Talihina makes state threepeat

By CRAIG HALL
McALESTER—It didn’t take long for Haworth to find out this wasn’t the same Talihina team it defeated back in December.

In that early contest, Talihina had only four practices and played without Taggart Lockhart.

With Lockhart back and a full season under them, the Tigers were too much for Haworth Saturday night in a matchup of two Top 10 teams in the Class 2A Area IV winners bracket finals as Talihina roared to a 60-44 win.

Photo by CRAIG HALL Talihina's Chris Capsey tries to find some room against a Haworth defender.

The win moves Talihina into the state tournament, which starts on Thursday. The location, opponent and time will be announced on Sunday. This will be the third straight year for the Tigers to play in the state tournament.

“This feels awesome,” said Talihina coach Chris Gillespie. “It’s a relief. I told our kids before the game this is the kind of game you want to play in. It’s a lot of fun, especially if you win.”

Haworth jumped out to a 5-0 lead early, then Talihina made some changes and every basket was challenged.

Talihina still trailed 13-10 going into the second quarter before the Tigers simply took over, outscoring Haworth 19-3 in the quarter and not allowing a field goal.

“Our defense was really good tonight,” Gillespie said. “We ran the zone like we wanted to.”

With the game tied at 14, Jordan Eagleroad hit a three to start what was eventually a 18-2 run that gave the Tigers a comfortable lead. The lead grew to 20 points late in the third quarter and Haworth could never mount a serious comeback.

Haworth cut the lead to 14 on two occasions, but both times Talihina answered. As the final buzzer sounded, the Tigers celebrated, but also acted like there was unfinished business left after getting to the state finals last year and losing in overtime.

“These guys are a result of being experienced,” Gillespie said. “I thought we were ready to play tonight.”

Lockhart paced Talihina with 21 points. Eagleroad had 18 while Jace Chancellor and Marcus Sullivan each had eight.