The Central Lady Tigers came up short in the title game of the 2024 Gore Tournament, losing 54-52 to Oktaha in the tournament finals Saturday night at Gore Event Center.
The Lady Tigers reached the title game with a 57-15 Thursday afternoon win over Braggs and a 48-35 Friday night victory over Hulbert.
The Central Tigers won the third-place game Saturday evening, downing Oktaha 49-35 after beating Hulbert 48-38 on Thursday but losing 60-54 to Braggs in Friday’s championship semifinals.
The Central squads began last week’s action by splitting games at Muldrow, as the Lady Tigers defeated the Lady Bulldogs 51-44, but the Tigers lost 60-48 to the ’Dogs.
In the Gore Tournament title game, Oktaha’s Brenlee Morgan hit a basket with seven seconds left to break a 52-all tie and propel her team to the championship.
In defeat, the Lady Tigers (4-1) put three players into double figures, led by Haley Cheek’s 17 points, followed by Cambree Bair — one of two Lady Tigers to make the all-tournament team — with 15 points and Ayrland Jiles with 12 points. Paris Campbell and Hadlie Woods — the other Lady Tiger to make the all-tournament team — scored three points, while Ryleigh Pierce added two points.
In the girls’ championship semifinals, the Lady Tigers led 13-12 after a quarter, 25-24 at halftime and 36-28 going into the fourth period.
For the game, the Lady Tigers put a trio of players into double figures, led by Woods with 14 points, while Bair and Cheek each added 12 points. Cheyenne Busch scored six points, while Campbell and Jiles scored two points apiece.
In the girls’ openinground game, the Lady Tigers jumped out to an 18-0 lead after a quarter and were never headed.
For the game, Bair scored a game-high 12 points and Jiles added 11 points to lead Central, followed by Campbell with nine points, Alexxus Bolin with seven points, Zoey Lattimore with six points, Cheek with four points and Woods, Busch, Sarah Buchanan and Kimberly Farman with two points apiece.
In the boys thirdplace game, the Tigers (3-2) jumped out to an 11-2 lead after a quarter and were never headed.
For the game, the Tigers put a trio of players into double figures, led by Noah Buzzard with 15 points, followed by Josh Brunk, who was named to the all-tournament team, with 13 points and Braxin Goodson with 10 points. Paitton Merrill scored six points, while Aidan Sainer added five points.
In the boys’ championship semifinals, with the game tied at 29-all at halftime, Braggs outscored Central 31-25 in the second half to get the win.
In defeat, Brunk led Central with 13 points, followed by Sainer and Merrill with nine points each, Gavin Randolph and Noah Buzzard each with eight points and Goodson with seven points.
In the boys’ openinground game, the Tigers rallied from a 9-6 opening- period deficit by outscoring Hulbert 15-2 in the second quarter to take a 21-11 halftime lead and were never headed.
For the game, Brunk scored a game-high 29 points to lead Central, followed by Noah Buzzard with seven points, Goodson and Merrill scored four points each and Sainer and Jake Woods with two points apiece.
In the Central girls’ win over Muldrow, the Lady Tigers doubled the Lady Bulldogs in the opening period 6-3 en route to a 25-18 halftime lead and a 46-33 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs tried to make a final-period run, outscoring the Lady Tigers 11-5 but the rally fell short.
For the game, Bair led all scorers with a game-high 22 points to lead Central, followed by Jiles with 11 points, Cheek with seven points, Woods with five points, Busch with four points and Pierce with two points.
In the Central boys’ loss to Muldrow, the ’Dogs pretty much led from start to finish as they took a 16-13 lead after a quarter and a 2922 advantage into the locker rooms at halftime.
The Tigers rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the ’Dogs 15-10 in the period to cut the Muldrow lead to 3937. However, the Bulldogs kept the Tigers at bay with a 21-11 fourth quarter.
In defeat, Brunk scored 18 points and Sainer added 14 points to lead Central, followed by Goodson with six points, Woods with five points, Noah Buzzard with three points and Hardy Buzzard with two points.
