CACHE — Once again, the fiercest basketball rivalry in Caddo County lived up to the hype.
In the latest chapter of Fort Cobb-Broxton and Cyril — this time with a state tournament berth on the line — the No. 1 Fort Cobb boys (22-7) edged the No. 6 Pirates, 58-55, in a Class A, Area III championship game that featured nine ties or lead changes in the fourth quarter alone on Friday night in Cache.
After watching Cyril (23-4) take the lead late in the fourth quarter, the four-time defending state champion Mustangs answered right back thanks to Kyler Denton finding his sweet spot as he swished a go-ahead, corner-pocket 3-pointer off a mad scramble to give Fort Cobb a 54-52 lead with less than two minutes remaining. Kellen Hines — who scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter — knocked down a gorgeous floater with under a minute to give the Mustangs a 56-52 lead and essentially seal a spot in next weekend’s Class A state tournament.
“Kyler is always ready to shoot. He’s a confident kid,” Fort Cobb coach Scott Hines said. “He puts in a lot of time, getting the key to the gym four or five nights a week. He believes he’s gonna make it.”
While the Cyril boys will have another chance to reach their third straight trip to the state tournament tonight when meeting No. 10 Vici in the consolation finals, the No. 4 Cyril girls have already punched their ticket as the Lady Pirates (22-4) held off No. 16 Cheyenne for a 30-26 victory in the Area championship game.
It’s the fourth straight trip to the Class A state tournament for the Cyril girls, who were led by senior point guard Fayth Laughlin, who scored a game-high 15 points.
“That’s unbelievable. I’m proud of the seniors for getting four in a row — can’t do any better than that,” Cyril coach Shane McLemore said. “They achieved something that people can look up to them for a long time. Even when things don’t go right, the girls fight and scrap hard enough to get things done.”
Fort Cobb finds a way again
The rivals hinted it’d be a close one to the finish when ending the first quarter tied at 14.
Cyril used a 9-2 run early in the second quarter to jump out to a 23-16 lead, but Fort Cobb —which is now three wins away from an unprecedented fifth straight state championship — refused to go away.
After trailing 25-22 at the half, the Mustangs blitzed the Pirates out of the gates by scoring 11 unanswered points to start the third quarter, including a barrage from Kellen Hines.
Absorbing plenty of contact, Hines knocked down a wing 3-pointer while being knocked to the ground before completing an emphatic four-point play to get Fort Cobb fired up. Hines then snagged a steal and turned it into a quick layup as the Mustangs jumped out to a 33-25 lead. Hines swished another trey late in the third quarter as Fort Cobb held its largest lead of the game at nine points, 40-31.
“Guys stepped up,” coach Hines said. “I told them at halftime, ‘Look, some of you guys moved here for this moment. Some of you have been here all the way through. You grew up in the stands couldn’t wait to get out here and play in this game. Now we’re gonna let it slip away when we have a chance to make plays? It’s your turn. Go make a play, go make a shot. Don’t be scared.’”
Cyril missed all five of its third quarter 3-pointers and besides a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays, nothing went the Pirates way until the fourth quarter.
The Pirates didn’t give in though as Albert Suarez — who scored 16 points and sank three of his four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter — tied the game at 40 with a trey to end Cyril’s drought of 10 straight misses from downtown. Cason McLemore — who led the Pirates with 20 points —nailed a second-chance triple to tie the game at 43 as the rivals began to sway back and forth.
Tyson Eastwood, who added 20 points for Fort Cobb and came down with countless offensive rebounds, scored a putback to put Fort Cobb up 48-46. The Mustangs had six offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points in the first half.
“Tyson is a heckuva player. He’s got unbelievable hands — as good as any I’ve coached,” coach Hines said. “He reads the ball off the rim and is a good athlete who can take advantage. Tyson is only tapping into what he can become. He has a chance to be really special.”
Suarez also sank a second-chance trey to tie the game at 49 with 2:53 remaining. The senior sharpshooter drilled another 3-pointer from the wing to give Cyril a 52-51 lead before Denton hit the dagger.
Cyril still had its chances in the final seconds as the Pirates got a steal while trailing 57-55, but Fort Cobb stole the ball right back with 15 seconds left. After Fort Cobb split free throws to make it 58-55, the Pirates had two looks before the buzzer, but 3-pointers by McLemore and Ryan Hart didn’t find the bottom of the net as Cyril fell just short in an eerily similar ending to last year’s state semifinal thriller which Fort Cobb won, 50-49.
