Oklahoma boys basketball playoff roundup: Bethany takes 4A district title on a game-winning shot

By Josh Jennings 

Photo of Caddo taking on Wilson in the Class A regional round by Glen Brockenbush

Classes 2A, 3A and 4A played its district basketball contests last weekend and there were many interesting games, with upsets and buzzer beaters.

Each team in these classes are alive as the playoffs are double elimination until the state tournaments.

Class 4A

Area I saw some close contests. Bethany, ranked No. 16, trailed Bishop McGuinness most of the game, but Wyatt Geissler hit the game-winning shot to give the Bronchos a 43-42 victory. This was Bethany’s first district win since 2020.

Oklahoma Christian School (No. 5) and Weatherford (No. 3) are the highest ranked teams in this area and had no trouble winning their games. OCS beat Western Heights, 75-20, and Weatherford beat Clinton, 46-21. Elgin also beat Community Christian, last year’s Class 3A state runner-up.

Area II featured two close games. The first one was between Heritage Hall and 11th ranked Perkins-Tryon. The Demons won the game, 50-45, and have not lost a game at home since the 2020-2021 season.

Heritage Hall must win six games in a row to get back to the state tournament, and the Chargers have not missed the tournament since 2017.

Lincoln Christian also defeated Tulsa McLain, 47-46. Fourth-ranked Douglass has a favorable path to the area championship game, as it will face Hilldale Thursday. With a win, it would likely face No. 14 Victory Christian, last year’s Class 4A runner-up.

The other regional is tough, as three teams are ranked in the winner's bracket. Perkins-Tryon (11) faces 12th ranked Ada and No. 6 Newcastle will play Lincoln Christian.

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Area III had only one close district game between Vinita and 12th ranked Catoosa. Catoosa held on and won the game, 69-62. No. 2 Crossings Christian, No. 7 Stilwell and 10th ranked Tuttle all won their games handily and they do not have to play any ranked teams Thursday, along with Catoosa.

In the first regional, Tuttle will play Madill and Crossings will play Broken Bow. In the other regional, Stilwell will play Muldrow and Stilwell defeated Muldrow twice this season in convincing fashion. Catoosa will play Verdigris Thursday.

Area IV features the three-time defending state champions in top-ranked Kingfisher. Kingfisher did not have to play a district game and will face John Marshall Thursday in the first round of regionals. The winner of this game will play the winner between 17th ranked Inola and Cleveland.

Like most of the district games in this class, there were not many close games. The closest district game was between eighth ranked North Rock Creek and Mannford. North Rock Creek won the game, 49-40, and will face Fort Gibson Thursday evening.

Byng, ranked No. 19, will play No. 9 Anadarko, which defeated Byng once this season, 48-43. Should Anadarko and North Rock Creek win, it will be a top 10 matchup in the regional championship game.

Class 3A

Area I features top-ranked Metro Christian, which handled Kipp Tulsa, winning 80-31. Cascia Hall (ranked 15th) and ninth-ranked Alva won its district games, respectively, and will play one another Thursday.

Chisholm beat Blackwell, 32-30, in a game that went down to the wire. With that win, Chisholm will face No. 8 Crooked Oak.

Chandler beat Beggs, 55-46, and will face No. 16 Washington, which did not play a district game.

Area II saw an upset and several close games, starting with Lone Grove knocking off 20th-ranked Silo, 61-56. Lone Grove will now face 14th-ranked Hugo.

Third-ranked Purcell took care of business, beating Lexington, 88-63. Purcell will face Comanche Thursday. Henryetta sniffed out a win against Holdenville, as they won 44-43. Henryetta will play 11th-ranked Kellyville.

Another one-score game was between Bethel and Okmulgee, and Bethel won the game, 65-63. Bethel will play No. 6 Prague, which pummeled Little Axe, 74-33.

Check It Out: Regional basketball sites for Classes 5A-6A officially released by the OSSAA

Area III nearly saw a top five team go down, but fourth-ranked Roland beat Vian, 62-58, in double overtime. There was another overtime contest between Tishomingo and Dickson, but Tishimingo won the game, 34-31. Tishomingo will play seventh-ranked Marlow, as Marlow took care of business against Davis.

No. 10 Lindsay and No. 17 Valliant will play one another, as they won their district games. No. 18 Idabel and No. 19 Heavener also will play one another, as Heavener beat Spiro, 40-37, in a nail-biter.

Area IV features defending Class 3A champion Oklahoma City Millwood. The No. 2 ranked Falcons ran Harding Fine Arts out of the building in their district playoff. Millwood will play Jones, who beat Star Spencer, 58-51.

Morris will play 13th-ranked Keys, which beat Tulsa Central, 56-53. No. 12 Kiefer did not play a district game and will face Kansas. Fifth-ranked Sequoyah-Claremore took care of Adair and will now play Westville.

Class 2A

Area I saw mostly dominating performances in its district games.

Fourth-ranked Hennessey and 20th-ranked Sayre took care of business and will play one another Thursday. No. 10 Hobart defeated Hinton and Fairview destroyed Crescent, 64-41.

In the other regional, Oklahoma Union handled Commerce and will play 13th-ranked Ketchum, as Ketchum beat Afton.

Seventh-ranked Hooker did not play a district game and will face Pawhuska, which beat Tonkawa, 32-27, in a defensive showdown.

Area II featured some nail biters. No. 18 Stratford beat Elmore City-Pernell, 52-48, while No. 11 Minco beat Dibble, 59-53. Third-ranked Oklahoma Christian Academy took care of Amber-Pocasset and will face Mangum, as Mangum beat Walters, 47-31.

