The Central High School basketball teams entered this week’s Cross Telephone Tournament in Porum on a high note after they swept a road doubleheader Friday night in Warner.
The Lady Tigers began the night with a 3223 win over the Lady Eagles, avenging their Dec. 11 51-26 loss suffered at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City — the home court of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Tigers then ended the night with a 60-47 victory over the Eagles.
The Central teams opened last week by splitting their home games with Keys on Jan. 9 at the CHS Gym.
The Lady Tigers beat the Lady Cougars 4744, but the Cougars earned the split for Keys with a 71-47 victory over the Tigers.
In the girls’ win over Warner, the Lady Tigers (9-3) had a 5-4 lead after a quarter, but they used a 12-5 second period to stretch their advantage to 17-9 at halftime. After the Lady Eagles used a 9-6 third quarter to cut their deficit to 23-18 entering the fourth quarter, Central finished the game with a 9-5 final period to seal the deal.
For the game, Cambree Bair scored a game-high 17 points to lead Central, followed by Hadlie Woods with seven points, Haley Cheek with four points, Ayrland Jiles with two points and Koda Robbins and Autumn Cernicek with a free throw apiece.
In the boys’ victory over Warner, the Tigers (5-7) jumped out to a 12-9 lead after a period, which became a 37-24 advantage at halftime and a 45-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
For the game, Cade Tucker led Central with a game-high 17 points, while Isaac Rogers added 11 points. Aidan Sainer scored eight points, followed by Noah Buzzard and Devon Baggs with seven points each, Coy Blackburn with five points, Jace Mendenhall and Hardy Buzzard each scored two points and Connor Walters added a free throw.
In the girls’ win over Keys, the Lady Tigers, fresh off their 2024 Sequoyah County Tournament consolation championship on Jan. 5, trailed 11-9 after a quarter and 23-17 at halftime, but they outscored the Lady Cougars 14-11 in the third quarter and 16-10 in the final period to get the come-from-behind win.
Central put a trio of players into double figures, led by Bair’s 15 points, followed by Cernicek’s 13 points and Robbins’ 10 points. Jiles had four points, followed by Woods with three points and Cheek with two points.
In the boys’ loss to Keys, the Tigers had a 14-4 lead after a period, but the Cougars took control of the game with a 25-8 second period to give Keys a 29-22 halftime lead. A 25-8 third quarter by the Cougars upped the Keys advantage to 54-30 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, Tucker led Central with 12 points, followed by Joseph Lee with seven points, Blackburn and Baggs with six points each, Noah Buzzard with four points, Walters and Bo Locust each with three points and Hardy Buzzard, Rogers and Braxin Goodson with two pints apiece.
