Unbeaten Caddo broke open a tight contest in the second quarter and then held off a late charge to repeat as Bryan County Tournament boys champions with a 57-48 win over Calera Saturday night at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
Rock Creek notched a 37-35 triumph over Colbert in a third place double overtime nailbiter with Tushka blowing by Achille, 65-27, in the consolation title contest.
Senior Parker Bearden, who scored double figures in both tournament games, garnered Most Valuable Player honors for the Class A second-rated Bruins, who upped their record to 15-0 on the season.
Joining Bearden on the All-Tournament team were Caddo teammates Rance Richardson and Noah Bacon, Calera’s Logan Bumgarner and Zaiden Craige along with Anthony Nichols from Rock Creek.
Caddo 57, Calera 48
Bearden and Bumgarner each tallied six points in a first period that was fairly even most of the way before Caddo pulled out to a 16-12 edge at the end.
The second stanza was a different story as Caddo caught fire during a 20-9 scoring burst, fueled by a combined 13 points from Bacon and Dallas Williams, to take control.
Calera continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter with the Bruins extending the margin to a commanding 46-29.
Bumgarner pumped in 12 in the final frame to help draw the Bulldogs back within double figures, but they couldn’t get any closer against a well-balanced Caddo assault for Coach Kolby Johnson.
Three players reached double figures for the Bruins led by Bacon, who tallied 18 points. Williams contributed 12 and Bearden notched 10. Caddo also picked up eight from Beck Willingham, six by Rance Richardson and Kale Brister’s three.
For Calera, Bumgarner canned three triples and posted a game-high 25 points. Craige tallied 13 with Lex Carlton chipping in six and two apiece for Talon Rose and Nathan Ford.
Rock Creek 37, Colbert 35
Freshman Cameron Brown’s desperation three-point heave found the basket at the buzzer to give Rock Creek the dramatic overtime win.
Colbert led 8-7 after one period and 18-13 at the half before a 12-3 flurry by the Mustangs led by Anthony Nichols put Rock Creek back in front. The Mustangs however managed only three points in the final frame to allow the Leopards to pull even at 28.
Brown spurred the Mustang offense with 12 points, just ahead of Nichols’ 11. J.W. Edelen connected on a couple of long-range bombs and finished with nine points with Kenneth Ashby adding a pair.
Kyle Peebles tossed in 15 and Alex Stogner had 11 in leading the charge for Colbert. Zade Simes checked in with six and Eric Hockett had three.
Tushka 65, Achille 27
Tushka got rolling offensively, more than doubling up the Eagles in each stanza behind a barrage of three pointers to claim the consolation crown.
Tucker Willis topped the balanced charge for Tushka with 13 points.
Parker Coons posted 10 for Achille, which also picked up six from Jaylin Patterson, five by Landon Barnhill, two each from Carson Shull and Chey Hamilton and one apiece by Ashton Barnhill and Landon Worthington.
Semifinals Caddo 67, Rock Creek 39
The Bruin offense got untracked early, sprinting to a 21-6 advantage through one period sparked by Bearden.
It was a 30-13 edge at halftime before Caddo put things back into gear with 16 more points in the third frame and 21 in the fourth.
Bearden was the only Bruin in double figures with 16 points but nine others got in the scoring column. Williams sank three treys and tallied nine, Willingham checked in with eight, Bacon had seven while Jake McKay and Corbin Stoner pitched in six each.
Nichols took scoring honors for Rock Creek with 14 points as B.J. Lyles just missed double digits with eight.
Calera 55, Colbert 39
Despite second-seeded Colbert being a bit shorthanded, it took until the fourth quarter for Calera to eventually pull away for the win.
The Bulldogs were up 12-9 after one period and 22-17 at the half before Colbert narrowed the gap to 34-32 heading into the final stanza. Calera responded with a 21-7 scoring flurry with Bumgarner cashing in many of those at the charity stripe where he went 10 for 15 for the game en route to a game-high 22 points.
Craige and Carlton each tallied 12 points as well for Calera with Peebles tossing in 11 for the Leopards. Hockett also had nine.
Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat
The Caddo Bruins basketball team poses after winning the Bryan County Tournament championship game with Calera.
