Muldrow basketball teams get home sweep against Poteau in Class 4A district round
By George Mitchell
MULDROW - Both Muldrow basketball squads overcame slow play at different halves of its respective games and won another district title Friday night at home.
The Lady Bulldogs had a slow start in the first half, while the boys watched a 19-point lead cut in half. However, the Muldrow teams garnered the wins as the girls won, 58-40, and the boys won, 51-37.
With Friday's win, the Bulldogs will now face the winner of the Jay-Stilwell district playoff game (being played on Saturday) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Area III Class 4A regional tournament at Stilwell. Poteau takes on the other team at 3 p.m.
Muldrow led, 31-12, at the break, but Poteau’s defense didn’t give any second looks for the Bulldogs the second half and utilized a 13-7 run to pull within nine, 40-31, with 5:55 left in the game.
“We were a little flatter than I wanted,” said Muldrow coach Terry Collins. “I told them to play hard, but Poteau had more energy than we did.
"In the fourth quarter, we started to play how we knew how to play basketball. We devised a plan to put some balls in the basket and were able to get a few stops.”
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The Bulldogs bounced back and scored three times off three consecutive turnovers to reclaim a double-digit lead, 46-31, at the 3:05 mark. That sparked an 11-3 run, and Muldrow was up by 17, 51-34, with 1:27 remaining.
“We’re still without a couple of our starters,” said Poteau coach Ronnie Sockey. “The way we started the game, we can’t do that in the playoffs. We devised a plan in the second half to get the ball to the guys we needed to score; we were playing hard and were able to get the ball to the inside using our speed.
"I think we improved and made it more interesting in the second half. We had some guys come off the bench and played well for us to make it a good ballgame.”
Poteau sophomore Kord Fenton got his squad moving to start the second half and scored on back-to-back baskets, including one after a turnover.
It was the third time this season that the Bulldogs have defeated the Pirates, who are both members of the NOAA Conference.
Muldrow held Poteau scoreless for more than six minutes in the second quarter and was up 25-7 after another pass from senior Trenden Collins to freshman Teagan Collins.
“I thought we came out and played with some energy in the first half and had a good, solid defense, but we were cold in the second half,” Terry Collins said. “We had to pick up our energy and get some buckets."
Trenden Collins led the game with 22 points. He was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and hit a trio of 3-pointers. Collins also had five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Muldrow junior Kashan Bukhair had nine points, and Teagan Collins added eight.
Sophomore Drew Stone and junior Connor Whitworth paced Poteau with nine points each. Sophomore Adrian Conchos led his squad with five rebounds.
Girls
Muldrow 58, Poteau 40
Lady Bulldog coach Jana Armer’s squad was up 27-12 at the break, but the way both teams were playing, Armer said it felt like a five or a 10-point lead.
“We struggled a little bit at the start, and that’s the thing I told them, ‘You have to find a way to get going,’” said Armer. “I felt like our defense got us back in the game. We got a couple of steals and a couple of easy baskets.
“It didn’t feel like a big lead at halftime, so I told my girls not to take their foot off the gas and just keep going.”
The squad improved to 20-3 with its seventh straight win.
“I’m pretty proud of my kids. They’re not just outstanding on the court, but off the court as well,” Armer said. “They’re an outstanding group of young ladies representing Muldrow the right way. They play hard, and I’m proud to stand in front of them and say I’m their coach.”
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Muldrow had 10 players contribute to the scoring, with junior Kiki Wight leading the way with 14 points and four rebounds. Juniors Claire Tabor and Bailey Grinstead added 13 apiece.
The Bulldogs forced eight of Poteau’s 20 turnovers and scored 16 points off of them.
Poteau freshman Emma Hackler led her team with 12 points and four rebounds. Junior Brooklyn Garner tossed in eight points.
Carmen Fields came off the bench for Muldrow and had three key rebounds and a steal that led to an assist in the second quarter.
"She always does that for us. She’s calm, a ball handler, and one of our senior leaders," Armer said. "She does many great things, but she has the best personality of any kid I’ve coached in my 28 years.
"She probably doesn’t get enough recognition like that because some of the things she does for us don’t always appear in the scorebook.”
The Lady Bulldogs face the winner of Saturday's Jay-Stilwell district game on Thursday in Stilwell at the Class 4A Area III regional tournament at 6 p.m. Poteau battles the other team at 1:30 p.m.
