From Staff Reports
HOULKA – Mississippi State signee and Okolona standout David Gardner sank the deciding basket of the Chieftans' 72-70 win over West Oktibbeha Saturday in the championship game of the Class A, Region 4 Tournament at Houlka.
Gardner finished with a game-high 31 points for Okolona, who improved to 21-8.
Gardner's layup in the game's final moments broke a 70-70 tie. West Oktibbeha missed a pair of shots at the rim in the waning seconds.
The Timberwolves, who fell to 20-8, were led in scoring by Kendrin Yates' 28 points.
Aaron Brownlee tallied 18 points and Dantaveous Crawford added 14 for West Oktibbeha.
With the loss, West Oktibbeha advances into the Class A playoffs as the No. 2 seed from Region 4.
The Timberwolves will host a postseason game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Maben.
Also on Saturday, the West Oktibbeha girls fell to Okolona.
That result also relegates the Lady Timberwolves to the No. 2 spot in Region 4.
The Lady Timberwolves will open up their postseason at home with a 7 p.m. game on Monday.