BOYS BASKETBALL: Miners nab district title win

Feb. 23—The Miners weren't going to let this one get away.

Hartshorne battled it out with Coalgate during Monday's district title game, with the Miners taking the 61-52 win.

The Miners wasted no time in scoring, notching two quick triples to break the ice. Caden James and Kaleb Keith would combine for five first-quarter threes that would lead to a huge scoring run and saw Hartshorne leading 21-5 after the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, the Miners continued to get hot on the offensive end. Coupling that with stingy defense and not giving an inch, and the Miners found themselves leading 36-21 at the half.

In the second half, Coalgate and Hartshorne began trading buckets while playing hard up and down the floor. As the Wildcats tried to cut into the lead, the Miners held strong and used a driving bucket and foul shot by Colton Mattioda to help put themselves ahead 48-36 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was dominated by defense for much of the final minutes. And with each team trading shots, both were unwilling to relent. But the Miners used focus, determination, and a few well-timed shots to come away with the win.

Keith led the way with 20 points, followed by James with 16 points, Hayden Curliss with 12 points, and Mattioda with eight points.

The Miners will next play in the regional tournament starting on Thursday at 8 p.m., with the opening game being held at the Konawa sub-site before playing the rest of their games at Porter.

Here are the games and final scores for local teams for the OSSAA Class 2A district games:

BOYS

AREA IV

DISTRICT 2 AT CANADIAN

Canadian vs. Okemah, Tues. 8 p.m. (Both advance to regional)

DISTRICT 4 AT HARTSHORNE

Hartshorne 61, Coalgate 52 (Both advance to regional)

DISTRICT 8 AT WILBURTON

Wilburton 57, Savanna 35 (Both advance to regional)