Wilson tops Preston in thriller for boys championship
The Wilson Tigers and Preston Lady Pirates took home the team championship plaques from this weekend’s 2024 Muscogee Nation Invitational basketball tournament.
The 3-day event, which was held at the Mvskoke Dome on the campus of the Claude Cox Omniplex in Okmulgee, also handed out third-place and consolation championship trophies during last Saturday’s final day of tournament action.
The Lady Pirates defeated their arch rivals, the Beggs Lady Demons, by a 50-23 margin to take home the girls team championship, while the Tigers, ranked ninth in Class B, recorded a thrilling 42-40 victory over the Class 2A No. 3 Preston Pirates in the boys championship game on Saturday.
Saturday’s other tournament contests saw the Wilson Lady Tigers outduel the Morris Lady Eagles 29-21 for the girls third-place plaque, the Henryetta Golden Knights rally in the fourth quarter to defeat their arch rivals, the Morris Eagles, 70-62 for the boys third-place trophy, the Henryetta Lady Knights take home the girls consolation title with a 53-35 victory over the Dale JV team, and the Beggs Golden Demons top the Schulter Bulldogs 65-54 to capture the boys consolation crown.
At the conclusion of the championship games, a player from the winning team was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy. The girls MVP of the tournament was Preston’s Savannah King, while the boys MVP of the tournament was Wilson’s Zion Shelburn.
In 22 games, the tournament teams tallied a combined total of 2,070 points – 1232 (boys), 838 (girls) – for an average of 94.1 points per game.
The top combined score in the boys bracket was 132, which occurred twice (Morris’ 67-65 firstround win and Henryetta’s 70-62 third-place win), while the top combined score in the girls bracket was 90, which came in the girls semifinal game between Beggs and Wilson, which went in favor of the Lady Demons by a 46-44 margin.
(Editor’s Note: The Henryetta Lady Knights earned their first win of the season under new head coach Scott Belcher last Friday with a 53-19 victory over the Preston JV in the girls consolation semifinal round.)
Below are summaries from last weekend’s 2024 Muscogee Nation Invitational basketball tournament.
— Girls Bracket First Round
Preston 65, Dale JV 24
The Preston ladies led 20-8 after one and 36-11 at halftime. The PHS Lady Pirates took the final two quarters by margins of 12-7 and 17-6, respectively, to put the finishing touches on their opening-round victory.
Anistyn Garner was the top scorer for Preston in the decisive win with a game-high 15 points. Garner was joined in double figures by Savannah King with 13 and Emilie Stidman with 12. Shaunassi Jordan and Taylan Starr just missed double-digit scoring for the victorious Lady Pirates with nine and eight, respectively, followed by Kyliann Doke with six and Pheobey Finch two.
Holland Herring led the way offensively for Dale’s JV with eight.
— Beggs 55, Preston JV 19
The Lady Demons took the opening frame by a 20-1 margin then went into halftime with a 30-5 advantage after outscoring the Lady Pirate JV 10-4 in the second stanza. Beggs extended its lead to 46-14, heading into the final quarter, after a 16-9 margin in the third period and put the finishing touches on the first-round win by taking the final stanza by a slim 9-5 advantage.
Rylee Youngblood led all scorers with a gamehigh 30 points. Other Beggs offensive contributors in the opening-round victory were Konner Stanton and Destiny Clay with five each, MaKeltie Hill four, Kaley Collins, Emmbreah Triplett, and Kamya Stallings three apiece, and Tessa Christy two.
The Preston JV was led by the duo of Heaven Fuller and Cymiyah Thompson with five points apiece. — Wilson 53, Henryetta 34
The Lady Tigers came out of the opening period with a narrow 14-10 advantage, then outscored the Lady Knights 14-8 in the second quarter for a 28-18 lead at the intermission. After both teams tallied 10 points in the third stanza to make it a 38-28 advantage for Wilson, the Lady Tigers used a 15-6 margin to punch their ticket to the semifinals with the 5334 decision.
The Wilson offense was led by Brooklyn Weeks, who finished with a game-high 18 points. Weeks was joined in double figures by Janelle Proctor with 14 and Kaozong Yang with 10. Other Lady Tigers scorers in the opening-round win were Jayda Pinkston with eight, Reese Herring two, and Gracie Bear one.
