Roland boys finish dominant run through Sequoyah County Tournament with 20-point win for title

By George Mitchell

MULDROW — Roland flew around the field and capped off their dominant performance in the Armstrong Bank Sequoyah District Tournament with a 73-53 win against Vian on Saturday.

Roland outscored his opponents, 279-139, during his three days at the tournament.

“They really like each other, playing well together and sharing the ball,” Roland coach Ed Lewis said. “Hopefully we can carry that throughout the year and continue to build on it a little bit.”

Both teams kept pace with each other for about the first 6:30 of the game, but Roland closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run and outscored the Wolverines, 26-4, in the second quarter.

“The kids played really well early, and then I thought we had a good run in the second quarter,” Lewis said. “Vian made a run at us in the third and fourth quarters.

“We were able to respond right there late in the fourth quarter and we were able to seal the deal after that.”

Vian coach John Mays summed up the experience of playing against a high-caliber Roland team in one word.

“Let’s learn,” Mays said. “There’s a lot of learning for the kids. We played some good teams earlier in the year, but not like this.

“They came together in all the right places; they had a lot to work with. They had 26 points in the second quarter, and we had four; that’s just the score. They couldn’t miss anything, and we did.” do not do anything.”

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Roland was 12 of 14 from the floor in the second quarter, including a stretch where the team hit four straight 3-pointers. Vian was 1 of 6 from the floor in the same stretch.

“If we had scored a couple of those points, it would have changed the game,” Mays said. “It’s hard to come back when you’ve given up 26 points in a quarter.

“The guys never gave up and got after it in the second half. We still have to knock down some shots, and that’s what we’re working on. Defensively, we’re very good at times, but obviously, we have to be steady and make some shots.”

The Rangers built their biggest lead, 49-16, with 7:21 left in the third quarter. Vian started to knock down its shots and clawed its way back into the game, but trailed 57-36 to start the fourth quarter.

Roland senior Kyeree Hall finished with 20 points and completed a traditional three-point play to extend the Rangers’ lead to 63-41.

Vian freshman Masyn Wright made several turnovers and helped turn Roland’s lead back with a 7-0 run, and the Wolverines pulled away, 63-48, with 3:41 left in the game.

The Rangers outscored Vian, 10-5, in the final minutes of the game.

Peyton Whisenant had 17 points for Roland as five players finished with nine or more points. Carson Wiggins had 12 points, while Devon Hall and Ashton Peters each had nine points.

Also, Desean Cruse came off the bench and added four points, with six rebounds and three steals.

“I’m really lucky in that respect,” Lewis said. “We have a good group of players on the bench who can come in and give us some minutes to help get everyone fresh and fit to play a bit more on the pitch.”

Vian senior Diego Ramos led his team with 17 points, and Wright had 15. K’den Richardson and Desean Mays had 10 and nine points, respectively.

Third-place game Muldrow 52, ​​Sallisaw 51

The lead changed hands 12 times after it took a traditional three-point play by Muldrow’s Trenden Collins for the Bulldogs to gain some distance from Sallisaw to win the third-place game of the Armstrong Bank Sequoyah County Tournament.

Collins went to the line with 1:04 left in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead, 38-36. It sparked a 9-0 run that was extended into the fourth quarter with a basket by Andrew Luttrell with 5:33 left in the game.

Reese Francis hit a free throw to extend Muldrow’s biggest lead of the second half, 52-45, with 53.5 seconds left. Sallisaw’s Jason Obregon was fouled as he attempted a 3-pointer at the 29.7-second mark.

He made all three free throws, and Sallisaw was within four points, 52-48. After a turnover, Obregon made a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left.

Collins, who didn’t miss a free throw in the second half, was fouled and missed on his front one-and-one with 3.2 seconds left. Sallisaw’s last full-court shot came up short.

Collins had 24 points and Obregon led all scorers with 28 points.