The MCL basketball teams had a nice tournament week with five titles and a handful more second and third-place finishes. Osborne and Trego hosted their own tournaments.
Osborne
The Bulldog basketball teams hosted the Osborne Preseason Tournament with good results. The Osborne girls remain unbeaten after a 3-0 showing at the tourney. The boys came up just short of a title.
The girls had their best test early in a 45-39 win against Thunder Ridge. They followed that with a 56-23 thrashing of Lakeside, and a 43-28 win against St. John’s to claim the title. In Saturday’s win, the girls actually built a 39-17 lead before St. John’s scored 11 points in the final quarter. Junior Jessica Princ knocked down both three-point tries and scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Taylor Noel also hit a pair of threes to finish with nine points, and Caitlin Miller scored six points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The Bulldog boys downed Thunder Ridge 65-60 and Lakeside 50-46 to reach the finals where they fell to St. John’s 47-41. Osborne struggled early on in the title game, falling behind 34-17 after three quarters. Even a 24-point fourth quarter was not enough for the comeback. Junior Kenton Ubelaker hit 4-of-8 three-point tries to lead the team with 15 points. Sophomore Brandt Wolters added nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Trego
The Golden Eagle basketball squads hosted the Purple and Gold Classic tournament last week. The Trego girls had the better showing of their own with a third-place finish. The Lady Golden Eagles started with a 43-17 win against LaCrosse, then fell to eventual champion Smith Center 62-22 in the semifinals. The girls bounced Ness City 46-34 in the consolation game. In that final win, Bailee Fritts and Shelby Zahn each scored nine points and Shaylee Flax added seven points.
The boys fell in their opener to LaCrosse 72-52. They rebounded to defeat Western Plains 68-40, then knocked-off Hodgeman County 58-51.In Saturday’s win, the Golden Eagles trailed 41-39 after three quarters but scored 19 points in the final frame to take the victory. Senior John Griffith sunk four of his eight three-point tries to finish with 25 points. Clayton Riedel added 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Phillipsburg
The Panther boys improved to 4-0, winning the Morris-Stephens Tournament title in Russell along the way. The squad all but cruised to the championship, defeating Ellsworth 71-28, handing Central Plains its first loss at 61-53, then defeating Plainville 62-42 in the finals. The Lady Panthers salvaged a seventh-place finish with a 45-30 win against Nickerson on Saturday.
Two of the four quarters in Saturday’s championship resembled a classic MCL-battle, but the Panthers outscored Plainville 34-15 in the first and third quarters combined to pull away for the win. Senior Sean Newlan had a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tad Thompson added nine points, and Seth Derr and Tanner Crist each contributed eight points. The Lady Panthers won their first game of the year against Nickerson, outscoring the Panthers in each of the four quarters. Junior Mattison Dusin led the team with 15 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Katelyn Swanson added 14 points, and freshman Madysen Frantz had seven steals and five points.
Smith Center
The Redmen basketball squads had a successful outing at the Purple and Gold Classic in Wakeeney last week. The boys came up just short, falling to Ness City 68-60 in the championship. The girls blew out all three opponents, defeating Western Plains 74-16, handling Trego 62-22, and taking down Victoria 68-45 for the title.
The Lady Redmen had already beat Victoria 54-50 in game one of the season. Saturday was more of the same as Smith Center jumped out to a 20-10 lead after one quarter and a 36-20 lead by halftime. Sydney Benoit led the team with 16 points, followed by 14 points from Alexis Ryan, 11 points from Briana Dietz, and 10 points from Colbie Decker. The boys trailed Ness City 16-15 after one quarter but managed just seven points in the third quarter to fall behind 52-36, and lost 68-60. Taylor Zabel paced the team with 16 points. Zach Linn added 15 points, and Payton Buckmaster finished with 13 points.
Stockton
Both Tiger basketball teams posted perfect records at the Brewster tournament last week. The boys rolled past Weskan 58-52 for the title, and the Lady Tigers beat Logan 31-29 for the title.
The unbeaten Tiger boys started off with a big 84-7 win against Heartland Christian. They defeated St. Francis 79-53 to reach the finals. On Saturday, Weskan won the second half 30-26, but Stockton’s 32-22 first half lead proved to be enough. Sophomore Jaden Williams led the way with 16 points, followed by 15 points from sophomore Justin Wiltfong, and 13 points from senior Koby Beougher. The Lady Tigers trailed Logan 25-18 with a quarter to play but won the final frame 13-4 to take the tournament title. Junior Janassa Swaney scored 11 points in the win, and senior Sierra Brown finished with eight points.
Plainville
The Cardinal basketball teams were among the fields at the Morris-Stephens tournament in Russell last week. Both squads reached the finals but could not claim a championship. The boys fell to MCL-foe Phillipsburg 62-42, while the girls lost to Central Plains 55-32.
The boys reached the finals by downing Nickerson 42-38 and Lincoln 72-50. The girls defeated Nickerson 25-19, and took down Russell 47-40. The Lady Cards trailed 21-20 at the half of the Russell win, but outscored the Broncos 27-19 in the final two quarters to reach the finals. Senior Courtney Copeland hit 3-of-4 three-point tries to lead the team with 14 points. Senior Hannah Friend added 13 points and seven assists. Freshman Kim Junkmeier led the team with 12 boards to go along with four points. The boys stayed close to Phillipsburg for half of the game but lost the first and third quarters by a combined 34-15. Nolan Weiser hit both three-point attempts en route to an 18-point night, also leading the Cardinals with 10 rebounds. Hadley Gillium added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Ellis
The Railroader basketball squads were in action at the Castle Rock Classic in Quinter last week. Both teams reached the championship game only to settle for second place. The girls fell to No. 2 Hoxie (1A, Div. I) 67-41. The boys fell to Dighton 55-53.
The girls won the third quarter against Hoxie but fell behind 43-20 in the second and fourth quarters combined. Junior Kaleigh Soneson led the team with 15 points, and freshman Alexcia Deutscher added 14 points. The boys led Dighton 32-25 at the half but managed only eight points in the third quarter, falling behind 41-40. Senior Luke Lohrmeyer scored 20 points in the loss, followed by 10 points from Tayler Walters.
Norton
The Bluejay basketball teams were in action at Goodland’s Topside Tipoff tournament last week. The Lady Jays got back on track with a third-place finish. The boys downed Burlington 54-38 for seventh place. Both squads are now 2-2 on the year.
The girls opened with a 42-32 win against Wray, then fell to Ottawa 72-28 in the semifinals. They bounced back quickly to defeat Wallace County 35-24 on Saturday. In that win, the Lady Jay defense held Wallace County to just five points in the first half. Senior Tawni Griffey knocked down a trio of triples to finish with 13 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Bailey Ambrosier added 10 points, and Katelyn Englebert grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The boys fell to Oakley 61-49 in the opener, then gave up an early 13-5 lead in a 42-38 loss to Wray on Friday. Saturday the boys rebounded to bounce Burlington 54-38. Senior Jacob Brooks went off in that win for 25 points, including 3-of-8 shooting from the outside, and eight rebounds. Senior Andrew Ellis hit a pair of threes to add 10 points.
