Sports

Two-platooning both its guard and post players, El Reno High School’s girls basketball team battled a pair of top 10 teams within a 24-hour period and walked away with impressive wins.

El Reno, ranked second in the state in the West bracket, defeated fourth-ranked Lawton MacArthur 43-33 and then backed it up with a 65-47 decision over ninth-ranked Guthrie. The wins swept the season series with both schools.

The Guthrie victory left El Reno with a 16-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the Suburban Conference standings going into the showdown with top-ranked Carl Albert.

Freshman Carter Roman Nose knocked down a handful of 3-pointers in the first half as El Reno High School’s boys basketball team put up 46 points before intermission and cruised to a 74-53 win over eighth-ranked Guthrie.

El Reno, ranked seventh on the West side of the state, improved to 10-9 on the season and swept the Suburban Conference series over the Bluejays. The Indians are now 5-2 in the league standings.

The win over Guthrie came on the heels of a 74-73 loss to fifth-ranked Lawton MacArthur as the Highlanders got an Arzhonte Dallas basket with 2.2 seconds left.

El Reno High School senior Caleb Hulbutta, left, and Mikey Devereaux, center, signed national letters of intent.

Hulbutta inked with Emporia State University and Devereaux with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

Pictured with the duo is classmate Xzavier Devereaux.

Darlington School’s boys basketball team won the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools (ORES) West Area 3 Championship with a 50-27 victory over Oak Grove.

The Chiefs advance to the ORES state tournament on Thursday in Earlsboro. It’s the ninth straight trip to state for Darlington.

Maple School’s 7/8 girls basketball team earned a berth in the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools State Tournament with a win over Friend 28-21.

Maple improved to 15-9 and will play its first round at state Thursday at noon at Earlsboro High School against Rocky Mountain.

Lifting three players into double-digit scoring, Okarche High School’s girls basketball team rallied from a first-period deficit to close out the regular season with a 65-47 win over Class 2A rival Cashion.

The Warriors, ranked second in Class A, will take a 21-2 record into the district playoffs. Okarche is riding a two-game win streak and victories in 13 of its last 14 games.

Cashion led 17-15 after one period, but Okarche retook the lead with a 17-10 run in the second period for a 32-27 halftime lead.

Redlands Community College women’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 62-45 home win over Connors State College.

The victory gave Redlands the regular-season sweep over the Cowboys as Jay Niehues’ team improved to 11-7 on the year and 5-5 in the NJCAA Region 2 standings.

The Cougars remain sixth in the standings but move to within half a game of fifth place.

Redlands was 22-of-61 from the field for 36 percent, including six 3-pointers off 32 percent shooting. The Cougars did struggle at the free-throw line with a 12-of-21 (57 percent) effort.

Squandering a small lead midway through the first half, Redlands Community College men’s basketball team kicked off February on a sour note with an 83-74 loss to Connors State College.

The nine-point home loss was the second in a row for the Cougars, who fell to 12-12 on the season and 4-6 in the NJCAA Region 2 standings.

Redlands remains in seventh place in the league.

The Cougars were 26-of-53 from the floor for 43 percent, including a 7-of-20 effort (35 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. Redlands was 15-of-16 from the free-throw line for 94 percent.

EHS’ game at Noble last week was rescheduled for Feb. 17 due to winter weather.

EHS was to host Lawton MacArthur (Monday) and Guthrie (Tuesday) before traveling to Carl Albert on Friday. 

Trading second-half scoring blitzes, Calumet High School’s boys basketball team outscored Union City 20-19 in the fourth period to hang on to defeat its cross-county rival 68-63.

The late-season meeting was for third place in the 2022 Washita Valley Conference Shootout. Calumet, ranked sixth in Class A, swept the season series with the Tigers after a 40-point win back in November.

The Chieftains head into the playoffs with a 19-6 record.