Lady Bulldogs run away with district tournament title

The Empire Lady Bulldogs proved the adage that defense wins championships as they locked down host Binger-Oney in the district tournament championship game, 52-17.

Even when the offense cooled, the Lady Bulldogs remained hot on the defensive end of the floor. They allowed eight points in the first quarter and then would only allow nine points over the next three.

Meanwhile, senior Keira Pineda and single-handedly outscored the Lady Bobcats, finishing with 18 points. Freshman teammate Kenzie Brackin added 14 to round out double-figure scores. Nine players total would score for the Lady Bulldogs.

Empire jumped out to a 14-2 lead to open the game and never allowed the Lady Bobcats to get back in the game. After the opening run, Binger-Oney never got closer than eight points.

Empire went on to take a 19-8 lead into the second quarter. Points did not come as easy in the second quarter for Empire as they put up eight points but still extended their lead by holding the Lady Bobcats to two points for a 27-10 halftime lead.

The offense got going again in the third quarter. Five different players scored for Empire as they took a commanding 42-14 lead into the fourth, where they closed out the game.

Following Pineda and Brackin in the scoring column were Chazli Massey with five, Chanlie Rochell, Kylie Lemons and Makenzie McNair with three each and Shiann Walker, Sarah Vanderburg and Braylie Harris with two each.

Empire will host Turner in a sub-regional game today (Thursday) at 6 p.m. The teams have a combined 41-6 record. Empire (19-2) is ranked 13th in Class A and Turner (22-4) is ranked 19th. The winner will take on the Amber-Pocasset (24-1, Class A, No. 5) and Thomas-Fay-Custer (13-9) winner for the regional championship at Union City on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. The loser will be knocked to the consolation bracket, where they will have a Friday 6 p.m. game.

Binger-Oney knocked down 11 three-pointers and was unstoppable offensively, scoring 64 first-half points on its way to the district tournament title.

In an unusual occurrence, the teams played most of the game with only one official. Halfway through the first quarter, a Binger-Oney player collided with one of the officials, dislocating the official’s shoulder and he was unable to return. It caused about a 15-minute delay as the matter was discussed. The teams decided to play on with just one official rather than come back to finish the game on Monday.

The Bobcats scored the first 14 points of the game on their way to a 27-8 lead after the first quarter. Binger-Oney then got blazing hot from the field in the second quarter, scoring 37 points on its way to a 64-22 halftime lead.

After taking an 80-34 lead into the final quarter, the Bobcats reached 90 points less than halfway into the fourth, but they would never score again, falling just short of triple digits.

Nine players scored for Empire, led by Carson Skiles and Junior Seward with eight. Zach Lipscomb was next with seven points. Cale Porter finished with six, Dax Hecox had five, and Johnathan Simmons and Bryce Shaver had three points each. Francisco Garcia and Parker Miller had two points each. 

Empire (12-10) will play Turner (13-12) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. for the right to keep their season alive. The winner will play the Amber-Pocasset (19-5) and Oklahoma Christian (11-15) loser on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Union City.

The Empire Bulldogs kept their season alive with a thrilling win in the first round of the district tournament at Binger-Oney High School.

In the fourth quarter, with four seconds remaining in a 36-all tie, junior Francisco Garcia got the ball in the high post, dribbled past his defender and laid in the winning basket at the buzzer in a 38-36 win over Snyder.

The Cyclones had led most of the game, with the Bulldogs having a couple of brief leads along the way, but the one at the final buzzer was all that mattered. The three-point shot kept Empire within striking distance. The Bulldogs hit as many three-pointers as they did two-point field goals (seven).

Snyder led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter and then outscored Empire 15-8 in the second to take a 24-15 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs started to claw their way back by scoring the first six points of the third quarter. They would take the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter on a three-pointer by Carson Skiles with two minutes to go before the Cyclones closed out the quarter with four straight points to take a 30-27 lead into the final quarter.

The Bulldogs caught the Cyclones again with 5:50 left on a free throw by Bryce Shaver that tied the game at 33-all. After two lead changes, Garcia tied the game with a free throw with 2:10 left at 36. Neither team would score again until Garcia’s last-second shot bounced in off the glass at the buzzer.

Garcia led Empire with 10 points. He was followed by Cale Porter with eight points, Dax Hecox and Carson Skiles with six each, Bryce Shaver and Junior Seward with three each and Johnathan Simmons with two.

The win eliminated Snyder from the playoffs and kept the Bulldogs’ season going for at least two more games. It also guarantees they will have one more game on their home floor as Empire will host sub-regional games on Thursday.