Okmulgee and Beggs closed out their season series on the hardwood this past Friday evening at the Beggs Event Center.

Both Okmulgee County schools came away with a victory in the roundball meeting.

The host Beggs Lady Demons earned their second win over their county rivals, beginning Friday’s battle with a thrilling 44-43 win, while the Okmulgee Bulldogs swept their season meeting with the Demons in the nightcap, defeating the Beggs gentlemen by a 63-51 decision.

Okmulgee was back in action Monday with a trip to Hugo for a regular-season finale against the host Hugo Buffaloes and Lady Buffaloes, while Beggs returned to the hardwood Tuesday in its regular-season finale at North Rock Creek.

In Friday’s girls county battle in Beggs, the host Lady Demons came out of the opening frame with a slim 10-8 advantage, then outscored the Lady Bulldogs 17-12 in the second stanza for a 2720 halftime lead.

The Okmulgee squad cut the Beggs lead to four, 39-35, with a 1512 margin in the third period.

In the final frame, the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Demons 8-3 in the first seven minutes of action to go in front by one, 43-42, taking the lead with a pair of free throws by Rhonisha Smith at the 1:07 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Okmulgee squad remained in front until late in the frame with Tessa Christy scoring the go-ahead basket for the host Lady Demons with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Lady Bulldogs were unable to score in the final seconds to give Beggs the thrilling 4443 victory.

Beggs’ Bleu Hall (14) and Okmulgee’s Cora Love (12) were tops for their respective teams in the county cage battle.

Alyssa Antwine and Mylah Williams were next for the Lady Demons in the win with seven points apiece, followed by Konner Stanton with six, Payton Crook five, Destiny Clay three, and Christy two.

Mellani Blackbear also reached double figures for the Lady Bulldogs on Friday, finishing with 11 points.

Other Okmulgee scorers at Beggs were Mallory Rivas with six, Skye Sanders five, Smith and Tori James four each, and Cameryn Williamson one.

In Friday’s boys county showdown, the Demons led by a 10-6 margin after the first eight minutes of action. The Bulldogs took a 33-24 lead into the halftime break after outscoring the host Beggs squad 27-14 in the second stanza.

A 19-3 advantage for Okmulgee in the third quarter extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 46-17 with eight minutes remaining in regulation.

The Demons attempted to overcome the huge deficit in the final period, but managed only a 24-11 advantage to award the visiting Bulldogs the 6351 decision.

Allen Thierry led a trio of double- digit scorers for Okmulgee in the win, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Jaxsun Fulton and Darin Miles were the other Okmulgee players to reach double figures in the county battle with 17 and 10 points, respectively. The remaining Bulldog scorers on Friday were Keith Talton and Nolan Yates with five each, Calip Harjo four, Jeremiah Harley two, and Tre Swan one.

The Demons were led offensively by Red Martel with 12, followed by Logan Hicks with 10 and Ezrah Anderson nine. Other Beggs scorers in the county battle were Brayden King with seven, Rickey Smith six, Jaxon Remington four, Ashwynn Goudeau two, and Kenneth Clay one.

--- Girls Game

Beggs 44, Okmulgee 43

Okmulgee: 8 - 12 - 15 - 8 (43) Beggs: 10 - 17 - 12 - 5 (44) Okmulgee Scoring: Cora Love 12, Mellani Blackbear 11, Mallory Rivas 6, Skye Sanders 5, Tori James 4, Rhonisha Smith 4, Cameryn Williamson 1.

Beggs Scoring: Bleu Hall 14, Alyssa Antwine 7, Mylah Williams 7, Konner Stanton 6, Payton Crook 5, Destiny Clay 3, Tessa Christy 2.

--- Boys Game

Okmulgee 63, Beggs 51

Okmulgee: 6 - 27 - 19 - 11 (63) Beggs: 10 - 14 - 3 - 24 (51) Okmulgee Scoring: Allen Thierry 19, Jaxsun Fulton 17, Darin Miles 10, Keith Talton 5, Nolan Yates 5, Calip Harjo 4, Jeremiah Harley 2, Tre Swan 1.

Beggs Scoring: Red Martel 12, Logan Hicks 10, Ezrah Anderson 9, Rickey Smith 6, Brayden King 7, Jaxon Remington 4, Ashwynn Goudeau 2, Kenneth Clay 1.