The Madill Wildcat Boys entered Thursday’s game to begin regional play versus Checotah (6-16) and the winner would advance to the Regional Championship on Saturday. Two teams of Wildcats faced off as Checotah was the host site for this matchup.
In the February 22 game, Madill was in control for most of this game, leading at the half 22-13. They began to pull away in the 3rd quarter and held Checotah to six points in that 3rd period.
Thedominationcontinued into the 4th quarter as Madill applied a strong 2-3 zone defense andkeptChecotahfrom getting many good looks at the basket in the final stanza. Checotah didn’t score in the quarter until about two and half minutes remaining in the game and finished with a total of five in the 4th.
Madill ended Checotah’s season with the 51-24 win. Ethan Wilkinson put up a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds, plus he added four blocks in the strong effort. Brylan James added 10 points of his own while distributing six assists in the victory.
The victory sent the Wildcats to the Regional Championship to face a tough Inola Longhorn squad who had a matching 22-3 record heading into Saturday’s matchup. Madill got out to an 11-8 lead after the first quarter, but never led again as Inola applied pressure and held the Wildcats in check most of the game. It was a tight match up as the game rolled on, but the Longhorns began to tack on more points and Madill struggled to match buckets with them.
Inola continued defensive pressure, while their offense nursed the clock throughout the 4th quarter and minimized opportunities for Madill. Madill hit some shots midway through the quarter to pull closer, but Inola hit some big buckets down the stretch to seal the deal.
Inola topped Madill 49-37 to take the Regional Championship. Madill finished as runner-up and automatically punched their ticket to the Area round. The Wildcats now face Stroud on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. to keep their hopes alive to continue through the playoffs and reach state.