Spiro outguns Panama in regular-season finale
Spiro opened its season at home against Panama on Dec. 1 with close games, a 37-28 win for Panama’s girls and a 38-35 win for Spiro’s boys, but Monday night’s matchup between the two nearby foes to end the regular season was different with Panama missing its best players on both teams.
With Panama’s Brex Caldwell sitting out due to a right arm injury, Spiro outshot Panama on its way to a 64-49 road win, dealing the Razorbacks their seventh straight loss.
“We hit some shots,” Spiro head coach Dustin Gist said. “We didn’t start intense, but from the second quarter on, we played more intense, got loose and played hard.”
Spiro hit a trio of treys on its way to a 15-12 lead *by the end of the first quarter.
Brycen Graham had a three-point play for a 2416 Spiro lead, but was called for a technical foul as he turned around and flexed after making the layup, allowing Panama’s Gavin Gotes to approach the charity stripe, where he made one of two for a 24-17 score.
Spiro ended the half on a 10-3 run for a 34-22 lead.
A Tommy Worton block turned into a Zander Riggs transition layup for a 3824 lead with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
Gabe Perez stole an inbounds pass and ran for a fast-break layup for a 4326 Spiro lead with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs (7-16) ended the quarter ahead 50-32.
Spiro’s Zander Riggs scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the third quarter while Worton had 13 points, Graham had nine, Bryson Spears had eight, Davis Carter had six and Perez and Coy Clark both had five.
Gotes led Panama (914) with 25 points, followed by Malachi Releford with nine, Tyler Simkins with seven and Brendin Nixon with six.
Spiro girls beat Panama 40-19, never looking back after a big first-half run.
“We’re playing well at the right time,” Spiro head coach Dennis Wright said. “We’ve been working on being more fundamentally sound and executing.”
Kambrie Rogers hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to start a 17-0 run, spanning most of the first quarter and almost half of the second quarter, for a 21-5 lead. That included a play at the end of the first quarter in which Brynleigh Graham pivoted away from the basket, passed to an open Reagan Gist, who drained the three at the buzzer.
Spiro (10-13) led 24-9 at the end of the first half.
Karlie Anderson hit a 16-footer at the third quarter buzzer to get Panama within 31-17.
Graham led Spiro with eight points while Kaylee Martin scored seven, Rogers and Madilyn Lovell both had six, Gist had five and Kiana Craig had four.
Lexi Bell and Sky Bluford both had five while Anderson had four for Panama.
Panama (13-11), which has been without senior guards Hailey Blair and Krista Dotson since December, has lost six of its last nine games.
“I don’t know what it is. I just hope we forget this game and move on to the next one,” Panama head coach Victor Pierce said.
Panama plays its district playoffs at home on Friday against Haworth. Spiro’s district playoff is at home against Heavener on Saturday.
Each playoff will have girls games at 6 p.m. and boys at 7:30 p.m.