Henryetta’s top scorer in the first round was Graci Lollis with 12 points, followed by McKayla Greenhaw with 10. The remainder of the Lady Knight’s offense against Wilson came on six points from Maddie Rock and two points each from Kassidy Lee, Zoe Boatright, and Allie Davis.
— Morris 50, Schulter 18
The Lady Eagles emerged from the opening frame with a 10-1 margin, then outscored the Lady Bulldogs 19-7 in the second stanza for a 29-8 halftime advantage. The Morris ladies took the third quarter 13-2 for a 42-10 lead, then both teams put up eight points in the final period to make the final tally, 5018, in favor of the Lady Eagles.
Fire Clark led all scorers with 14, followed by Asiah Barnett with 10. Other Lady Eagle scorers against Schulter were Alexis Schell with eight, Reese Pendley six, Ashlyn Clevenger and Emma Duclos three apiece, and Alli Guynes, Taylor Phillips, and Shelby Washington two each.
Schulter’s top scorer in the opening round was Macee Henderson, who finished with nine points.
Henderson was joined in the scoring column by Payton Campbell and Jenna Henderson with four points apiece and Caidence Campbell with one point.
— Consolation Semifinals Dale JV 42, Schulter 27
The Lady Bulldogs led 5-4 after a low-scoring first period and trailed 15-9 at halftime after being outscored 11-4 in the second stanza. Dale’s JV took the final two frames of regulation by margins of 11-6 and 16-12, respectively, to hand the Schulter ladies the 42-27, tournament-ending, loss.
The Lady Eagles were led offensively by Alyssa Evans with 11, followed by Macee Henderson with seven, Jenna Henderson six, Caidence Campbell two, and MaKalah Hawkins one.
Dale’s JV was led in scoring by Alyssas Parker, who finished with a game-high 16 points.
— Henryetta 53, Preston JV 19
The Lady Knights led 13-2 after one and 29-7 at the halftime break. The Henryetta ladies extended their lead to 36-11 with a 7-4 margin in the third period, then closed out the loser’s bracket win with a 17-8 advantage in the final quarter.
Henryetta was led offensively by Zoe Boatright, who finished with a game-high 12 points. McKayla Greenhaw also recorded double-digit scoring in the win with an 11-point performance. Other Lady Knight scorers in the consolation semifinals were Allie Davis with eight, Casidy Bailey seven, Raychel Morrison five, Kassidy Lee and Brooke Bailey four each, and Jordyn Goodman two.
The Preston JV’s top scorer in the contest was Delanie Long with seven.
— Semifinals
Preston 57, Morris 21
The Lady Pirates came out of a low-scoring first period with a narrow 7-4 margin, then doubled up the Lady Eagles 16-8 in the second stanza for a 23-12 advantage at the halftime break. The Preston ladies tallied 17 points in each of the final two quarters, while holding Morris to totals of four and five points, respectively, to advance to the championship contest with the 57-21 decision.
Savannah King finished with 15 points to lead all scorers in the semifinal contest. Anistyn Garner also found her way into double figures for the Lady Pirates with 14. Other Preston scorers in the semifinal win were Shaunassi Jordan and Emilie Stidman with eight each, Kyliann Doke and Pheobey Finch four apiece, Josie Cope three, and Taylan Starr one.
Morris was led in scoring by the duo of Taylor Phillips and Emma Duclos with five points apiece, followe by Fire Clark with four, Shelby Washington three, Lillian Giddens two, and Rylee Whitaker and Alexis Schell one each.
— Beggs 46, Wilson 44
The Lady Tigers escaped the opening frame with a narrow 14-11 margin. The Lady Demons sent the semifinal contest to halftime with Beggs in front by one, 27-26, following a 16-12 advantage in the second quarter. Both teams tallied seven points in the third stanza to keep the Beggs lead at one, 3433, with eight minutes remaining in regulation. The Lady Demons edged the Wilson ladies 12-11 in the final frame to emerge from the semifinal battle with the 46-44 victory and earn a spot in the championship game.
Rylee Youngblood had the hot hand offensively for Beggs, finishing with a game-high 25 points. Joining Youngblood in double figures in the win was Konner Stanton with 13. Kaley Collins was next for the Lady Demons with four, while Tessa Christy and Kamya Stallings rounded out the Beggs scoring with two points apiece.
