intermission with a 37-23 lead.
The Preston ladies increased their advantage to 18 points (51-33), heading into the final eight minutes of action after taking the third quarter by a 14-10 margin.
Okarche attempted to overcome the huge double- digit deficit in the final frame, putting up 24 points in the stanza. The visiting Lady Pirates countered with 13 points in the quarter to walk away with the 64-57 decision.
Anistyn Garner, a senior move-in from Webbers Falls, had a team-best 23 points for the Preston ladies in the season-opening victory. Savannah King also reached double figures for the Lady Pirates last Friday, finishing with 13 points. Other Preston scorers at Okarche were Shaunassi Jordan with nine, Taylan Starr seven, Emilie Stidman six, Josie Cope four, and Pheobey Finch two.
In the boys contest last Friday, the Pirates led 2215 after one and 42-26 at halftime. The Preston gentlemen pushed their lead to 22 points (60-38) with one period remaining after outscoring the Warriors 18-12 in the third quarter.
Okarche took the final frame by a 17-15 margin, but it was the visiting Preston cage squad that walked off the floor with the convincing 75-55 victory.
Senior standout Giorgio Dunn-Spencer led the way offensively for the Pirates with a game-high 20-point performance. Tanner Young and Jermaine Bolden joined Dunn-Spencer in double-digit scoring last Friday with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
Other Preston scorers in the season opener were Ethan Moore with eight, Jervais Goree and Jayden Smith seven each, and Kent Rice three.
--- Girls Game
Preston 64, Okarche 57
Preston: 24 - 13 - 14 - 13 (64) Okarche: 13 - 10 - 10 - 24 (57) Preston Scoring: Anistyn Garner 23, Savannah King 13, Shaunassi Jordan 9, Taylan Starr 7, Emilie Stidman 6, Josie Cope 4, Pheobey Finch 2.
--- Boys Game
Preston 75, Okarche 55
Preston: 22 - 20 - 18 - 15 (75) Okarche: 15 - 11 - 12 - 17 (55) Preston Scoring: Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 20, Tanner Young 17, Jermaine Bolden 13, Ethan Moore 8, Jervais Goree 7, Jayden Smith 7, Kent Rice 3.
