Preston and Morris met on the basketball court for the first time in 2022-2023 Tuesday evening at the Jim Waller Event Center in Preston.

The host Preston cage squads walked off their home floor with a pair of victories on Tuesday to improve to 7-2 on the season. The losses put the Morris teams at 5-2 and 4-3, respectively.

The host Lady Pirates (ranked 5th in 2A) began the county hardwood battle with a hard-fought 60-59 victory over the 3A No. 10 Lady Eagles, using an 8-7 advantage in the final half of regulation to come away with the narrow decision. The Pirates (ranked 2nd in 2A) completed the home sweep by taking the nightcap by a 56-46 margin.

Both county programs were in tournament action this weekend with Preston competing at the Mike Kerr Classic in Morrison, while Morris battled for the team championships at the Warner Eagle Cherokee Classic at Warner High School.

In Tuesday’s girls county showdown, the Lady Pirates doubled up on their county foes in the opening period, 18-9, then both cage squads tallied 12 points in the second stanza to send the contest to halftime with the Preston ladies still leading by nine, 30-21.

The Lady Eagles outscored their county rivals 20-11 in the third quarter to deadlock the score at 41-41 with eight minutes remaining in regulation.

Late in the final period, Morris held a narrow 53-52 advantage, then Preston’s Jadyn Roberts knocked down a go-ahead 3-point basket to give the host Lady Pirates a 55-53 lead. Roberts’ long-range shot sparked an 8-0 run by Preston and led 60-56 with 8.8 seconds remaining.

The Lady Eagles got a 3-point basket by Maddie Moore at the buzzer to make the final outcome, 60-59, in favor of the host Preston Lady Pirates.

Adrianne Wilson led a trio of double- digit scorers for the Lady Pirates with 16 points. The other Preston players to reach double figures on Tuesday were Shaunassi Jordan with 14 and Roberts with 12.

Other Preston scorers in the county meeting were Savannah King with eight, Emilie Stidman and Josie Cope four each, and Ashlynn Foster two.

Moore finished with a game-high 19 points to lead the Lady Eagles. Kaleah Barnett and Emma Duclos joined Moore in double figures for Morris with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Marti Yaerger just misse double-digit scoring for the Lady Eagles in the county battle with nine. Reagan Bowling and Skylar Phillips rounded out the Morris scoring on Tuesday with four and two points, respectively.

In Tuesday’s boys county battle in Preston, both teams put up 15 points in the first eight minutes of action, then the host Pirates edged their county foes 14-13 in the second period for a narrow 29-28 halftime advantage.

The third quarter proved to be the difference in the outcome of the county meeting, as Preston came out of the stanza with an 18-9 margin to extend its lead to 10 points, 47-37, heading into the final frame.

In the fourth period, both teams tallied nine points to award the Preston gentlemen the 56-46 decision.

Keyton Smith was the top scorer for the host Pirates, finishing with a team-best 17 points. Malachi Ligons and Jervais Goree also reached double figures for Preston in the county battle with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Other Pirate scorers against Morris on Tuesday were Kareffren Bagby with seven, Kaden Dean six, and Tucker Webb five.

Cody Smith led the way offensively for the Eagles on Tuesday with a game-high 23 points. Jerrick Raines joined Smith in double-digit scoring with 12.

The remaining Morris scorers in the county showdown were Tucker Kelsey with six, Koen Burgess three, and Race Casey two.

--- Girls Game

Preston 60, Morris 59

Morris: 9 - 12 - 20 - 18 (59) Preston: 18 - 12 - 11 - 19 (60) Morris Scoring: Maddie Moore 19, Kaleah Barnett 13, Emma Duclos 12, Marti Yaerger 9, Reagan Bowling 4, Skylar Phillips 2.

Preston Scoring: Adrianne Wilson 16, Shaunassi Jordan 14, Jadyn Roberts 12, Savannah King 8, Emilie Stidman 4, Josie Cope 4, Ashlynn Foster 2.

--- Boys Game

Preston 56, Morris 46

Morris: 15 - 13 - 9 - 9 (46) Preston: 15 - 14 - 18 - 9 (56) Morris Scoring: Cody Smith 23, Jerrick Raines 12, Tucker Kelsey 6, Koen Burgess 3, Race Casey 2.

Preston Scoring: Keyton Smith 17, Malachi Ligons 11, Jervais Goree 10, Kareffren Bagby 7, Kaden Dean 6, Tucker Webb 5.