The Lady Tigers were led in the scoring column by the duo of Janelle Proctor and Kaozong Yang with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Other Wilson offensive contributors in the semifinal contest were Brooklyn Weeks with five, Reese Herring and Kaylee Earhart four each, Jayda Pinkston two, and Gracie Bear one.
— Consolation Finals
Henryetta 53, Dale JV 35
The Lady Knights blanked Dale’s JV 16-0 in the opening frame, then outscored their foes 18-13 in the second stanza for a commanding 34-13 lead at halftime. The Henryetta ladies doubled up on the Lady Pirate JV squad 12-6 in the third quarter for a 46-19 advantage, heading into the final frame, where Dale’s JV emerged with a 16-7 margin, but Henryetta walked away with the fifth-place trophy with the 53-35 victory.
The Lady Knights were led in scoring by McKayla Greenhaw with 18, followed by Jordyn Goodman with 11. Other Henryetta scorers in the win were Kassidy Lee and Graci Lollis with six apiece, Raychel Morrison five, Zoe Boatright four, and Allie Davis three.
Dale’s JV was led offensively by Daley Long with 10 points.
— Third Place
Wilson 29, Morris 21
The Lady Tigers took the opening frame by an 8-6 margin, then outscored the Lady Eagles 9-6 in the second quarter for a 17-12 advantage at the intermission. Morris sent the contest into the final eight minutes of regulation with the score knotted at 1919 after coming out of the third period with a 7-2 margin. The Wilson ladies emerged from the final stanza with a 10-2 advantage to walk away with the 29-21 victory and the third-place trophy.
The Lady Tigers’ top scorer in the win was Janelle Proctor with a game-high 15 points. Proctor was joined in the Wilson scoring column by Jayda Pinkston with six, Brooklyn Weeks four, Kaozong Yang two, and Reese Herring and Gracie Bear one each.
Morris was led in scoring by Emma Duclos with eight, followed by Alexis Schell with five, Fire Clark four, Asiah Barnett three, and Taylor Phillips one.
— Championship
Preston 50, Beggs 23
The Lady Pirates led 10-2 after the first eight minutes of action, then outscored the Lady Demons by a 14-6 margin in the second period for a 24-8 halftime lead. The Preston ladies increased their lead to 34-11 with a 10-3 advantage in the third quarter, then took the final frame by a 16-12 margin to take home the championship trophy with the 50-23 decision.
Savannah King was tops offensively for Preston with 19, followed by Anistyn Garner with 15. Other Lady Pirate scorers in the title contest were Emilie Stidman with eight, Pheobey Finch six, and Taylan Starr two.
The Lady Demons were led by Rylee Youngblood with 11, followed by Konner Stanton and Destiny Clay with four apiece, Kaley Collins three, and Alexis Tecumseh one.
— Boys Bracket First Round
Preston 88, Wilson JV 22
The Pirates jumped out to an early 23-4 advantage after one quarter of action, then outscored the Tiger JV 24-12 in the second stanza for a 47-16 lead at the intermission. The Preston squad outscored their opponents by a combined 41-6 in the second half to emerge from the opening-round contest with an 88-22 victory.
Preston’s Kaden Dean led all scorers with a gamehigh 17 points. Joining Dean in double figures for the Pirates were Cayden Hollier with 12, and Kent Rice, Bradley Winford, and Ethan Moore 10 apiece. Tanner Young was next in the scoring column for the Pirates with nine, followed by Hunter McElhannon with eight and J’bari Webb and Carter Fuller six each.
The top scorer for the Wilson JV was Alec Ganote with 10.
— Henryetta 91, Preston JV 14
The Knights led 22-3 after one and 44-9 at halftime, then outscored the Preston JV 47-5 in the second half for the 91-14 decision.
Henryetta was led in scoring by Bishop Berryhill with 15, followed by Nathan Nail with 12, Jacob Nail 11, and Nakona Johnson 10. The remaining offensive contributors for the Knights in the opening-round win were Gavin Williams with eight, Talon Weaver six, Isaac Whitlock five, and Skylar Greenhaw, Nick Hudson, Maverix Randleman, Blaze Hill, Hunter Gobin, and Will Perez four apiece.
