Crowder downs Canadian in Pitt 8 opener

Derek Hatridge, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·4 min read

Jan. 16—Crowder and Canadian faced off in the opening round of the Pitt 8 Conference Tournament on Monday at Crowder, where the Demons used a second-half surge to take a 66-46 win.

The Cougars struck first, using buckets from Camden Harris and Kaden Elza to jump into an early lead. Crowder answered with a 5-0 run behind shots from Sevryn Mills and Traesten Craven to put the Demons in front.

But the Cougars found an offensive rhythm of their own, using buckets from Harris, Elza, Bobby Dawson, and T.J. Cook on the way to a 15-7 lead after the opening quarter.

Canadian kept its scoring into the start of the second quarter, with Cook and Dawson adding points for the Cougars.

But Jonathan Lizik next nabbed back-to-back scores for the Demons, sparking a scoring run for Crowder. The Demons turned up the intensity in the waning minutes of the half, and used scores from James Meek and Cooper Allison on the way to a narrow 25-23 lead at the break.

Mills got five quick points for the Demons at the start of the third quarter, but Canadian answered with points from Dawson. Lizik responded in kind for Crowder, but buckets from Cook and Macen Cano cut the Demon lead down to five with under four minutes to play in the period.

The pair of teams traded buckets down the stretch to end the third quarter, with the Demons leading 46-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

Crowder exploded out of the gate in the final period, rattling off eight quick points. But the Cougars responded, answering seven of those points to make it 54-40 midway through the fourth.

Mills nabbed a steal, finding Allison in transition for two points. But Cook sank a jumper to cut the lead down to 16 with 4:01 remaining as the Cougars called a timeout.

The two teams battled to the end, but it'd be the Demons sealing away the win.

Mills led the Demons with 22 points, followed by Allison with 18 points, Lizik with 14 points, James Meek with six points, and Austin Motley with two points.

Dawson and Cook led the Cougars with 11 points each, followed by Elza and Harris with eight points each, and Cano with six points.

Crowder will advance to the semifinal round on Thursday at home, facing Savanna at 8 p.m. Canadian will move into the consolation semifinals, battling against Indianola at 5:20 p.m. Friday at Stuart.

SAVANNA 81, INDIANOLA 31

The Bulldogs came hot out of the gate.

Savanna faced off against Indianola in the opening round of the Pitt 8 Conference Tournament on Monday at Crowder, where the Bulldogs used high-octane offense to take a 81-30 win over the Warriors.

Tracyn Eldridge and Trae Garcia go the Bulldogs on the board early to start the game, but the Warriors answered with a driving bucket from Jalen Eddington. The Bulldogs responded with a 10-2 run midway through the quarter to take an early lead and force a timeout.

On the other side, Ford Peterson nabbed a bucket for the Warriors, but the Bulldogs set off on another scoring run to take a 22-6 lead after the opening quarter.

Devon Marshall, Josh O'Dell, and Eddington racked up points for Indianola in the second quarter of play, but Savanna answered with buckets from Wyatt Stillwell, Eldridge, Garcia, and Ashton Bogard on the way to a 41-18 lead at the half.

After the break, the pair of teams started the third quarter trading buckets — with Garcia and Braxton LeFlore scoring for Savanna, and Eddington and Marshall for Indianola. But the Bulldogs would hit another scoring run, taking a 64-28 lead heading into the final period.

Both teams battled to the end, but it'd be Savanna sealing away the win.

Braxton LeFlore led the Bulldogs with 16 points, followed by Bogard with 15 points, Eldridge with 14 points, Stillwell with 10 points, Ayden Fry with seven points, Garcia with six points, Jaedon Dan and Madden Smith with four points each, Anthony Reagan with three points, and Chants LeFlore with a score.

Eddington led the Warriors with 14 points, followed by Marshall with eight points, O'Dell with four points, and buckets for Peterson and Diego Lara.

Savanna will advance to the semifinal round on Thursday at Crowder, facing the host Demons at 8 p.m. Indianola will move into the consolation semifinals, battling against Canadian at 5:20 p.m. Friday at Stuart.