It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations, You have made it to the big house! This is the last year at the big house before the new arena is open so let’s make this the best one yet! Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups and hear from the coaches as they give their thoughts.
#1 Dale vs #11 Cashion
Thursday at 9:00am
Last Appearance: Dale (Seventh consecutive) Cashion (First since 2022)
Dale’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Mounds 105-23, Wins over Pawnee 93-42 and Sallisaw Central 83-43 in regionals and Rejoice Christian 62-38 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Cashion’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Stroud 66-49, Wins over Luther 52-33 and Latta 54-40 in regionals, Fell to Pocola 49-42 but bounced back against Preston 52-35 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament.
DALE head coach Jeff Edmonson
This has been an incredible journey for this senior led basketball team. Their high school record is 118-6. They have gone undefeated on their home court (64-0). This group has been playing together since they were in the 2nd grade. They are led by point guard Easton Edmonson (son of Coach Edmonson), shooting guard Levi Kelly, big men Jett Higdon and Trayden Chambers , and the only non senior starter Denton Forsythe. Our bench is led by two seniors—-shooting guards Maddox Caldwell and Jaxon Womack and a super sophomore Keldan Meely. Our strengths our unselfishness on offense and our toughness on defense. We are excited to have the opportunity to do something only a few teams have accomplished— compete to win our 4th gold ball. It won’t be easy, but we are excited to give it our best shot.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
Winning the gold ball with my son. Hugging him after the games.
CASHION head coach John Hardaway
Been a good run. Kids have continually improved and really focused on being great defensively. Fun group to coach.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
Watching my own kids dribble around and shoot on the floor when they were little before games.
#6 Fairland vs #10 Hartshorne
Thursday at 10:30pm
Last Appearance: Fairland (First since 1925) Hartshorne (First since 1954)
Fairland’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Quapaw 81-32 in districts, Wins over Wyandotte 64-42 and Okemah 65-50 in regionals, Fell to Hooker 52-37 but bounced back against Wyandotte 61-41 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Hartshorne’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Coalgate 66-30, Wins over Colbert 67-50 and Vanoss 54-46 in regionals and Frederick 49-48 in overtime in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament.
FAIRLAND head coach Justin Goins
Our road to the big house was very competitive, we played a tough Okemah team, a tough Wyandotte team twice and losing to a really good and physical Hooker team. It has been 100 years since Fairland has had a team in the state tourney so our players, coaches and community are all really excited. I don’t think there is a better atmosphere for HS basketball than the Big House!
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
In 2022 getting to coach my daughter Grace and her teammates there.
HARTSHORNE head coach Matt Henry
We felt pretty good about this group and their potential as they got older.
We have had several defining moments throughout our season. Many adversities with last year’s returning leading scorer Brett Lindley out for the first part of the season recovering from an injury. Playing well without him and then having to adjust once he came back. We played a very tough schedule that prepared us got us playoff ready. We are a well balanced offensive team with Natavious Bringinggood, Davantrae McKendrick, Brett Lindley, Luke Rowton, Zack Harrison all capable of having big nights. Defensively long and athletic anchored in the middle by Luke Rowton and then Brodie Eddy coming off the bench providing a spark on both ends. We have younger guys who work hard in practice and stay ready if their name is called and will be big contributors moving forward.
We were really excited to get the tournament started and begin preparing for the road ahead. We felt all the way back to the summer that we had a group that could make a run at it. We played our best basketball at the right time of the year and was fortunate enough to make enough plays against really good competition. The boys are really excited to be able to break through and change the culture and belief surrounding the entire program
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
My personal favorite memory so far was getting to celebrate a win two years ago with my Buffalo Valley group and being able to compete in that floor with them.
#8 Rejoice Christian vs #2 Hooker
Thursday at 12:00pm
Last Appearance: Rejoice Christian (First since 2019) Hooker (Second consecutive)
Rejoice Christian’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Chouteau-Mazie 83-42 in districts, Wins over Howe 71-24 and Christian Heritage 56-54 in regionals, Fell to Dale 62-38 but bounced back against Oktaha 86-56 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Hooker’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Watonga 72-37 in districts, Wins over Tonkawa 74-18 and Fairview 48-40 in regionals and Fairland 52-37 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament.
HOOKER head coach Todd Kerr
We are excited to be able to compete in the State Tournament again this year. We hope to get to stick around for a few days. We feel like we have played a schedule that has prepared us for the grind of playing great teams in the tournament.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
I love the Big House and what it has meant to so many small school players and communities. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to coach in there numerous times. I always take time before tip-off to soak in the nostalgia and history of basketball in the arena.
#3 Pocola vs #4 Riverside
Thursday at 1:30pm
Last Appearance: Pocola (Fourth consecutive) Riverside (First since 2016)
Pocola’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Warner 105-61, Wins over Talihina 62-48 and Ketchum 64-44 in regionals and Cashion 49-42 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Riverside’s road to the gold ball began with a win over Mangum 67-42, A win over Hobart 72-47, Fell to Frederick 48-43 in regionals but won three straight over Colbert 60-46, Vanoss 65-45 and Frederick 51-30 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament,
POCOLA head coach Derek Barlow
The Pocola Indians are extremely excited to return to the state tournament for our 4th year in a row. It is a tremendous honor & opportunity for our team. We look forward to the challenge!
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
We were fortunate enough to have a number of great memories, but the one that really stands out would be winning two great games to make it to the state tournament finals for the 1st time in Pocola HS history
RIVERSIDE head coach Norman Tippeconnie
This years team has played a challenging schedule. This schedule has prepared us for big games. Riverside has won tournaments at Hammon and Cashion this year. We are led by a group of seniors who have committed to building a program of high standards.
After losing the regional championship to Frederick our team won three games in a row at the Area Tournament to qualify for the State Tournament.
Riverside has been consistenly ranked in the top five of Class 2A all season and we are excited to compete at the State Tournament against a strong field.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
The boys did not make the State Tournament last year so my best memory was to be at the Big House supporting our girls team.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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