Second half does in boys
At The Chesapeake Arena
The Lady Lions withstood a late surge by McLoud and held on for a 43-35 win Saturday at the Chesapeake Arena in OKC.
In the boys’ game, McLoud came from behind in the second half to win, 38-30.
The Lady Lions led early in their game, but McLoud came back to tie the game by the end of the third quarter.
Chandler hit 10 foul shots in the fourth quarter, to regain the lead and claim the win.
“I think we executed well in the fourth quarter,” said coach Rodney Treat. “In the third quarter, it was one of those deals where it was the first game back from the break and you could tell we didn’t have our legs under us.
“We missed some easy shots. McLoud made a run, then halfway through the fourth we got it back together.
“We hit our free throws down the end and took care of the ball.”
The Lady Lions double-teamed Cheyenne Banks, McLoud’s 6-2 post player, and held her to nine points.
“Our goal was to put one girl in front of her and one girl behind her and keep it that way, because if she catches it down low, she’s either going to score or get fouled,” Treat said.
The Chandler-McLoud games were part of the Hardwood series sponsored by the Thunder and were the first in three sets of matchups on the day.
“This is our fourth or fifth year in a row to do it,” Treat said. “We try to use it as an experience, because our gym is tiny compared to this. The kids seems to like it. We get to go to a Thunder game with it, so it gives our kids a chance to do that and play in the Chesapeake Arena. “ In the boys’ game, Chandler took a 25-15 lead, but went cold in the second half, getting only two buckets in each period and scoring only nine points.
McLoud, meanwhile, methodically overcame the Lions, largely due to a 16-4 advantage in the third quarter.
Chandler hosted 66 Conference rival Meeker on Tuesday night, then goes to the Ripley Tournament later in the week.
The teams return home to host Prague on Jan. 14th.
Scoring Girls Chandler scoring - Leah Brannon 15, Hannah Vandenbrand 12, Morgan Fowble 8, Kelsey Williams 3, Jaelynn Robertson 2, Jaedyn Wayland 2.
Boys Chandler scoring - Caedon Parris 7, Dylan Mahan 6, Dalton Alsip 5, Kaden Jones 4, Chase Campbell 4, Kyler Henley 2, Darin Greenfield 2.