Wait is over for Talihina

By CRAIG HALL
FORT SMITH—The wait is finally over for Talihina.

After finishing second the last two years and not winning the title since 1974, the championship trophy of the LeFlore County Tournament is going south to Talihina after the Tigers downed Spiro, 66-45, Saturday night in the Stubblefield Center.

Photo by CRAIG HALL Talihina's Chris Capsey makes a reverse layup during the first half of the Tigers' win over Spiro Saturday night in the boys' finals of the LCT.

And with four junior starters returning for another season next year, the Tigers should have a good chance at repeating.

On this night, Talihina played too good of defense, shot the ball well and handled the Bulldogs’ pressure and quickness.

The Tigers had a slow start in Friday’s semifinals, trailing Heavener 13-4 after the first quarter, but that was not the case in the finals.

Talihina went ahead 16-12 after the first quarter and steadily increased its lead through the remainder of the game.

The Tigers led 37-16 after the second quarter and led 55-33 after the third quarter.

Talihina’s win was finished in style as senior Marcus Sullivan got his second dunk in two days with just over two minutes remaining.

Spiro’s frantic pace causes trouble for many teams and provided the comeback in the semifinal win over Poteau on Friday.

But Talihina was seldom troubled by the press as the Tigers handled the ball well and never let Spiro rally to make a game of it.

Co-tournament MVP Taggart Lockhart led the Tigers with 28 points while Sullivan had 11 and Chris Capsey 10.

Mike White led Spiro with 15 while Alonzo Releford added 14.