Predicting the 2012 LCT

Each year, the Journal picks its winners of the LeFlore County Tournament, which starts Monday.

This, of course, opens us up to much ridicule, but that’s okay. We do the same thing every week during the football season and some of my picks there were so bad that none of these can touch it.
Instead of taking the easy way out and choosing the finals, we take the hard road of picking each game (at least in the winners bracket), from the first contest to the crowning of the county champions.

Not meaning to brag, but just a little, last year we picked the winner and second-place team in each division. We will start with the girls, since we are gentlemen around here. Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section at the bottom.

GIRLS

FIRST ROUND

POCOLA (#8) vs. PANAMA (#9)—One of the two best opening-round games (along with Arkoma and Wister) for the girls. Look for a close game with Pocola pulling out the win. POCOLA 41, PANAMA 38.

HEAVENER (#5) vs. LeFLORE (#12)—Heavener is the two-time defending champions. The Lady Wolves are in a rebuilding mode, but should have enough to win this one. HEAVENER 51, LeFLORE 35.

CAMERON (#13) vs. BOKOSHE (#4)—Bokoshe has defeated Cameron twice already so look for the Lady Tigers to pull off the hat trick. BOKOSHE 48, CAMERON 32.

WISTER (#6) vs. ARKOMA (#11)—The worst seeding was giving Arkoma an 11 seed. The Lady Mustangs are 9-3 with two wins over Bokoshe and a 56-53 overtime win at Wister on Jan. 5. Not really an upset, although the seedings would say so. ARKOMA 51, WISTER 49.

POTEAU (#7) vs. WHITESBORO (#10)—An intriguing matchup of the big vs. little. Poteau is looking for its first win after playing a difficult schedule while Whitesboro has posted double-digits in the win column. POTEAU 52, WHITESBORO 41.

SECOND ROUND

HOWE (#1) vs. POCOLA (#8)—Howe shows why it is the top seed as the Lady Lions look to win after finishing second the last two years. HOWE 52, POCOLA 36.

HEAVENER vs. BOKOSHE—Bokoshe is the higher seeded team, but the loss of Jamie Carberry has hurt the Lady Tigers. Should be a good game between a pair of teams which met in the semifinals last year. HEAVENER 36, BOKOSHE 33.

TALIHINA (#3) vs. ARKOMA—Arkoma is going to be a force in the LCT, but Talihina’s experience will be a little too much. TALIHINA 45, ARKOMA 36.

POTEAU vs. SPIRO (#2)—Spiro won the earlier meeting between the two teams at Poteau. The Lady Pirates had a big lead in the second quarter before Spiro rallied. SPIRO 44, POTEAU 39.

SEMIFINALS

HOWE vs. HEAVENER—The two teams which have played in the finals of the last two tournaments meet again. Howe finally gets its revenge. HOWE 52, HEAVENER 38.

TALIHINA vs. SPIRO—The two most athletic teams in the tournament. Spiro has better height and is playing at home. Talihina has won a tournament and finished second in another. TALIHINA 41, SPIRO 40.

FINALS

HOWE vs. TALIHINA—A really intriguing game. Howe faces former teammate Chelsea Baggs, who was a standout for the Lady Lions two years ago and is now playing at Talihina. HOWE 36, TALIHINA 35.

BOYS

FIRST ROUND

HOWE (#8) vs. PANAMA (#9)—Teams played a classic at the Panama Festival in late December before Howe won. Lions were a little shorthanded that night but are on a roll. HOWE 58, PANAMA 46.

CAMERON (#5) vs. ARKOMA (#12)—Cameron enters the tournament with losses to Pocola and Howe. Jackets break that streak. CAMERON 57, ARKOMA 42.

BOKOSHE (#13) vs. WISTER (#4)—Wister wins easily. WISTER 50, BOKOSHE 20.

POCOLA (#6) vs. WHITESBORO (#11)—Pocola enters the LCT on a roll. POCOLA 46, WHITESBORO 34.

LeFLORE (#7) vs. TALIHINA (#10)—Two-time defending champion Talihina has righted its ship after struggling early. Should be the best game for the boys on the opening day. LeFLORE 43, TALIHINA 38.

SECOND ROUND

SPIRO (#1) vs. HOWE—Teams played in the Panama Festival. Spiro eventually wore down Howe, which was missing several players that night. Howe could make things difficult for the top seeds. SPIRO 64, HOWE 59.

CAMERON vs. WISTER—Should be another excellent game between the two rivals. Each team has defeated the other on their home court. WISTER 73, CAMERON 71.

HEAVENER (#3) vs. POCOLA—Pocola drubbed Heavener two weeks ago at Pocola. Heavener is struggling recently with blowout losses to Poteau and Henryetta. POCOLA 55, HEAVENER 52.

LeFLORE vs. POTEAU (#2)—Poteau has dominated the only county teams it has faced this year. LeFlore stays close before the Pirates pull away. POTEAU 57, LeFlore 44.

SEMIFINALS

SPIRO vs. WISTER—Wister’s Cody Luman and Tyler Gibson have the height that Spiro is missing. But the Bulldogs’ speed and press will make the difference. SPIRO 69, WISTER 55.

POCOLA vs. POTEAU—Pocola makes up for its lack of height with a deadly three-point shooting and quickness. Poteau has the size and speed to slow down the Indians. POTEAU 61, POCOLA 49.

FINALS

SPIRO vs. POTEAU—Spiro is the top seed although Poteau won the only meeting this year between the two teams. Poteau’s defense totally frustrated Spiro in that contest, but the finals will be played at Spiro. POTEAU 61, SPIRO 59.