Sports

After battling through three ties and nine lead changes in the second half, El Reno High School’s boys basketball team was outscored 13-3 in the final four minutes of a 71-63 loss to the Oklahoma City Knights.

The setback closed out the regular season for El Reno with a 9-14 record.

El Reno rallied from five points down in the first half to fashion a 36-29 halftime lead. 

But the lead dwindled down to a one-possession game four times in the third period despite two 3-pointers and eight points from Bradley Island and four Gabe Osburn free throws.

For the first time since 2019, the lights at El Reno’s Jenks Simmons Field House will be dark on game days for the upcoming Class 5A playoffs as neither El Reno High School basketball teams will host a regional.

The El Reno girls, the two-time defending state champion, finished third in the District 5A-2 standings and will start their title defense at the 5A West Region 2 Championships in Del City.

El Reno, which has not played a road regional game since 2019, will face Duncan (2-19) Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

El Reno High School’s boys wrestling team took part in the Class 5A West Regional Championships last week in Noble.

El Reno advanced three wrestlers to state.

See our next edition for a regional wrap-up.

With three games left in the regular season, Redlands Community College women’s basketball team made the jump into third place in the NJCAA Region 2 standings with a 70-56 win over Western Oklahoma.

The Cougars are on an eight-game win streak to improve to 23-4 on the season. Redlands is 10-3 in the region standings and trails Northeastern Oklahoma A&M by a game for second and Murray State by two games for first.

The win over Western avenged a January loss to the Pioneers as Haven Joseph put up a team-leading line of 20 points, eight boards and three steals.

Camren Hunt scored a team-leading 18 points as Redlands Community College men’s basketball team remains in a tie for seventh place in the NJCAA Region 2 standings with a 75-67 win over Western Oklahoma.

The Cougars snapped a two-game losing streak with the eight-point road win and swept the regular-season series over the Pioneers.

Redlands is now 11-16 on the season and 5-8 in Region 2 action.

Hunt was one of three players with double-digit scoring and added four rebounds and two steals.

SHAWNEE – In just her second year in the sport of wrestling, El Reno High School junior Seely Chronister extended the school’s streak of state qualifiers to five straight years.

Chronister (135) took fourth place to pace El Reno, which placed 22nd as a team with 35 points despite taking just five grapplers to the Class 6A West Regional Championships.

CALUMET – Head and shoulders above anyone else, 20th-ranked Timberlake had the two biggest players on the court - including 6-foot-8 senior post Paxton Glenn.

Calumet had the speed, bench depth and discipline of a defending state champion.

Calumet won out in a big way.

The second-ranked Chieftains improved to 24-3 with a 102-45 win over Timberlake in the semifinals of the Class B1, Area I, Region C Winners Bracket.

El Reno High School’s football program held a signing party for four seniors recently.

Signing (from left) were Omar Tristan, Brad Palmer, Rustyn Cook and Brendon Evans.

Cook signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, while the other three inked with Langston University.

CALUMET – With two of its main scoring threats on the bench with five fouls, sixth-ranked Calumet took the next-player-up approach to protect a double-digit fourth-period lead in a playoff game with Timberlake.

Brenlee Voss, Kyah Baker and Randi Upchego made two free throws each in the final two minutes as Calumet defeated Timberlake 64-45 in the semifinals of the Class B1, Area I, Region C Winners Bracket.

Redlands Community College, the hottest team in NJCAA Region 2 women’s basketball, continued its climb toward the top of the standings after defeating the league’s top two teams.

The Cougars handed Murray State (63-59) its first NJCAA Region 2 loss and then went on the road to defeat Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (64-56) - ranked No.24 in the latest NJCAA Division 1 national poll.

Redlands has won seven games in a row to move to 22-4 on the year.