After going back-and-forth the first half, Sulphur Bulldog basketball took the lead and the district title with an outstanding second half against Pauls Valley.
The Bulldogs (16-9) won 6660 over the Panthers in the district matchup in Lone Grove.
“I was proud of our ability to overcome adversity and things not going our way and still finding a way to grit out a win,” said Coach Grant Bates. “This time of the year it’s about surviving and advancing, and we were able to do that.”
The teamwork of the Bulldogs shined through as they had 15 assists in the game. Noah Carr led the effort with 5 assists. Bridge Barrett added 4 assists, and Ethan Seals added 3 assists.
The Bulldogs also shot 50% from outside the arc. That included a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Sulphur a 28-27 lead at the end of the first half.
“We shot and shared the ball very well in our district matchup with Pauls Valley,” Bates said.
Barrett led the Bulldogs with 30 points and 7 rebounds. Devin Willis had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Carr scored 10 points.
Colten Cole secured 8 rebounds.
Barrett also had 2 steals.
Sulphur led most of the second half, but struggled to pull too far ahead of the Panthers.
“Defensively, we allowed their best scorer to get going and he kept Pauls Valley in the game,” Bates said.
The Bulldogs also struggled at the foul line, only hitting 9 out of 22 freethrows.
“We did enough to win, but credit Pauls Valley for their effort and performance as a team in the match-up,” Bates said.
Sulphur advances to the Regional Tournament, where they will play fifth-ranked Idabel in Madill Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Idabel won their district matchup at home 84-45 over Madill.
“They (Idabel) made the state tournament last year and have every player back. I’m excited for the opportunity to play an elite team in our class and our boys are too,” Bates said.
The winner of Sulphur-Idabel will play the winner of Bishop Mc-Guiness andArdmore Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Madill and advance to theArea Tournament. The loser of Sulphur-Idabel will play the winner of Tuttle and Plainview game Friday 2:30 p.m. in Madill. The winner of that Friday game will play again on Saturday at 2:30 pm for the chance to advance to the Area Tournament next week.
Lady Bulldog’s Season Comes To End The Sulphur Lady Bulldogs ended their basketball season Thursday in a 55-27 loss to Pauls Valley at Lone Grove.
The Panthers advanced to the district title game, only to fall 49-38 to Lone Grove.
ABOVE: Sulphur’s Bridge Barrett lays in two of his teamhight 30 points as Sulphur held on to down Pauls Valley last week in the district tournament finals. BELOW: The Dog’s Colten Cole (5) goes up to block a shot as Sulphur beat Pauls Valley. PHOTOS BY DON COFFEY
PHOTO BY DON COFFEY The Bulldog’s Noah Carr looks for an open player in Sulphur’s district-title win over Pauls Valley last week.
