The Muldrow High School basketball teams got to experience a little bit of everything over the last 10 days.
On Jan. 31 at the Ranger Dome, the Muldrow squads split with the host and archrival Roland teams as the Bulldogs handed the Runnin’ Rangers their first loss of the season with a 55-54 win, but the Lady Rangers downed the Lady Bulldogs 48-31. On Feb. 3 at Roger Sharp Activity Center, the Muldrow teams celebrated homecoming by sweeping a pair of NOAA Conference games from the visiting Checotah squads as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Wildcats 56-23 and ’Dogs beat the ’Cats 58 35. Last Friday night at Paul Post Field House, the Muldrow squads suffered a pair of road losses to county rival and conference foe Sallisaw as the Lady Diamonds got their first win over the Lady Diamonds in nearly a decade with a 65-39 victory, then the Black Diamonds rallied past the ’Dogs 63-58 for Sallisaw’s first win over Muldrow since a 58-57 victory Jan. 26, 2024, at Paul Post Field House.
In the boys’ win over Roland, the Bulldogs (12-6 overall, 6-1 in NOAA Conference play), who trailed 3324 at halftime, began their comeback in the third quarter as they outscored the Runnin’ Rangers 19-12 to cut their deficit to 45-42 going into the final period.
The ’Dogs completed their come-from-behind victory with a 13-9 fourth quarter.
For the game, Muldrow put a quartet of players into double figures, led by D.J. Massey’s 16 points, while Teaguen Collins, Jesse Kilinc and Parker Sevenstar each had 10 points. DeShawn Willson scored five points, while Jermauree Palmer and E.J. Zanders had two points apiece.
In the girls’ loss to Roland, the Lady Rangers led 10-7 after a period, which became a 25-18 halftime advantage and a 35-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In defeat, London Hardin scored eight points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (10-8, 4-3), followed by Kilah Ellingberg and Kayla Ellingberg with seven points each, Tae Williams with three points and Emma Fields, Gracie Prewett and Leni Cox with two points apiece.
In the girls’ victory over Checotah, the Lady Bulldogs put away the game early as they jumped out to an 18-4 lead after a quarter en route to a 34-15 halftime advantage and a 48-18 lead after three periods.
For the game, Kilah Ellingberg scored a game-high 20 points to lead Muldrow, followed by Kayla Ellingberg with nine points, Hardin, Cox and Blazi Dieter with six points each, Fields with three points and Williams, Jaydin Dean and Aliyah Duran with two points apiece.
In the boys’ win over Checotah, the Bulldogs broke a 12-all tie after the end of the first quarter as they outscored the Wildcats 19-7 in the second period to take a 31-19 halftime lead, which became a 45-22 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
For the game, Collins and Sevenstar each scored a game-high 20 points to lead the ’Dogs, followed by Willson with nine points, E.J. Zanders with five points and Kilinc with four points.
In the girls’ loss to Sallisaw, a basket by Dean cut the Muldrow deficit to 8-5 with 3:35 left in the first quarter. It ended up being as close as the Lady Bulldogs got on this night.
The Lady Diamonds got as high as a 15-point lead in the second quarter at 24-9 en route to a 3422 halftime advantage. Muldrow cut their deficit to nine points twice in the third quarter, the last time at 36-27 on a basket by Kayla Ellingberg, but got no closer.
In defeat, Kilah Ellingberg, Kayla Ellingberg and Williams each scored nine points to lead Muldrow, followed by Emma Fields and Leni Cox with four points each and Dean and London Hardin with two points apiece.
In the boys’ loss to Sallisaw, trailing 5352 after Willson hit a basket with 3:34 left in the game, the Black Diamonds ended the game with a 11-5 run to snatch away the win from the jaws of defeat after seeing the ’Dogs have a 12-point lead at 32-20 in the late stages of the first half.
There was a silver lining in the clouds as Collins hit his 1,000th point in his prep career on a free throw with 29 seconds in the third quarter to put the ’Dogs ahead 44-40.
In defeat, Muldrow put a trio of players into double figures, led by Collins and Sevenstar with 17 points each, while Kilinc scored 10 points. Massey had six points, followed by Willson with five points and Palmer with three points.
Last Saturday afternoon, the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA) announced Muldrow’s Class 4A District Tournament assignment, which was to be the district hosts for the Poteau Lady Pirates and Pirates. The Class 4A District Tournament will either take place on Feb. 20 or Feb. 21 at 6 and 7:30 p.m.
