Preston Upsets No. 1 Millwood 50-35

Originally Published: Mar 11, 2011 2:11 PM CDT

Layna Dewell
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY— The Preston Pirates blew by the top ranked, defending state champion Millwood Falcons 50-35 in the Class 2A state semifinals.

In the third game of the day inside The Big House the No. 6 Pirates came out with a bit of a chip on their shoulders and used that to their advantage throughout the game.

Millwood won the tip, but turned the ball over on its fist possession which setup Preston’s first field goal by Bryan Mayfield with just 14 seconds off the clock.

The Falcons had plenty of scoring opportunities to get some rhythm going, but continually missed shot after shot and second attempt after second attempt.

Bandon Swindall used a Preston turnover to put the first points on the board for the Falcons.

At the end of the first, Preston led 13-7, but Millwood hung tight into the second and was down by five, 19-14 at the break.

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Eric Love led the Pirates with six points after the first half of play, while Swindall and Delford Robinson each had six points for the Falcons.

In the third quarter Millwood fought for the comeback as Preston struggled from the offensive end of the floor to begin the frame.

Michale Ervin hit a field goal to pull the Falcons within one point, then Josh Turner skied for a rebound and put-back to give Millwood its first lead of the game.

Just inside the six minute mark, Robinson hit a three pointer to give the Falcons a two point advantage.

Preston didn’t panic and that’s what kept them in the game.

With just under the five minutes to play, the Pirates in-bounded the ball and Chance LeBlanc went coast to coast and used a behind-the-back dribble to drive the lane for the lay-up.

On the next possession, senior Kevonte Richardson sparked the Pirates when he powered in a bucket to go up 27-25.

At the end of the third Preston had built up a 32-27 lead that would only increase in the final quarter of play.

Five different Pirates scored in the fourth to help Preston build a nine point advantage into a 15 point victory.

Robinson was the leading scorer for Millwood with 12 points and Irving added nine points including five in the fourth quarter. Coach Franklin and the Falcons end the season at the 21-8 mark.

Willie Huffman led the scoring drive for the Pirates. He totaled 12 points on the night and was seven-of-eight from the free throw line.

Love added 10 points and LeBlanc and Watkins tallied nine points a piece in the game.

Coach Dirk Walden and the Falcons improve to 25-5 and will play for the 2A state title Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the OKC State Fairgrounds.

For more on this game check out he CoachesAid.com 2A boys semifinal recap.