Roland boys finish dominant run through Sequoyah County Tournament with 20-point win for title
By George Mitchell
MULDROW - Roland flew around the court and finished their dominating performance at the Armstrong Bank Sequoyah County Tournament with a 73-53 win against Vian on Saturday.
Roland outscored its opponents, 279-139, during its three days at the tournament.
“They really like each other, playing well together, and they're sharing the ball,” said Roland coach Ed Lewis. “I hope we can keep it up throughout the year and keep building on it a little bit.”
Both teams kept pace with each other for about the first 6:30 of the game, but Roland closed out the first quarter with 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 great run in the second quarter,” Lewis said. “Vian made a run on us in the third and fourth quarters.
"We were able to answer 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 going up against a high-caliber Roland squad in one word.
“Learning," Mays said. "There’s a lot of learning for the kids. We’ve played some decent teams early in the year, but not like that.
"They are put together in all the right places; they got a lot to work with. They had 26 points in the second quarter, and we had four; that's just the bottom line. They couldn’t miss anything, and we couldn't make 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 3-pointers in a row. Vian was 1-of-6 from the floor in that same stretch.
“If we had made some of those points, it could’ve changed the game," Mays said. "It’s tough to come back when you’ve given up 26 points in a quarter.
"The boys never quit and got after it in the second half. We still have to knock down some shots, and that’s what we are working on. Defensively, we're pretty good at times, but obviously, we need to get consistent and make some shots.”
The Rangers built their most significant lead, 49-16, with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter. Vian began to knock down its shots and climbed 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 came up with a couple of turnovers and helped turn back Roland’s lead with a 7-0 run, and the Wolverines trailed, 63-48, with 3:41 remaining in the game.
The Rangers outscored Vian, 10-5, in the game's final minutes.
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 had nine points each.
Also, Desean Cruse came off the bench and added four points, with six rebounds and three steals.
“I'm really lucky in that aspect,” Lewis said. "We have a bunch of good bench players who can come in and give us some minutes to help keep everyone fresh and able to play a little more full-court.”
Vian senior Diego Ramos led his squad 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 12 times as 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 remaining in the third quarter to push the Bulldogs ahead, 38-36. It sparked a 9-0 run that 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 most significant lead in the second half, 52-45, with 53.5 seconds remaining. Sallisaw’s Jason Obregon was fouled as he tried for a 3-point shot 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 3-pointer, but there were 4.9 seconds remaining.
Collins, who didn’t miss a free throw in the second half, was fouled and missed the front of his one-and-one with 3.2 seconds left. Sallisaw’s final full-court shot came up short.
Collins had 24 points, and Obregon led all scorers with 28 points.
