BOYS BASKETBALL: Verdigris falls to Siloam Springs in Jerry Oquin Tournament first round
Dec. 8—INOLA — Siloam Springs had an answer for everything.
Leading scorers Nate Vachon and Dalton Newman consistently made tough shots for the Panthers, combining for 51 points and 13 rebounds in a 62-54 victory over Verdigris in the first round of the Jerry Oquin Tournament on Tuesday night at the Inola Indoor Sports Arena.
The Cardinals (2-1) play Fort Gibson (0-1) at 8:30 p.m. in the consolation bracket while Siloam Springs advances to take on Victory Christian, 76-49 winners over Fort Gibson, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Verdigris held four leads — all in the first half — with its biggest advantage being 22-17 in the second quarter following a third 3-pointer from Brant Teague. However, the Panthers responded with a 12-4 run to take a 29-26 edge into halftime.
Vachon and Newman contributed nine points during that spurt, and they proceeded to score 14 of the game's next 24 points to increase the bulge to 11 points at 45-34 before the Cardinals managed to fight back to within 47-45 with an 11-2 run in which Dylan White, Braxton Repschlaeger, Cody Lechlider and Caden Parnell each contributed.
The Panther duo again has an answer, though.
Vachon and Newman scored all but two of Siloam Springs' 15 fourth-quarter points, staving off yet another Verdigris run in the process.
Vachon finished with 26 points and eight rebounds while Newman added 25 points and five boards.
Repschlaeger paced the Cardinals with 16 points and five rebounds, and Lechlider recorded 15 points with four boards while Teague had 11 points.
The teams were fairly even in every other statistical category, for both committed 20 turnovers and pulled down 26 rebounds apiece.
Even their free-throw percentages were similar despite the Panthers earning seven more shots from the line (23-16). Verdigris shot 81.3% from the free-throw line (13-of-16) while Siloam Springs went 18-of-23 (78.3%).
SILOAM SPRINGS 62, VERDIGRIS 54
VERDIGRIS — Braxton Repschlaeger 16, Cody Lechlider 15, Brant Teague 11, Brady Teague 7, White 3, Parnell 2.
SILOAM SPRINGS — Nate Vachon 26, Dalton Newman 25, Fox 4, Hawbaker 4, Spence 2, Blackfox 1.
Verdigris 14 12 17 11 — 54
Siloam Springs 13 16 18 15 — 62
3-pointers: Verdigris (7) — Brant Teague 3, Lechlider 2, Repschlaeger 2. Siloam Springs (4) — Vachon 3, Newman 1.
Rebounds: Verdigris (26) — Repschlaeger 5, Team 5, Lechlider 4, Willis 4, Large 3, Scott 2, Brady Teague 2, Finch 1. Siloam Springs (26) — Vachon 8, Hawbaker 5, Newman 5, Team 5, Blackfox 2, Spence 1.
Free throws: Verdigris 13-16, Siloam Springs 18-23.
Turnovers: Verdigris 20, Siloam Springs 20.
