Cyclones 3-peat winners at McLouth
Mid-season tournament round-up
The Bishop Ward Cyclones captured the McLouth Invitational Tournament trophy for the third consecutive year, defeating the Horton Chargers 53-46 Saturday evening.
The match-up was a repeat of last year's tournament final that the Cylones won 58-36.
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The teams were evenly matched through most of the first quarter, but Ward got two late breakaways from Tyler Holmes to hold a 13-9 lead at the buzzer.
Holmes continued his run as the second quarter opened, turning steals into fast-break offense and forcing a timeout from Chargers' bench just a minute in.
Two straight Horton baskets steadied the team, but Ward later got six straight fast-break points from Holmes and Quintayvion Pike to take a nine point advantage.
Horton went on a five-point run, but Pike closed the first half with a three-pointer from the right corner for a 32-25 Ward lead.
The game tightened up in the third quarter as the intensity rose. Horton's powerful Donte Masqua was hard to stop in the paint on either end and popped in two late baskets to bring the Chargers within four going into the fourth quarter.
Another Pike three-pointer opened the fourth quarter, and Holmes had two more fast break scores to keep the gap to the Chargers.
When Horton started to foul late in the game, the Cyclones were spotty at the free throw line, but kept their advantage and closed out the game with strong defense and canny clock management.
Holmes scored 21 points to lead all scorers, and Pike added 12. Jailen Jefferson and Gabriel De La Torre both dropped in nine.
Holmes and Noah Jensen were named to the all-tournament team.
The Lady Cyclones dropped their three games at the tournament, finishing with a 47-20 loss to Pleasant Ridge on Saturday morning.
Maur Hill-Mount Academy won the McLouth girls' tournament. Led by sophomore Capri Koechner, the Lady Ravens turned a four-point lead into a 25-point lead in just a few minutes of the third quarter on their way to a 60-40 victory.
In other tournament results around the state, Piper boys placed second at the Dodge City Tournament of Champions, taking on the top two teams in the Class 6A West sub-state on consecutive nights.
The Pirates beat previously undefeated Wichita Heights (#2 in the west) 56-54 with a buzzer-beating fast-break stick-back from Maddix Davis.
On Saturday, Piper took the 6A West's #1 team Derby to double overtime before falling 81-75 to the Panthers.
Piper girls placed third in the Tonganoxie Invitational, walloping Holton 63-31 in the consolation game. The better challenge was Friday's semi-final against St. James Academy, won by the Lady Thunder 66-59. Both teams are expected to be around late in the 5A state tournament.
Grace McCallop was named to the all-tournament team, and Faith McCallop received the Most Inspirational Player award.
Bonner Springs boys placed third in the Tonganoxie Invitational, defeating the host Chieftains 76-49 in the consolation game. Bonner Springs trounced Midland Adventist in the opener, but narrowly lost to Eudora, 53-51, in the semi-final.
Kelan Gruver and Jason Jones were elected to the all-tournament team.
Schlagle boys had a couple of hard-luck losses at Tonganoxie, falling by a single point to the Chieftains in Thursday's opener, and by only four to Wichita North in the semi-final.
Due to religious observance, Midland Adventist bowed out of Saturday's placement round, handing the Stallions seventh place in the bracket. Ronnie Bush made the all-tournament team.
Bonner Springs girls placed seventh in the Tonganoxie Invitational, winning their placement match against Blue Valley West 40-25. Nya Anderson was selected for the all-tournament team.
Sumner and Harmon boys were in the Spring Hill Invitational, finally meeting in the seventh place game, won by the Sabres 72-34.
The Wyandotte Bulldogs dropped three games at the Shawnee Mission West Viking Classic, finishing with a 67-38 loss to Louisburg in the final round.
Photos from Bishop Ward-Horton
