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Dragons bow out of playoffs

Both boys and girls lose in Area Consolation finals

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Purcell’s boys and girls both bowed out of post-season basketball play in the Area Tournament consolation finals last Saturday night at Ada.

Coach Roger Raper’s boys finished with championship trophies from the Madill Tournament to the Verdigris Tournament, the Heart of Oklahoma Tournament, the Canadian Valley Conference, District and Regional Tournaments, closing out the year 24-4.

The Dragons were edged by No. 6 Prague in the Area Finals Friday night, 46-44. They turned around and played Hugo on Saturday night with the Buffaloes winning, 50-30.

Hayden Ice led the scoring with 25 points in the two games. He had 23 in the Prague game but was limited to one first quarter bucket in the Hugo contest. Malachi Evans led the offensive against Hugo with 10.

“We reached a No. 1 ranking and a regular season record of 21-2,” Raper said. “That’s  a  resume to certainly be proud of for any team.  I wanted so bad for these guys to achieve our main goal of making it to the Big House.

“It is painful and we are all disappointed for the season to end as it did,” Raper continued. “These guys poured everything they had into this program and they have nothing to hang their head about. The memories they have made will last a lifetime.

To accomplish what the Dragons did this year is no small feat.

“It takes a team that becomes a family and battles through all types of obstacles throughout the year,” the coach said.

“It takes sacrifices not easy to make for the betterment of your team and not just your own objectives.  24-4 is a record any coach would take every year and that is what these young men delivered for Purcell High School and this wonderful community.  I am super proud of each and every one of our guys,” Raper said.

The senior class of Lincoln Eubank, Malachi Evans, Hayden Renfro, Brody Galyean and Hayden Ice had a four year record of 82-23 and were 49-5 in conference play.

“These guys have been great leaders for our younger kids and will be missed,” Raper confirmed.

Coach Toney Cooper’s Dragons bowed out of postseason play with a 61-53 loss in the Area Consolation finals at the hands of Silo, the same team that beat them in the Regional finals.

Kenna Esparza buried four treys in the contest enroute to a team-high 24 points.

Silo countered with their big post girl Tiani Ellison swabbing the deck in the paint for 31 points.

“Kenna played one of the best games I have ever witnessed,” Cooper said. “She did everything she could to keep us in the game.

“In the end, we just did not get enough stops. We knew going in that Tiani Ellison was a handful to contain. The key was eliminating scoring of the other players. We allowed key buckets by them and it was a determining factor in the game. No doubt, our girls fought hard and I am so proud of them. To know we were only eight points away from punching our ticket to state hurts deeply, but also shows how close we are to taking the next steps.”

Purcell defeated Holdenville 72-68 with four players scoring in double figures.

Ella Resendiz led the way with 18 followed by Lauren Holmes and Haven Buchanan with 12 apiece and Hannah Whitaker with 11.

The Dragons lit up Lone Grove in the second round of the consolation bracket knocking off the Longhorns, 68-29.

The Dragons jumped out to a 26-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.They held the Longhorns to single digit scoring in three of the four periods.

Ella Resendiz led the Dragon offense with 14. She was joined in double digits by Tinley Winters with 11.

“While I loved how we played against Holdenville, I was not happy at all with our defensive efforts. We gave up 68 and my message to the team was if we want to make it any further we had to come out focused on getting stops. We held Lone Grove to 29 points, while continuing our explosiveness on offense. Our bigs, Tinley and Ella led us. Every player who stepped on the court contributed. I was truly proud of our effort defensively.

“This year was better than I anticipated and these kids for sure exceeded my expectations,” Cooper concluded.

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