HOWE — The Central High School basketball teams split their road games against host Howe on Feb. 6 as the Tigers clawed the Lions 75-54, but the Lady Lions tamed the Lady Tigers 42-32 to spoil a homecoming of sorts for Central girls coach Shane Brown, who coached several years at Howe.

In the boys’ game, the Tigers (15-8) led 25-19 after a period, which became a 43-34 halftime advantage and a 61-44 lead entering the fourth quarter.

For the game, Central put a quartet of players into double figures, led by a game-high 18 points by Devon Baggs, followed by Cade Tucker’s 13 points and 10 points apiece from Joseph Lee and Jace Mendenhall. Aiden Sainer and Braxin Goodson each had seven points, followed by Isaac Rogers with six points and Hardy Buzzard and Gavin Randolph with two points apiece.

In the girls’ contest, the Lady Lions broke a 13-all tie after a quarter with an 8-5 second period to take a 21-18 halftime lead. A 12-8 third quarter upped Howe’s advantage to 33-26 going into the final period. In defeat, Cambree Bair scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Lady Tigers (18-4), followed by Haley Cheek with seven points, Hadlie Woods with four points, Ayrland Jiles with two points and Koda Robbins with a free throw.

Unfortunately, the CHS teams did not get to have their Senior Night games last Friday night due to Oktaha cancelling out. Central girls coach Shane Brown said that attempts were made to try to find another opponent, but no opponent could be found.

The Lady Tigers and Tigers will begin the playoffs this Friday as they will travel to meet the Ketchum squads at 6 and 7:30 p.m. in the Class 2A District Tournament. Regardless of the outcomes, the CHS teams will advance to the Class 2A Regional Tournament the following week, which also will take place at Ketchum.