Preston’s JV was led in scoring by the quartet of Braxton Keslee, Johnathan Hinsley, Kaydan Daniels, and Mason DeJear with three points each.
— Wilson 69, Schulter 45
The Tigers came out of the opening frame with a 20-7 advantage, then outscored the Bulldogs 18-9 in the second period for a 38-16 lead at the halftime break. The Wilson squad emerged from the third quarter with a 24-10 margin to send the opening- round contest to the final eight minutes of regulation with the Tigers leading by 38 points, 62-24. Schulter took the final stanza 19-7, but it was the Tigers that walked away victorious, 69-45.
Zion Shelburn led a quartet of double-digit scorers for Wilson in the opening-round win with a game-high 19 points. Other Tiger players to reach double figures against Schulter were Keshon Shelburn with 14, Zabrien Shelburn 11, and Charles Shelburn 10. Rounding out the Wilson scoring in the opening round were Andrew Wilson, Tepoyv Williams, and Juaquin Rivera with seven, six, and two points, respectively.
Schulter’s top scorer against Wilson was Vincent Bess with 11, followed by Bobby Calhoun and Zalyn Vinyard with eight apiece. Other Bulldog scorers in the first round were Kenta Carder with five, Isaiah Bauer four, Kris Thompson three, and Larry Bess, Quinton Nuckolls, and Nick Tucker two each.
— Morris 67, Beggs 65
The Eagles escaped the opening period with a 16-11 advantage. The Demons used a 19-11 margin in the second quarter to lead by three, 30-27, at halftime. Beggs extended its lead to double digits (53-42) with eight minutes remaining in regulation following a 23-15 advantage in the third stanza. The Morris squad outscored their county foes 25-12 in the final frame, including the final four points of the quarter coming from Xavier Harjo in the final minute of regulation to emerge with the thrilling 67-65 victory.
The Eagles were led offensively by Race Casey with a game-high 22 points. Casey was joined in double figures by Robert Woods with 14. Other Morris contributors in the first-round win were Koen Burgess with eight, Harjo and Tre Robinson seven apiece, Trey Daniels six, and Bobby Baker three.
Beggs’ top scorer in the opening-round contest was Dakota Hudson with 17, followed by Jaylen Williams with 16 and Rickey Smith with 14. Rounding out the Demon scoring attack against Morris were Jaxon Remington with six, Jace Basquez and Ezrah Anderson five each, and Brayden King two.
— Consolation Semifinals Beggs 81, Wilson JV 29
The Demons led 25-6 after one and 47-12 at halftime, then outscored the Wilson JV 34-17 in the second half for the 81-29 victory.
Jaylen Williams led Beggs with 17, followed by Jace Basquez and Rickey Smith with 16 apiece and Jason Nethon and Dakota Hudson 10 each. Other Demon scorers against the Wilson JV were Brayden King with six, Jaxon Remington four, and Jordan Wesley two.
The top scorer for the Wilson JV was Alec Ganote with 17 points.
— Schulter 69, Preston JV 36
The Bulldogs took the opening frame by a 17-3 margin, then outscored the Pirate JV 19-5 in the second stanza for a 36-8 halftime advantage. The Schulter squad came out of the final two quarters with margins of 17-13 and 16-15, respectively, to earn the 69-36 decision.
Schulter’s leading scorer in the loser’s bracket win was Zayln Vinyard with a game-high 20 points. Kenta Carder also recorded double-digit scoring for the Bulldogs with a 10-point performance. Other offensive contributors for Schulter in the win were Isaiah Bauer and Bradyn Brown with nine apiece, Bobby Calhoun seven, Larry Bess and Quinton Nuckolls five each, and Vincent Bess and Kris Thompson two apiece.
The Preston JV was led offensively by Jayden Polk with nine.
— Semifinals
Preston 69, Morris 36
The Pirates took the first two quarters by margins of 16-12 and 16-14, respectively, for a narrow 32-26 lead at the intermission. The Eagles went ice cold from the field in the second half, being held to just 10 points in the final two frames. The Preston offense put up offensive totals of 21 and 16, respectively, in the second half to advance to the championship game on the winning end of a 69-36 outcome.
Pheonix Finch led all scorers with 18, followed by Tanner Young with 14 and Giorgio Dunn-Spencer with 13. Other Preston scorers in the semifinal contest were Jervais Goree with eight, Kent Rice and Bradley Winford five each, Jayden Smith four, and Kaden Dean two.
