In a busy basketball week, Purcell’s Dragons won three out of the four games they played in a span of five days and hiked their season record to 18-7.

To begin the week, Matt Lohn’s squad defeated Pauls Valley 68-47 behind Drew Blair’s 17 points. The junior sharp-shooter nailed five treys in the contest and led all scorers.

Seniors Canaan Colburn and Jaime Resendiz were also both in double figures with 13 and 12 respectively.

“I loved our effort on the offensive end to start the game,” Lohn said. “We executed sets well, showed great patience and were committed to sharing the ball in an effort to get the best opportunity each trip.

“Our defensive approach provided good support, creating turnovers that allowed us to get run outs for easy points. This is what we have preached, defense creating offense and I think we are continuing to grow in our abilities to accomplish that.

“We still have room to improve with our man defense. They were able to make a run back at us in the second half when we went strictly man and that is not a reflection of who we have been most of the season. We will take time to get that right in practice. Otherwise, we did what we needed to do,” the coach said.

Purcell came out sizzling on the road at CCS last Thursday, bolting to a 26-11 first quarter lead. The Royals roared back with a 21-8 second quarter advantage with the Dragons lead cut to 34-32 at intermission.

The Dragons led 52-48 but were out-scored by 10 in the final frame.

Resendiz, Blair and Colburn all finished in double figures with 20, 16 and 14 respectively.

“Scoring 26 points in the first quarter I think it worked against us a little,” Lohn said.

“Our defensive effort was not where I would like to see it and sometimes offense can trick young players into thinking defense isn’t a priority.

“After they punched back in the second quarter, I liked our response out the locker room, getting back on track and winning the third by two. But we still were having defensive breakdowns and giving up too many offensive rebounds. That’s been a trend over the last few weeks, and it finally caught up to us against CCS.

“They out-toughed us, making the final run with the home crowd behind them. It was not the result we wanted, but I think it was a great learning experience. We needed a gut check like that. My hope is that we learned the correct lessons to carry forward as we look to playoffs.”

The Dragons bounced back the following night at home with a 46-34 come-from-behind victory over Chickasha.

Mr. Reliable Resendiz led the scoring with a dozen with Ryder Ward nipping at his heels with 10.

“We had another great start, going 8-0 out of the gate largely due to our defense and some run out layups,” the coach said. “We were really locked in.

“Then, they adjusted and turned our faucet off, going on a 14-0 run of their own. During this stretch we were not defending up to our standards, allowing downhill drives with no help and failing to sprint out to shooters when they passed off penetration.

“Somehow we scratched our way back to a two-point halftime deficit. Our conversation at halftime was clear and I’m proud of the way my guys responded,” Lohn continued.

“Winning the second half 24-10 was impressive and it indicated that we can defend at a high level when we are all completely bought in,” he said. “I like our chances in any match up if we take the correct approach.”

The Dragons came out firing on Saturday afternoon taking a 31-19 lead into the halftime locker room in a make-up game against Marlow.

Colburn led the offense with 17 points. Blair knocked down three from downtown and finished with 11 points.

“Our execution against their zone was much improved from a week ago and it led to quality shots that we knocked down consistently in the first half,” Lohn said. “Our half court trap on the defensive end helped build the offensive momentum as well.

“It was a nice team win and a great finish to a 4 game week. These kids have had a tremendous season, but we are not finished. Lindsay is a very good team, worthy of their top 10 ranking in Class 3A,” he said. “They have our full attention.”

Coach Toney Cooper’s Dragons went 2-2 over the rugged five days of play defeating Pauls Valley and CCS.

Led by Halle Buchanan’s 12 points, the Dragons topped the Panthers, 44-41 with a stellar fourth quarter.

Purcell out-scored Pauls Valley erasing a six point deficit to begin the final frame.

The Dragons had three players in double figures in their 56-41 victory on the road at CCS.

Seniors Lili Del Toro and Kaylin Vazquez paved the way with 13 and 12 points respectively, followed by freshman Ali Brady with 11 points.

“We came into this game on a high after beating a solid Pauls Valley team,” Cooper noted.

“Our kids competed at a high level turning in our most complete game this season,” Cooper said praising his team.

Fatigue was a factor in Purcell’s 38-27 loss to the Outlaws.

“Amazing that a week ago we went to Marlow and caught them on a week where they had played four games,” the coach said.

“Fast forward a week later here we are and it’s our turn. Fatigue was a concern going in but our kids kept it a competitive game throughout.

“Halle Buchanan played an incredible game and did it all scoring, rebounding and defending,” Cooper said.

Buchanan led the team with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

“Unfortunately, no one else could get shots to drop,” the coach said. “We got good looks just could not convert.”

Going into Tuesday’s Senior Night, the girls were 10-14 on the season.