In the other regional, 19th-ranked Wister beat Howe, 46-40, in a close one. The Wildcats will play Panama, as the Razorbacks beat Haworth, 54-41. Sixth-ranked Oktaha beat Central Sallisaw, 60-47, and will play Hulbert, which beat Haskell, 51-37.

Area III is intriguing, as it features defending Class 2A state champion and top-ranked Dale, which beat Wynnewood, 87-43. Dale’s regional also features 17th-ranked Cashion, the 2A state runner-up. The Wildcats needed overtime to beat Stroud and will face 16th-ranked Christian Heritage Academy. Dale will play Savanna Thursday.

The other regional featured three close contests. No. 12 Nowata sweated out a 46-43 win against Wyandotte. Fairland also sweated out a win against Quapaw, winning the game 37-33.

Warner also survived Chouteau, winning 37-32. The Eagles will play fifth-ranked Colcord, which beat Chelsea 52-33.

Area IV saw all ranked teams who took care of their district games.

No. 15 Latta was all over Healdton, 72-19. Latta will play ninth-ranked Calera, which beat Hartshorne. No. 8 Pocola will play Colbert Thursday, as both teams won its district games.

In the other regional, 14th-ranked Rejoice Christian defeated Caney Valley, 81-52. Okemah will play Rejoice Christian, as it beat Canadian, 59-31. Second-ranked Preston was impressive, beating Mounds 77-38.

Pawnee beat Morrison, 75-65, and Morrison went to the 2A semifinals last season. It now must win six games to get back to the state tournament. Pawnee will play Preston in Thursday's regional semifinals.

Classes A-B Regional Roundup

By Glen Brockenbush

After district and regional rounds, the small-school high school basketball playoffs have just one more weekend before the state tournament fields are set.

And while the majority of the area round spots have been filled, there are still Class B regional games to be played at Beaver on Monday. Those games will put a cap on a thrilling regional weekend that was highlighted by a buzzer-beater in a regional consolation final on Saturday.

Ripley trailed Garber, 42-40, with 1.8 seconds left in a Class A Area IV elimination game, and the Warriors were inbounding from underneath their own hoop. The inbounds pass was caught by Beau Burch just shy of mid-court, where he launched a desperation heave that banked off the backboard and in to give Ripley the improbable 43-42 win and knock the Wolverines out of the playoffs.

Perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend happened in Class A Area III, where No. 2 Rattan’s recent string of close games finally got the best of the Rams, who fell to No. 18 Liberty, 41-37. The Rams will now have to win three more games to clinch a spot at state.

In Class B, No. 10 Glencoe outlasted No. 6 Kinta in overtime on Saturday night, 61-60, earning the Panthers the regional championship.

Here are recaps of the rest of the Class A and Class B boys regional action from over the weekend, and previews of the upcoming area tournaments.

Class A

After beating Tushka in triple overtime on Friday night, Central High had to turn around and play a tough Carnegie squad less than 18 hours later. And as luck would have it, that game also went into overtime, with Bronchos freshman Luke Thrasher tying the game late.

But with star senior Jace Waller having fouled out, Central couldn’t quite keep pace with Carnegie, who finished off a 54-52 win.

In the regional final at Geronimo, No. 1 Caddo struggled with Wilson’s defense in the first half, and the Bruins led by just a point at halftime. But thanks to big second-half performances from D.J. Dill and Kale Brister, Caddo took control and cruised late to a 56-39 victory.

The Bruins head to the area round, where they will face No. 8 Apache, who throttled local rival Cyril on Saturday night. Cyril will face another Caddo County foe in Carnegie on Thursday, while Wilson will face Texhoma. Those games will be played at Chickasha High School.

In Area II, No. 3 Vanoss will face No. 5 Okarche for the area championship in Shawnee, while the consolation bracket will feature Southwest Covenant against Velma-Alma and Drummond against Arapaho-Butler.

In Area III, Liberty knocked off No. 2 Rattan, and will play No. 7 Allen in the area championship in Wilburton. Rattan will face Riverside, while Riverfield will play Tulsa Regent Prep.

In Area IV, No. 4 Okay will face No. 6 Seiling in the area championship, while Frontier will play Laverne and Oklahoma Bible Academy will play Ripley in games that will be played at the Stride Bank Center in Enid.

Class B

Games in the Beaver regional were pushed back a day, forcing the regional championships and consolation championships to be postponed until Monday.

No. 8 Goodwell will play No. 9 Leedey for the regional championship, with the winner set to face No. 4 Calumet in the area title game in Woodward on Friday. The loser will still head to the area round, and will face No. 13 Timberlake on Thursday.

The consolation championship game in Beaver will be between Buffalo and Vici, with the winner scheduled to play Kremlin-Hillsdale.

In Area II, No. 1 Fort Cobb-Broxton took care of business against No. 14 Randlett Big Pasture in the regionals, and the Mustangs will now face No. 7 Duke in the area championship game at Cache on Friday night. Meanwhile, Big Pasture plays Granite, while No. 12 Sentinel plays Springer.

In Area III, No. 2 Roff held off No. 17 Earlsboro to advance to the area championship against Buffalo Valley at the upcoming area tournament to be held in Ada. Earlsboro will face Boswell, while Kiowa will play Paden.

No. 3 Stringtown advanced to the Area IV championship against defending state champion Glencoe.

They’ll play each other Friday night in Henryetta, while Thursday games will feature Varnum against Moss and Kinta taking on Stuart.