The No. 9 Eufaula Ironheads (15-3) capped off a thrilling comeback to capture the Checotah Crossroads Classic Championship with a 60-53 victory over the No. 18 Muldrow Bulldogs on Saturday. It was the second tournament win for Eufaula under head coach Grant Callison.
It was a tale of two halves, as Muldrow controlled much of the first three quarters with strong defensive pressure and hot shooting by Teaguen Collins, Parker Sevenstar (6’7”) and DJ Massey. The Bulldogs led 43-30 heading into the final period after capitalizing on several Ironhead turnovers, including a key sequence that saw Ty Sparks commit a foul and R’Reon Morrow assessed a technical late in the third.
But the Ironheads refused to fold. Morrow ignited the rally with a threepointer to open the fourth, cutting the deficit to 43-33. Keaton Parrish, Doltyn Lane and Brayden O’Brien and Jentry James soon joined the surge, combining for multiple steals and baskets that shifted the momentum entirely.
James was unstoppable down the stretch, drilling back-to-back three-pointers to bring Eufaula within striking distance, 47-43, before hitting clutch free throws to tie the game at 48-48 with just under three minutes remaining.
After trailing by as many as 13, the Ironheads took their first lead of the second half when James buried another three-pointer to make it 52-50. From there, Eufaula never looked back. Parrish’s hustle on the glass and Morrow, Sparks James, Doltyn Lane and Logan Plant’s timely defense sealed the deal, as the Ironheads outscored Muldrow 30-10 in the final period.
James led the way with a stellar performance, finishing with 22 points, including several key baskets in crunch time. Morrow added 24 points, while Parrish contributed eight points and nine rebounds in the victory.
Sevenstar paced Muldrow with 12 points, dominating in the paint for much of the night before the Ironheads clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter. Collins added 12 points for the Bulldogs and Massey had 19 points.
As the final horn sounded, the Eufaula crowd erupted in celebration, marking a statement win for a resilient Ironheads squad that refused to quit.
“We knew playing four games in four days would be tough. It was a great challenge and we met the challenge and got the championship. Muldrow is an excellent team and we knew it would be tough to beat them. Winning that game really puts us in the right mindset as we begin the playoffs in a couple of weeks. It was a total team effort and a total team win,” Eufaula forward Keaton Parish said.
“We were put in a tough situation all week. It wasn’t just us. Everybody in this tournament and the other tournaments around the state was affected by the weather. But we played our biggest rivals twice and a very talented Muldrow team. Our kids are resilient and they will fight to the very end. We had so many guys do a ton of big things this week. I’m proud of our guys. Muldrow is a very very good team and I’m proud of how we never gave up,” Eufaula head coach Grant Callison said.
