Preston and Morris renewed their hardwood rivalry Tuesday evening at the Jim Waller Event Center in Preston.
The host Preston varsity basketball teams walked off their home floor with a pair of victories over their county rivals to take the first of two scheduled meetings this season. The two county schools are also scheduled to battle in Morris on January 26.
In Tuesday’s county battle, the host Lady Pirates improved to 7-2 on the year with a 50-29 decision, while the host Pirates also improved to 7-2 with a 74-38 victory in the nightcap. The losses drop the Morris squads to 4-5 and 1-8, respectively.
Both county teams returned to the hardwood on Thursday with opening-round tournament action with Preston competing at the Mike Kerr Classic in Morrison and Morris competing at the Warner Eagle Cherokee Classic in Warner.
Preston’s opening-round contests Thursday saw the Lady Pirates take on Stroud at 4:20 p.m. and the Pirates battle Oklahoma Christian Academy at 5:40 p.m.
Morris’s opening-round battles Thursday pitted the Lady Eagles against Okay at 4 p.m. and the Eagles against the host Warner Eagles at 8:30 p.m.
After this weekend’s tournament action, Preston will return home Tuesday for a showdown with the defending Class 2A state champion Dale Pirates and Lady Pirates, while Morris will travel to Liberty (Mounds) on Tuesday to complete the home-andhome regular-season meeting with the Tigers and Lady Tigers.
In Tuesday’s girls county battle at Preston, both teams offenses sputtered in the first eight minutes of action with the host Lady Pirates escaping with a narrow 5-4 advantage. The scoring picked for both teams in teams in the second quarter with Preston outscoring its rival 16-10 in the stanza for a 21-14 halftime lead.
The Lady Pirates took the final two frames by margins of 13-7 and 16-8, respectively, to walk away with the 50-29 decision.
Preston’s Savannah King led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, followed by Emilie Stidman with 12. Taylan Starr just missed double-digit scoring for the host Lady Pirates, finishing with nine points. Other Preston scorers in the county battle were Shaunassi Jordan with six, Pheobey Finch two, and Anistyn Garner one.
The Lady Eagles were led offensively by Fire Clark, who finished with an 11-point scoring performance. Other Morris scorers on Tuesday were Lillian Giddens with four, Emma Duclos, Skylar Phillips, Alexis Schell, and Rylee Whitaker three apiece, and Asiah Barnett two.
In Tuesday’s boys county showdown at Preston, the host Pirates came out of the opening frame with an 18-11 advantage, then outscored the Eagles 2311 in the second quarter for a 41-22 margin at the intermission.
The Preston gentlemen took the third period by a 16-10 advantage to send the county battle into the final eight minutes of regulation with the Pirates in front by 25 points, 57-32.
The Pirates put the finishing touches on the home win by outscoring their county foes 17-6 in the final frame for the 74-38 decision.
The Preston offense was led by the senior tandem of Giorgio Dunn-Spencer and Jervais Goree with 17 points apiece. Pheonix Finch (12) and Tanner Young (10) also tallied double-digit scoring for the Pirates in the county contest. Jayden Smith was next offensively for Preston with eight, followed by Kaden Dean and Trey Phillips with three each and Kent Rice and Hunter McElhannon two apiece.
The top scorer for the Eagles in the county battle was Race Casey with 13 points. Other Morris scorers against Preston were Tre Robinson with eight, Xavier Harjo seven, Robert Woods six, and Gage Adkins and Payton Kelley two each.
— Girls Game
Preston 50, Morris 29
Morris: 4 – 10 – 7 – 8 (29) Preston: 5 – 16 – 13 – 16 (50) Morris Scoring: Fire Clark 11, Lillian Giddens 4, Emma Duclos 3, Skylar Phillips 3, Alexis Schell 3, Rylee Whitaker 3, Asiah Barnett 2.
Preston Scoring: Savannah King 20, Emilie Stidman 12, Taylan Starr 9, Shaunassi Jordan 6, Pheobey Finch 2, Anistyn Garner 1.
— Boys Game
Preston 74, Morris 38
Morris: 11 – 11 – 10 – 6 (38) Preston: 18 – 23 – 16 – 17 (74) Morris Scoring: Race Casey 13, Tre Robinson 8, Xavier Harjo 7, Robert Woods 6, Gage Adkins 2, Payton Kelley 2.
Preston Scoring: Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 17, Jervais Goree 17, Pheonix Finch 12, Tanner Young 10, Jayden Smith 8, Kaden Dean 3, Trey Phillips 3, Kent Rice 2, Hunter McElhannon 2.
