2018 GIRLS: Basketball returned to the Oil Bowl for the first time since 2005. And it returned with a bang! Ticket sales exceeded expectations as nearly 1,000 fans packed the Rider Fieldhouse. In the girls game, the East All-Stars trailed by 11 paints in the third quarter before storming back for a 71-63 victory. Burkburnett’s Carolyn Taylor led the East comeback with a game-high 25 points. She was joined in double digits by Henrietta’s Maddie Bown (17pts) and Iowa Park’s Isabel Diaz (10pts). The East All-Stars went on an 8-0 run with under three minutes to go to decide the outcome. The West All-Stars were paced by Bowie’s Kamryn Cantwell who scored 18 points.
2018 Boys: The East All-Stars seemed to be in control with a 34-25 lead at halftime and an eight point lead in the fourth quarter. But Electra’s Jonathan Barrera wouldn’t allow the West All-Stars to give up. Barrera scored 15 points in the second half, and 18 overall, to lead the West to a 65-57 comeback victory. Hirschi’s Rashad Green scored 17 to aid the comeback. Burkburnett’s Jalen White lead the East with 16 points.
2019 Girls: The East outscored the West with a final score of 60 – 49 to win the 2019 Girls Basketball Game. Four players for the East reached double digits – Jae Montgomery from Olney scored 12 points as did Patience Murphy from Hirschi. Jacksboro’s Leah Plaster scored 11 second-half points, while Burkburnett’s Eternity Jackson added 10 points to the score. Patience Murphy scored half of the East’s 16 third-quarter points as Coach KraTaura Buckner’s lead was nearly 20 points, but the West didn’t give up. Alyssa Waggoner of Electra recorded a game-high 13 points and Electra teammate Alexa Daniel added 12 as those two Lady Tigers accounted for more than half of their team’s scoring. Whereas Jae Montgomery got the East off to a strong start, Leah Plaster closed it out after the West pulled within 48-43 with 3:35 left. From that moment on, Plaster scored 6 points as two of her buckets came after grabbing offensive rebounds. The Electra players nearly orchestrated a comeback with the help of Newcastle’s Arryn Eli scoring 10 points and Bellevue’s FreeDom Morris scoring 9 points. All in all, an exciting game for players and spectators.
East – Olney’s Jae Montgomery 12, Hirschi’s Patience Murphy 12, Jacksboro’s Leah Plaster 11, Burkburnett’s Eternity Jackson 10, Jacksboro’s Jordan Nichols 5, Holliday’s Ambri Harrigal 4, Iowa Park’s Kristina Diaz 2, Iowa Park’s Kaegan Shuck 2, Notre Dame’s Ellen Parkey 2.
West – Electra’s Alyssa Waggoner 13, Electra’s Alexa Daniel 12, Newcastle’s Arryn Eli 10, Bellevue’s FreeDom Morris 9, Windthorst’s Claire Hemmi 2, Quanah’s Jordan Garvin 2, Newcastle’s Nicole Martinez 1.
2019 Boys: The 2019 Boys Basketball Game was a nail-biter until the very last seconds when the West won by the score of 57-56. From the beginning, the West seemed to have an advantage with Rider players Ty Caswell and Ben Moffat playing in their home gym and being coached by Rider’s Cliff McGuire. However, the East was leading at halftime 31-23 after Bowie’s Justin Franklin hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter. Franklin led his team with 14 points followed by Burkburnett’s KenDarious Horton scoring 13 points. But the West responded with a 19-point third quarter, almost all of which came from Graford’s Preston Tabor and Rider’s Ty Caswell and Ben Moffat. The fourth quarter was tight as Vernon’s Tyler Reeves drilled a pair of 3-pointers for the West. But Old High’s Austin Dishman and Burkburnett’s KenDarious Horton answered from long range for the East to stay within striking distance. Daniel Mosley of Bowie overpowered Rider’s Moffat for a tough basket in the paint with 31 seconds left to pull the East within 57-56. Rider’s Ty Caswell missed a free throw with 11 seconds left, giving the East one more shot. That went to Horton, whose deep 3-pointer contested by Holliday’s Chase Borchardt missed in the final seconds. A nail-biter till the very end.
East – Bowie’s Justin Franklin 14, Burkburnett’s KenDarious Horton 13, Gold-Burg’s Tanner Parrish 6, Bowie’s Daniel Mosley 5, Hirschi’s Qua Easter 4, Graham’s Cameron Mason 4, WFHS’s Austin Dishman 3, Henrietta’s Mason Marchman 3, WFHS’s Kobe Graham 2, Muenster’s Kane Tamplin 2.
West – Graford’s Preston Tabor 17, Rider’s Ben Moffat 11, Rider’s Ty Caswell 7, Vernon’s Tyler Reeves 6, Holliday’s Chase Borchardt 5, Olney’s Jalen Terry 5, Archer City’s Jacob Wilhelm 4, Benjamin’s J. C. Espinal 2.