The Okmulgee varsity basketball program took to the road for the first time in 2023-2024 on Tuesday, traveling to Muskogee for a showdown with the Hilldale Hornets and Lady Hornets.
The Okmulgee varsity basketball program took to the road for the first time in 2023-2024 on Tuesday, traveling to Muskogee for a showdown with the Hilldale Hornets and Lady Hornets.
The Okmulgee cage squads came away with a split decision in the first road contest with the Lady Bulldogs coming up on the short end of a 66-14 outcome in the opening contest, while the Bulldogs earned their second-straight win to begin the season with a 57-49 victory in the nightcap.
The Okmulgee squads are scheduled to return to the hardwood this Monday at home against KIPP - a university prep school in Tulsa. Monday’s home battle with KIPP will begin at 6 p.m. with the girls contest, followed by the boys game at approximately 7:30 p.m.
In Tuesday’s girls game at Hilldale, the Lady Bulldogs struggled offensively throughout the contest, being blanked 24-0 in the opening frame, then being outscored 13-2 in the second stanza to trail by a 37-2 margin at halftime. The host Lady Hornets took the final two frames by margins of 15-9 and 14-3, respectively, to hand the Okmulgee ladies the 66-14 setback.
Natori Yates led the way offensively for the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points, followed by Caedence Smith and Brylee Edlin with two points apiece.
In the boys contest on Tuesday, the Bulldogs trailed by five, 13-8, after the first eight minutes of action, then took a 26-24 lead into the intermission after coming out of the second stanza with an 18-11 advantage.
The Okmulgee gentlemen pushed their lead to five, 38-33, after outscoring the host Hornets 12-9 in the third quarter.
The scoring went back and forth in the final frame with the Bulldog escaping with a 19-16 margin to walk away with the 57-49 decision.
The balanced offensive output for the Okmulgee gentlemen on Tuesday was led by Malakhi Baccus with 10 points. Jeremiah Harley and Allen Thierry just missed double-digit scoring with nine and eight points, respectively, while other Okmulgee scorers in the road win were Nolan Yates with seven, Javin Hutchinson, Tyler Corn, and Jaxsun Fulton six apiece, and Joseph Robertson five.
--- Girls Game
Hilldale 66, Okmulgee 14
Okmulgee: 0 - 2 - 9 - 3 (14) Hilldale: 24 - 13 - 15 - 14 (66) Okmulgee Scoring: Natori Yates 10, Caedence Smith 2, Brylee Edlin 2.
--- Boys Game
Okmulgee 57, Hilldale 49
Okmulgee: 8 - 18 - 12 - 19 (57) Hilldale: 13 - 11 - 9 - 16 (49) Okmulgee Scoring: Malakhi Baccus 10, Jeremiah Harley 9, Allen Thierry 8, Nolan Yates 7, Javin Hutchinson 6, Tyler Corn 6, Jaxsun Fulton 6, Joseph Robertson 5.