The Eagles’ top offensive producer was Race Casey, who finished with 10 points. Other Morris players to tally points in the semifinal contest were Robert Woods and Xavier Harjo with eight points each and Trey Daniels, Jaylen Zachary, Bobby Baker, and Tre Robinson with two points apiece.
— Wilson 63, Henryetta 55
The Tigers emerged from the opening frame with a narrow 12-9 advantage, then doubled their lead, 23-17, at halftime after outscoring the Knights 11-8 in the second quarter. Henryetta cut the Wilson lead to two, 42-40, heading into the final eight minutes of regulation after escaping the high-scoring third period by a 23-19 margin. In the final stanza, the Tigers outscored their foes 21-15 to punch their ticket to the tournament finals with the 63-55 victory.
Zabrien Shelburn (Wilson) and Nick Hudson (Henryetta) led their respective teams in scoring in the semifinal battle with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Charles Shelburn (17) and Keshon Shelburn (12) also tallied double-digit points for Wilson, while Skylar Greenhaw (12) also recorded a double-figure offensive total for Henryetta. Other offensive contributors for the victorious Tigers were Zion Shelburn with six, Esiah King five, and Andrew Wilson two, while the other scorers for the Knights were Talon Weaver with eight, Hunter Gobin and Jacob Nail five each, Will Perez three, and Nathan Nail two.
— Consolation Finals Beggs 65, Schulter 54
The Bulldogs led by a narrow 13-12 margin after one quarter of action, while Beggs took the second stanza 25-14 for a 37-27 halftime lead. After Schulter took the third period 11-10 for a 47-38 Beggs lead, the Bulldogs were outscored 18-16 in the final frame to award the Beggs Golden Demons the 6554 victory and the boys consolation championship plaque.
Beggs was led in scoring by Jaxon Remington with 17, followed by Rickey Smith with 16 and Brayden King with 11. Other Demon players to find the scoring column in the win were Jordan Wesley with seven, Dakota Hudson six, Jace Basquez four, and Jason Nethon and Jaylen Williams two each.
Schulter’s top scorer in the consolation title game was Zalyn Vinyard with 14 points. Vinyard was joined in double figures by Kenta Carder and Bobby Calhoun with 13 apiece and Vincent Bess with 11. Isaiah Bauer rounded out the Bulldog scoring with three points.
— Third Place
Henryetta 70, Morris 62
The Eagles took the first three quarters by margins of 15-11, 18-16, and 19-17, respectively, for an 8-point lead (52-44) with eight minutes remaining in regulation. The Knights used a 26-10 advantage in the final stanza to walk away with the 70-62 victory and the third-place plaque.
Henryetta was led offensively by the duo of Skylar Greenhaw and Nick Hudson, who both finished with 20 points each in the win. Talon Weaver also recored a double-digit total in the victory with a 17-point performance. Hunter Gobin was next in the scoring column for the Knights with eight, followed by Will Perez with three and Jacob Nail two.
Morris’ Xavier Harjo led all scorers with a gamehigh 25 points. Race Casey and Trey Daniels also finished in double figures for the Eagles in the third-place contest with 15 and 11, respectively. Other Morris scorers against Henryetta were Tre Robinson with six, Robert Woods three, and Bobby Baker two.
— Championship
Wilson 42, Preston 40 The Tigers came out of the opening frame with a 14-9 advantage. The Pirates made it a 23-22 Wilson lead at halftime after taking the second quarter by a 13-9 margin. After both teams tallied nine points in the third period to keep the Tigers’ lead at one, 32-31, the Wilson squad edged the Pirates 10-9 in the final stanza to take the championship trophy with the thrilling 42-40 decision.
The Tigers were led in scoring by Zion Shelburn with a game-high 14 points. Keshon Shelburn also finished in double figures for Wilson with 10. Other WHS scorers in the title win were Zabrien Shelburn and Charles Shelburn with seven each and Andrew Wilson with four.
Giorgio Dunn-Spencer was tops offensively for the Pirates, finishing with 11 points. Other Preston scorers in the championship game were Jervais Goree with seven, Tanner Young, Jayden Smith, and Pheonix Finch six apiece, and Kent Rice four.
