The second day of the Salina Invitational Tournament brought first-round winners to the championship bracket at Kansas Wesleyan University.
The Salina South Cougars had a shot at securing spots in both championship games but faced two distinct semi-final defeats on Friday, leaving them to battle for third place in their respective brackets.
GIRLS’ FINAL:
BUHLER 54
SOUTH 50
The first of Salina South’s two semifinals could not have started any better for the girls, against the 1-seed Buhler. Showing no intimidation, the Cougars jumped out to an 11-2 lead behind made field goals from four of the five starters. A quick timeout followed and despite the Cougars inspired start, Buhler settled into the game and managed to come away tied 25-25 at halftime.
The Cougars showed great marksmanship from behind the arc with several players making multiple 3-pointers. Junior Brylee Moss made five and junior Brooklyn Jordan with three. Junior Paityn Fritz also poured in another double digit scoring effort.
Turnovers interfered with the Cougars late game execution, allowing Buhler to escape with the win and advance to the championship game against Andover.
The Cougars face Wamego in the third-place game Saturday at 10 a.m.
BOYS’ FINAL:
ANDOVER 77
SOUTH 25
The Cougars quickly found themselves down big in the first half, committing several live-ball turnovers that a skilled Andover team converted into easy points on the other end. The mistakes seemed to come in bunches, and it wasn’t just a couple players. Unfortunately for the Cougars, turnovers became contagious and put the game out of reach early on.
Cougars senior Jace Humphrey tried to shoot them out of their early deficit, scoring 11 of their first 15 points but it was not enough.
Andover senior Josh Kim scored 23 points and put on a dazzling display of shooting, passing and dunking. While Kim scored, his teammates racked up steals and crashed the glass to complete the comfortable win.
Andover faces Great Bend in the championship Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Salina South plays Salina Central for third place in the boys bracket at 11:30 a.m.
