Beau Simmons

DURANT - Mark Long readily admits that he wasn't the first option, but a lot can be said for being in the right place at the right time. Long's 3-point basket with five seconds left in the overtime gave the Durant Lions a 53-50 win over No. 7 McAlester Tuesday. The Lions improved to 6-4 on the season.

The win followed a 49-37 loss by the Lady Lions, and was shrouded in doubt after falling behind 50-44 with a little more than a minute remaining in the contest. Both teams missed chances at the foul line, but Durant got some momentum back after the first of three McAlester turnovers in the last 40 seconds.

Darrick Mathews, who led McAlester with 25 points, had the ball roll off his leg and out of bounds. Bo White followed with a 3-point basket to cut the lead to three points. Mathews, anticipating a foul, traveled when being trapped shortly after the inbound. White, who led Durant with 21 points, soon put up another tough shot that tied the game with 28 seconds remaining. McAlester got the ball beyond half-court but lost it out of bounds with 18 seconds remaining.

The Lions pushed the tempo with the ball in White's hands, but the opposing Buffaloes surrounded White in the closing seconds.

“There was no way we wanted to go to another overtime,” said Long. “We let Bo go do what he does. If he's got a shot he takes it, if not he kicks it out. He's an unselfish player. He made a perfect pass to me.”

Early on, Durant trailed 10-7 after the first quarter, but ended the second on a 10-0 run to take a 21-14 lead into the locker room. McAlester outscored Durant 18-9 in the third quarter and held a four-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. White scored four unanswered to tie the contest at the one-minute mark, and Trevor Cooper gave McAlester a 42-40 lead with a jumper 17 seconds later.

White found Colby Gardner underneath for a game-tying basket and Gardner followed up with his fifth blocked shot on the other end to send the game into overtime. Shaun Brown started overtime with two foul shots, two minutes in before a combination three-point play and technical foul gave led McAlester to a 7-0 run.

Cooper was the only other Buff in double digits with 11 points, and Justin Klusak added eight. Will Robinson added nine points for the Lions including shooting 4-4 from the line in the fourth quarter. Gardner and Brown each added six, while Long finished with five points.

Girls

The Lady Lions fell to 5-5 on the season after being able to stop an 18-1 run that lasted from the third to fourth period Tuesday. McAlester led just 13-9 after the first period, and led 23-17 after Felicia Renegar hit a 3-pointer to end the first half.

The Lady Lions looked to be in good shape with five unanswered to start the third, but McAlester's Jaci Bingham answered with a 3-pointer, and the Lady Lions never got closer than three points the rest of the period.

Bingham finished with a game-high 20 points, as the only McAlester player in double figures.

Durant was led by Katy O'Steen, who recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Lions were led in the first half by Courtney Conditt, with six of nine points coming before the break. Conditt was 5-7 from the foul line. Regan Browne added five, and Jessica Nguyen finished with four points, all in the fourth period.

Durant travels to Broken Bow Friday. Hugo's game at Durant has been rescheduled to Friday, Jan. 19. That will also be the basketball Homecoming.