“Proud of the guys. That’s just two good teams going back and forth. We just didn’t shoot it as well as they did. That was a fun game, though. That could go either way any time,” coach McLemore said. “That’s the hardest thing coming back off an emotional game. That’s as emotional as it gets right there with our rivalry. It takes a lot out of you mentally and physically.”
Cyril girls headed back to state tournament
A fourth straight trip didn’t come easy, even after Cyril jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first half.
“I was proud of the girls for playing hard against a good team tonight. Brad Thrash is one of the best coaches I’ve gone up against and it doesn’t matter how much better we are, it’s a game,” coach McLemore said. “When we were up quite a bit, I told the girls, ‘This is not over.’ The girls fought all the way to the end.”
Laughlin, who drilled her second 3-pointer of the game off a second quarter inbounds pass to build the Pirates 14-point lead, picked up her fourth foul of the game with 5:36 remaining and Cyril nursing a 26-21 lead. She scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half of Cyril’s 30-26 win.
Ashley Smith added four points and got a key layup to go in the final minutes to put Cyril in front 28-25 while Grace Young hit two key free throws in the final minute.
Cheyenne (19-10) pulled down nine offensive rebounds and terrorized Cyril on the glass, but the Pirates got defensive stops down the stretch and prevented a bevvy of second chance points.
Cheyenne shot an abysmal 24 percent from the field and missed all six of its 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn Rackley swished a corner 3-pointer to open the game and chipped in seven points for Cyril, which didn’t shoot much better, going just 31 percent from the floor.
Cyril will likely be a four-seed in the state tournament, once again slated in the 4/5 quarterfinal matchup like last season.
Tipton squeaks past Fort Cobb
The No. 13 Tipton Lady Tigers are now one win away from the state tournament. The Tigers, now 25-2, edged No. 8 Fort Cobb-Broxton, 53-45, on Friday afternoon, picking up their second top-15 win this weekend.
Tipton will try to punch its Class A state tournament ticket tonight at 6:30 in Cache when meeting Cyril/Cheyenne.
“The big thing is we gotta go play like it’s one more game and not think about next week,” Tipton coach Teddy White said. “To win we just have to play smart and think about what we’re doing and not get caught up in the moment.”
Tipton held Fort Cobb — which was led by 19 points from Mariah Gonzales and 12 from Adysen Wilson — to just five points in the fourth quarter to pull away. The Tigers, who led 41-40 through three quarters, were paced by 23 points from R’Reana McBride while Gabby Rodriguez chipped in 15.
“It’s been a tough road the past two years playing tough teams every night in the playoffs. This weekend is no different,” White said. “Fort Cobb is loaded and we’ve beaten some good programs who are well-coached and highly-ranked for a reason.”
FORT COBB 58, CYRIL 55
Boys
FORT COBB — Tyson Eastwood 8-3-20, Kyler Denton 4-4-14, Phy 1-0-3, Kellen Hines 8-3-21. Totals 21-10-58.
CYRIL — Cason McLemore 8-3-20, Hart 2-0-5, Albert Suarez 5-2-16, Rivera 3-3-9, Kaesemeyer 2-0-5. Totals 20-8-55.
FCB;14;8;18;18;—;58
Cyril;14;11;8;11;—55
CYRIL 30, CHEYENNE 26
Girls
CYRIL — Fayth Laughlin 3-7-15, Rackley 3-0-7, Row 1-0-2, Smith 2-0-4, Young 0-2-2. Totals 9-9-30.
CHEYENNE — Boyett 1-0-2, Greer 3-0-6, Whiteneck 3-0-6, Parkhurst 1-0-3, Bryan 2-3-7, Banton 1-0-2. Totals 11-3-26.
Cyril;11;7;2;10;—;30
Chey;2;8;7;9;—;26
TITPON 53, FORT COBB 45
TIPTON — Sheffield 1-0-2, R’Reana McBride 8-7-23, Tyler 3-0-7, Gabby Rodriguez 6-3-15, Fierro 2-1-6. Totals 20-11-53.
FORT COBB — Adysen Wilson 5-1-12, Av. Wilson 1-0-2, Taylor 1-1-4, Mariah Gonzales 7-2-19, Lewis 2-4-8. Totals 15-8-45.
Tip;17;13;11;12;—;53
FCB;13;17;10;5;—;45