Sports

More than a week after it started, the Buckle of the Wheatbelt Invitational basketball tournament concludes Wednesday in Kingfisher.The tournament was originally scheduled for Jan. 22-24, but was moved up a day due to the projected weather that was going to hit the state.

The Deer Creek-Lamont Eagles kept their place atop the Cherokee Strip Conference Tournament.Class B-II’s third-ranked team used a dominant third quarter to pull away from Lomega for a 71-46 victory in the title game last Friday morning at Pioneer-Pleasant Vale High School.

Tyce Slusser and Perkins- Tryon spoiled Kingfi sher’s hopes of a championship double dip.Slusser scored with 3.8 seconds to play Thursday night to lift the 13thranked Demons to a 59-57 upset of No. 10 Kingfisher in the boys semifinals of the Buckle of the Wheatbelt Invitational.

With a couple of minutes gone in the boys’ game Tuesday night, thoughts of an upset were possibly seeping through the crowd at the Eagle Event Center.Hennessey had jumped on visiting Okarche 12-3 in the early goings and momentarily had Class A’s two-time defending state champs stunned.

Kingfisher’s dominant week continued Thursday night.And it also ended. The Lady Jackets beat a foe by 30-plus points for the third time in as many days and earned the right to play for their sixth consecutive Buckle of the Wheatbelt Invitational championship.

After a stellar start, the Kingfisher girls let Blanchard right back into Tuesday night’s ballgame.The Lady Lions, with just five wins on the season, cut a 13-point first-quarter deficit down to 5 just moments into the second.Then Kingfisher’s stellar play returned…and this time it didn’t fade away.

Cashion’s Amber Hobgood was recently selected as the coach for the 2026 Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State cheer team.Hobgood will be the coach for the West squad of cheerleaders that will perform at certain events during the OCA All-State games.

Deer Creek-Lamont’s shooting prowess was on display last Friday against Lomega.The Eagles made 11 3-pointers in their 64-44 win at home in a showdown between the top two seeds in this week’s Cherokee Strip Conference Tournament.DCLA is the No.

Pond Creek-Hunter scored twice as many points as the last time it played against Dover.Yet, the Panthers still lost by 42.The Longhorns ran their record to 18-0 on Friday with a 74-32 victory on Pond Creek-Hunter’s home court.

Callie Cramer’s double- double and the team’s efficient night at the free throw line propelled Okarche to a 43-30 home win over Thomas last Friday.Cramer scored a gamehigh 19 points and added 10 rebounds as Class A’s fifth-ranked Lady Warriors improved to 12-3.