TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — The Sequoyah Indians' basketball season came to an end Friday night as the Indians lost a hard-fought game to the Okemah Panthers 66-60.

With the win Okemah (29-1) advanced to the state championship game to take on the winner of the other semifinal between Metro Christian and Cascia Hall.

For Sequoyah (19-10), two separate stretches of cold shooting was the difference in the game.

After a hot start by both teams left the game tied at 16 at the end of the first quarter, the Indians began to take command in the second.

Once again, sophomore guard Terran Pettit was the spark, hitting two 3-pointers in an 11-2 Sequoyah run that put the Indians up 31-22 with 2:30 left in the half.

But the Indians would not score again in the half as the Panthers pulled within four at 31-27 at the break.

Pettit finished the half with eight points while senior guard Garrett Drapeau also had eight.

The Indians' shooting woes continued in what would be a decisive third quarter. The Indians, who shot 28.5 percent for the game, scored only six points in the third quarter as Okemah turned the four point deficit into a four point lead heading into the fourth.

Okemah stretched its lead to six early in the fourth on a jumper by junior guard John Palmer. Palmer came off the bench to score five points in the second half, while Matt Tucker added eight in the second half off the bench.

But the Indians made one more run. Kialo Vann scored four straight points, including a driving layup and foul that made the score 46-45 with six minutes left in the game. Vann missed the free throw and Okemah ran off seven straight points that pushed the lead back to eight with four minutes to go.

From there it came down to free throws. Unfortunately for the Indians, Okemah had Jarett Givens.

The senior guard made seven of eight free throws in the fourth quarter to help ice the game.

Overall the Panthers made 15 of 18 free throws in the second half alone, outscoring the Indians by 11 from the line.

However the Indians refused to quit. Threes by Jarrett Travis, Cody Fourkiller and Pettit pulled Sequoyah to within three with 53 seconds left at 63-60. But Sequoyah missed a three to tie and Okemah's Chevy Cole made three of four free throws to end the game.

Givens was one of four Panthers in double figures with 11 points. Jake Clark led Okemah with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Pettit led the Indians with 13 points while Fourkiller finished with 12 points, nine of those coming in the second half, while also grabbing six rebounds. Drapeau finished with 10 points in his final game for Sequoyah.

"I can't be disappointed." Indians head coach Larry Grigg said. "We got beat by a really good team. I'm not going to take anything away from them. We didn't shoot well and it seemed like every loose ball went their way. But if you had told us at the beginning of the year that we'd end up in the state semifinals we would have taken it. It was a great year for us."