WOODWARD, Okla. – The Alva High School and Woodard High School boys styles of play have made for interesting matchups in the two meetings between the teams this season. The Goldbugs like to push the ball and Boomers like to move the ball around for an open long-range shot.

Unfortunately for the Bugs, the Boomers have gotten the best in both encounters. Tuesday night, Woodward battled back in the fourth quarter to take down the Bugs, 46-45.

The Bugs finish the regular season on a five-game losing streak as their record fell to 12-11. They have lost nine of their last 10 ballgames.

Alva looks to end the skid in district play on Saturday night when the Bugs take on Chisholm at Alva High School. The Bugs and Longhorns split their two meetings during the regular season.

The Bugs held on to a 37-29 lead after the fourth quarter on Tuesday, and quickly made it a 10-point game as Mitchell Meyer started the fourth with a pull up jumper at the free-throw line. The Boomers answered with five straight to make it 39-34 with six minutes to play.

Dalton Rose kept the Boomers run at bay with 4:57 remaining with a put back basket following a hard-fought offensive board, and Meyer hit another mid-range jumper to give the Bugs a nine-point advantage with four minutes to go.

With just under three minutes left in the game, Lane Scarbrough answered a Boomer three as he received a pass underneath the basket from Ethan Flynt to bring the score to 45-37 Goldbugs.

But Woodward clawed its way to tie the game at 45 with 1:35 to go. The Goldbugs had an opportunity in the final minute with an easy layup, but a traveling call was made by the official to negate the made basket.

Go give themselves one final opportunity, the Bugs decided to put the Boomers on the line with nine-seconds remaining. Trace Ham hit one of two free-throws, but the Bugs were unable to hit the final shot to give the Boomers the one-point win.

In the firth meeting between the two teams, the Bugs feel short in the final seconds, 49-47, after a comeback bid on Jan. 30.

Meyer and Flynt finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Bugs. Flynt drained three threes in the game. T.W. Beiswanger had seven points in the game, Scarbrough put in six points, Rose added four points and Jacob Faulkner and Davion Murrow each finished with two points.

Woodward opened the game with a 6-2 lead after the first three minutes, with Meyer getting the Goldbug offense going at the 6:38 point of the first. After three straight by the Boomers, Alva went on a 10-0 run, jumped started by a Flynt three from the top of the key.

Flynt added another three and a drive and layup on the left side to cap the run. Woodward added a three late in the first to cut the Goldbug lead to 15-12 after one.

There wasn't much scoring in the second quarter by either team. The Bugs netted eight points, and the Boomers scored 10 to make it a one-point game heading into halftime. Alva forced Woodward to turn the ball over seven times in the second stanza.

Late in the second, the Bugs hit back-to-back baskets on possessions started by steals by Murrow. Beiswanger hit a jumper off the glass from the right side after a brief lead by the Boomers, and Rose converted a jumper from the right block.

Alva started to stretch its lead out of the gate in the third. Flynt started the second half with a three-pointer, assisted by Beiswanger.

The Bugs eventually had a 10-0 run in the quarter, started by a steal and fast break layup by Scarbrough. After a layup by Faulkner, Meyer had two straight trips to the hole on a fast break by way of Boomer turnovers.

Eric Scott

Woodward's Max Cheap (22) avoids the good defense of Lane Scarbrough (24) as Mitchell Meyer (10) measures up the rebound potential on Tuesday night in Woodward. The Bugs took a lead into the final frame, but the Boomers came back late to take down the Bugs, 46-45.

Meyer hit a jumper along the baseline before the Boomers drained a three to stifle the Goldbug scoring push and ultimately beginning the Woodward comeback as the third began to come to a close.