There was a packed crowd for the Wildcats supporting the boys during every play of the game in their Lake Country Conference Championship T-Shirts. The color from the stands reminded the boys who they are representing and all they had to do to be able to step on the Henryetta court on March 2. Both teams battled it out to make the first score going back and forth for four minutes.
The points were made by River Shaw. Catoosa retaliated with a layup tying the score and later scored another two. With 1:32 left in the first quarter, Wilkerson passed the ball to Stephen Sisco, who scored a three into the bucket.
Catoosa scored another three points; then Wilkerson scored the next couple shots. Brylan James tied the game with a three-pointer from the left wing, making the score 12-12.
Wilkerson shot a three to shorten the four-point lead Catoosa had on them. Soon after, Greg Padgett took control of the ball, spun and turned to give the Wildcats the lead for the first time since the beginning of the game.
RJ Morris scored to tie the game at 19 and Sisco cut the tie with a point from the mark.
The Wildcats entered the third quarter with a one-point lead. Defending their lead, Wilkerson puts the ball back into the basket for Shaw. Morris scored a 3-point shot. The Catoosa boys tied the score at 27, but Wilkerson didn’t waste any time in giving the ‘Cats back their two-point advantage. JD Runyan did a left-handed layup to get the Madill boys a four-point lead; 31 to 27. Two minutes left to the game and the boys on the court worked with another tie.
The Wildcats managed to keep the opposing team’s score down this low is significant as the Catoosa boys were ranked 12 in the state, and they average 73 points per game.
This is a tough game to play, but these boys played their hearts out for Madill. The team’s great defense showed throughout the entirety of this showdown. Catoosa snuck up a lead of seven points with five minutes left to the game. Wilkerson battled into the paint missing his shot and scoring both free throws. Sisco ran down the court sending the Madill crowd into a rumble. He scored a few points and didn’t wait long to speed down to the basket for seconds. Madill was only down by one point in this epic turn of events.
Morris pedon the line for a chance to tie the score and missed. Catoosa scored three making their score 42. Wilkerson scored from the right seconds after, making them trail by a mere two points. Catoosa missed the first of their free throws. The score was 40 to 43. Bryan James tied the game with a big three point shot with 1:52 left to play. Sisco came up to the line with all the pressure and missed keeping the tensions high.The last minute of the game went back and forth.
WIth 16 seconds on the clock, the ‘Cats did not give up. They had to let it all out on the court, especially the seniors. Wilkerson sent the ball to Morris masterfully through tough defenders. The Wildcat fans stood up, roaring for Morris in the last couple of seconds left in the game.
The senior scored a clean teardrop into the bucket sending the Catoosa crowd to cry. Hands up in the air and screams were heard from the crowd. The score was 45 to 43 and there was 1.6 seconds left on the clock. A time out was called by the Catoosa coach.
A collision occured at the center circle. There was no time in the game, but the opposing team was given an opportunity to tie the score. The first free throw went in shortening the Madill lead by one point while the second one missed allowing the golden crowd to finish cheering for their team. The final score was 45 to 44 in favor of the Madill allowing them to move forward to play Tuttle 18 hours later back in Henryetta once again.
End of an Epic Season for the ‘Cats
The Madill Wildcats have had impressive feats and overcome many odds in the 2022-2023 basketball season. They played like champions and proved they deserved to call themselves that time and time again. The district champions opened the Madill Event Center era with a 23-5 year, took over Lake Country Conference, and picked up the Regional Consolation prize in a table-turning game against Broken Bow.
The team battled hard until seniors Morris, Sisco, Shaw, Andrew Ray, and Yovanny Robles passed the baton off to their younger teammates to take their place next year. Their rematch against Tuttle was honorably fought with the ‘Cats falling to the opposing team 49-26 only 18 hours after defeating the Catoosa.
Morris opened the score for Madill with a three-point shot from the right wing in the first quarter of the game against Tuttle. Shaw scored two points for the ‘Cats at the top of the second quarter, shortening the trail to Tuttle to only four points.
Wilkerson scored another couple points up and under the basket. Sisco shot for three and scored. Wilkerson tied the score with the Tuttle Tigers at 13 and later scored another three with the old fashioned three-point play. Greg Padgett hustled hard for the team.They trailed by only four points at halftime with the score of 20 to 16.
Morris shot a three pointer. The Tigers started a streak of points until James scored three points and Morris went to the line making the score 31 to 24. Wilkerson scored a couple more points.
Caden McHatton and John Woody stepped onto the court to get some practice against the tough team as the Wildcat fans stood up to show their support for the seniors. The roaringcrowdshowedthatthey support their team rain or shine ending this epic season with a score of 49 to 26.