Tigers meet Granite with State basketball berth on the line

In order for the Wilson Tiger varsity basketball team to snap a 21-year state tournament drought, they will need to secure a victory this weekend at the Class B area basketball championships at Noble High School.

The first opportunity for the Tigers to earn their first trip to State since 2002 will come Friday night in the championship game against the Granite Panthers.

If the Wilson gentlemen are unable to come away victorious in their 7:30 p.m. showdown with Granite, the Tigers will get one final chance at State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the consolation championship game.

The Wilson cage squad, who is coached by former WHS basketball standout Grant Proctor, enters Friday’s area championship game against Granite with a 26-1 record and ranked seventh in Class B. The Tigers’ opponent comes into the title contest with a 22-6 record and ranked 11th overall in Class B.

Wilson reached the area championship game with a 68-60, come-from-behind, win over 13th-ranked Battiest last Saturday in the regional championship game at Roff High School, while Granite punched its ticket to the area title contest with a 54-48 upset victory over third-ranked Fort Cobb-Broxton in last Saturday’s regional championship game at Alex High School.

The Tigers’ road to the area championship game began February 9 with an 87-24 victory over Agra in an elimination game at the Class B district tournament at Wilson High School. The Wilson gentlemen continued their postseason journey the following night (Feb. 10) with an 89-25 thrashing of Graham-Dustin in the district championship game.

The Tigers advanced to last Saturday’s regional title contest with a 78-28 victory over Tipton last Thursday in the winner’s bracket semifinals at Roff High School.

Granite began its journey towards the area title game February 10 with a 65-37 victory over Sweetwater in its district championship contest, then advanced to last Saturday’s regional title contest with a 62-53 victory over 18th-ranked Hammon last Thursday in the winner’s bracket semifinals at Hammon High School.

In their 27 games this season, the Tigers have outscored opponents 1,648-1,129 (61.0-41.8 average) with their largest marginal win being the 64-point victory over Graham-Dustin in the district title game. The smallest marginal win for the Wilson gentlemen this season was a 50-49 victory over Summit Christian in the finals of the Wilson Tiger Classic on December 9, 2023.

Besides capturing the team championship at their annual home tournament, the Tigers also took home championship hardware at their other two regular-season tournaments – the Depew Invitational (defeated Class A No. 13 Liberty-Mounds

52-48 in the finals) and the Muscogee Nation Invitational Tournament (defeated Class 2A No. 7 Preston 42-40 in the finals), respectively.

The Wilson cagers are 4-0 in postseason play, outscoring their opponents by a 322-137 margin (80.5-

34.3 average) and began the season with a 22-game win streak, which was snapped on February 6 at Oktaha in a 65-54 loss to the Class 2A No. 9 Oktaha Tigers, who are coached by former Preston coach Dirk Walden.

The Tigers are one of eight boys basketball teams in Oklahoma from Classes 6A-B with one or no losses this season with the 26-1 record being fourthbest overall behind Calumet (28-0), Duke (27-1), and Sentinel (27-1) and the 22-game win streak is second-longest behind Calumet.

Besides the wins over Liberty (Mounds) and Preston, the Tigers also recorded an 83-62 victory over (at the time) Class 3A No. 12 Holdenville on December 18, 2023, in Holdenville and also defeated

2022 Class A state champion Glencoe 73-51 in the first round of the Depew Invitational, as well as secured wins over Class 4A powerhouses Glenpool

(70-51 on Jan. 27) and Harrah (70-56 on Feb. 1).

Besides the two teams battling Friday for the area championship, the other four teams battling for a state tournament berth this weekend at Noble High School are third-ranked Fort Cobb-Broxton (21-6),

13th-ranked Battiest (19-8), and unranked Moyers

(20-10) and Erick (20-10).

The Class B Area III tournament will get underway Thursday with consolation quarterfinal games between Fort Cobb-Broxton and Moyers at 2:30 p.m. and Erick and Battiest at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday’s loser’s bracket winners will advance to Friday’s consolation semifinal game at 2:30 p.m. where the winner will move into Saturday’s consolation title game at 7:30 p.m. and will battle the Wilson-Granite loser for the final state tournament berth in Area III.

— Road to Area Wilson Tigers Record: 26-1

Ranking: Class B No. 7

• Head Coach: Grant Proctor

• Assistant Coaches: Matt LeGrand, Willie Huffman — Team Roster

0 – Zion Shelburn* (5-10, FR)

1 – Keshon Shelburn* (6-2, SO)

2 – Aiden Barnard (5-10, SO)

3 – Tepoyv Williams (5-8, SO)

4 – Alec Ganote (5-10, FR)

10 – Boston West (5-8, FR)

11 – Zachariah Tecumseh (5-9, SO)

12 – Andrew Wilson* (6-2, SO)

14 – Esiah King (5-9, SO)

21 – C.J. McElhannon (5-9, FR)

23 – Adrian Webb (5-10, FR)

24 – Zabrien Shelburn* (6-0, FR)

30 – Juaquin Rivera (6-0, SR)

45 – Charles Shelburn* (5-10, JR) *Starters — Season Results

12-1 – Wilson 73, Paden 41

12-4 – Wilson 66, Epic Charter 21 (Tiger Classic)

12-7 – Wilson 82, Weleetka 53 (Tiger Classic)

12-9 – Wilson 50, Summit Chr. 49 (Tiger Classic)

12-11 – Wilson 69, Weleetka 45

12-12 – Wilson 70, Schulter 41

12-15 – Wilson 60, Mason 33

12-18 – Wilson 83, Holdenville 62

1-4 – Wilson 73, Glencoe 51 (Depew Tourn.)

1-5 – Wilson 68, Hominy 41 (Depew Tourn.)

1-6 – Wilson 52, Liberty (Mounds) 48 (Depew Tourn.)

1-8 – Wilson 2, Hanna 0 (forfeit)

1-9 – Wilson 60, Dewar 28

1-18 – Wilson 70, Schulter 45 (MN Inv.)

1-19 – Wilson 63, Henryetta 55 (MN Inv.)

1-20 – Wilson 42, Preston 40 (MN Inv.)

1-23 – Wilson 72, Graham-Dustin 49

1-26 – Wilson 73, Wetumka 24

1-27 – Wilson 70, Glenpool 51

1-30 – Wilson 74, Mason 50

2-1 – Wilson 70, Harrah 56

2-2 – Wilson 74, Butner 44

2-6 – Oktaha 65, Wilson 54

2-9 – Wilson 87, Agra 24 (Districts)

2-10 – Wilson 89, Graham-Dustin 25 (Districts)

2-15 – Wilson 78, Tipton 28 (Regionals)

2-17 – Wilson 68, Battiest 60 (Regionals) — Class B Area III Tournament

February 22-24, 2024 • Noble High School Tournament Schedule Consolation Quarterfinals

Fort Cobb-Broxton vs Moyers; Thursday, 2:30 p.m. Erick vs Battiest; Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Consolation Semifinals

Fort Cobb-Broxton/Moyers winner vs Erick/Battiest winner; Friday, 2:30 p.m.

Championship

Granite vs Wilson; Friday, 7:30 p.m. (Winner Advances to State) Consolation Finals

Consolation semifinal winner vs Granite/Wilson loser; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (Winner Advances to State)