Adam Howe
Sports Editor
In it's 90th year, the Warsaw Boys Invitational Basketball Tournament crowned the Lincoln Cardinals as it's champions in a 34-32 come-from-behind win over Cole Camp on Saturday night.
The Bluebirds held a slim lead late into the second half but Lincoln used clutch free throws down the stretch to take the lead and hold on for the win.
The championship was the Cardinals first in the event since 2016.
On Friday night, the Skyline Lady Tigers claimed the first place trophy with a 59-40 win over the Clinton Lady Cardinals.
Things were tight early on, however, the Hickory County girls pulled away in the second half and cruised to the double-digit win.
Skyline picked up their 15th championship in 18 consecutive appearances in the title game.
The tournament tipped with girls action on Monday night when (1) Skyline defeated (8) Warsaw, 85-37. (5) Cole Camp pulled the upset over (4) Butler, 43-39 and (2) Clinton dominated (7) Lincoln, 64-6. (6) Knob Noster was also victorious over (3) Weaubleau, 46-44.
On Tuesday night, the boys bracket got underway and (1) Lincoln handled (8) Warsaw, 62-29. (5) Clinton then upened (4) Butler, 63-53 and (3) Weaubleau defeated (6) Skyline, 64-31. In the nightcap, (2) Cole Camp beat (7) Knob Noster, 50-44.
In the second round for the girls on Wednesday night, Weaubleau eliminated Lincoln by doubling them up, 46-23. Knob Noster was downed by Clinton, 48-29 and Skyline advanced with a 70-20 win over Cole Camp. Butler was sent home after a 52-46 loss to Warsaw.
On the boy's side, Knob Noster eliminated Skyline by beating them, 64-38 on Thursday night. Cole Camp advanced with a 53-47 win over Weaubleau and Lincoln moved on with a 58-49 win over Clinton. Butler eliminated Warsaw by a score of 65-47.
In girl's trophy games on Friday night, Weaubleau used a strong second half to come back to beat Warsaw, 47-40 in the consolation final. It took overtime, but Knob Noster secured a third place finish, 41-39 over Cole Camp and Skyline rolled past Clinton, 59-40 for the tourney win.
On championship night for the boys, Butler defeated Knob Noster, 58-35 in the consolation final. Clinton played tough defense late and held on to beat Weaubleau, 56-49 for the third place trophy and Lincoln used a strong second half to steal the tournament win from Cole Camp, 34-32.
Skyline's Ashlen Garrett was selected as the Tournament MVP of the girl's bracket and Lincoln's Kyle Eckhoff was named the MVP on the boy's side.
