Dover double dipping at area

It’s been a decade since the Dover boys basketball team has reached the area tournament.

The drought is officially over. The Longhorns erased a late deficit Saturday afternoon to grab a 35-33 victory over Paden in a Class B regional consolation championship at Okmulgee.

The victory propelled the Longhorns into the third week of the postseason for the first time since 2014.

This marks the first time since 2006 that both Dover boys and girls teams are in the area tournament at the same time.

The ability to advance was in doubt with just over 1:00 to play when Marquade Tharps deflected a pass and then turned it into a conventional three-point play on the other end.

That turned a 30-28 deficit for the Pirates into a one-point advantage with 1:04 to go.

But it didn’t take Dover long to strike back - and for good.

After a timeout, the Longhorns got it into the hands of Lucas Conrady.

The junior guard beat most of the Paden defense down the floor and was eventually fouled.

He made both free throws with 1:00 to play, giving Dover a 32-31 lead it wouldn’t lose.

Conrady grabbed a miss on the other end and then made two more foul shots with 37 seconds left.

Paden’s Treyveon Toles missed a would-be game-tying shot with 10 seconds to play, setting up two more foul shots for Conrady.

He made one of them with 7 seconds left, giving Dover the two-possession lead.

The Pirates were able to make a meaningless shot at the buzzer to get it to the final margin.

Dover trailed for large chunks of the second half, including 28-23 in the final minute of the third quarter.

Nathan Cohee scored with 20 seconds left in the quarter, starting a 7-0 Dover run.

Brennan Fletcher scored down low with 2:03 to play on a feed from Conrady. His bucket put the Longhorns on top 30-28, a lead that lasted until 1:04 remained.

Both teams struggled offensively much of the night.

Dover had just four firsthalf field goals and trailed 19-16 at the break.

The Longhorns were getting a fair share of their points at the foul line.

Casen Buck was 5 of 6 in the first half and Conrady 3 of 4.

Buck scored five points in the third, including the team’s only 3-pointer of the night, as Dover stayed within three.

He led the team with 11 points.

Conrady scored 10, seven of them coming in the fourth quarter.

The win was Dover’s 20th of the season.

The Longhorns got their 19th win Friday by eliminating Oaks Mission, 58-41.

The Longhorns were able to get going offensively much earlier, outscoring Oaks 27-15 in the first half.

The lead was cut to seven points entering the fourth, but Conrady again delivered late.

He scored 10 of his gamehigh 21 points in the final frame, including going 6 of 8 from the foul line.

Buck added 17 points while Cohee chipped in 10.

Dover (20-9) has now won nine of its last 10 games with the lone loss being to No. 1 Calumet last Thursday.

The Longhorns play No. 9 Braggs (23-4) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the area consolation quarterfinal at Henryetta.

Regional title brings Dover one step closer to state

Another opponent found itself staring up at a large deficit early.

And, now, Dover is just one win shy of achieving something for the first time in 17 years.

The Lady Longhorns jumped on McCurtain with an early barrage Saturday night and rode that to a 5622 victory in a Class B regional championship game in Okmulgee.

Dover had enough points to win by the end of the first quarter as it got out to a 23-2 advantage.

Karlee Harviston had nine points in the early onslaught and then Dover extended its lead to 34-11 by halftime.

Any thoughts of a comeback were dashed in the third as Dover went on a 15-1 run spurred by seven more points from Harviston.

She led all scorers - and 18th-ranked McCurtain with 24 points.

Katelyn Harviston scored all 10 of her points in the first half.

Rylee Buck added seven points and Joi Caldwell six.

Ranked No. 1 all season, Dover is now playing for an area championship against No. 7 Pittsburg.

The two will tipoff at 6 p.m. Friday at Henryetta with the winner punching its ticket to the Class B state tournament.

Dover hasn’t been there since 2007 when it concluded a run of eight consecutive trips to state and seven straight appearances in the state championship game.

A loss on Friday doesn’t dash those hopes. The loser will play again at 6 p.m. Saturday for the area consolation crown and one of the eight state tournament slots.

Dover goes into area with a 26-2 record. Pittsburg is 25-4.