The Crofton Warriors boys basketball team matched their female counterparts by taking home the championship trophy in the St. Francis Flyers Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 29 and 30.
After taking down the St. Francis Flyers and the Wynot Blue Devils to improve their season record to 5-6, the Warriors will continue their regular season play with a contest against eh Ponca Indians on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 2. In their most recent matchup, the championship game against the Blue Devils of Wynot, the Warriors were able to squeak away with the victory after a hard-fought back-and-forth match.
The contest started as a high-scoring lovers dream with both teams coming out red-hot, putting up impressive numbers to make the score 24-20 in favor of the Warriors at the end of the first quarter.
The Warriors continued to build upon their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime with a solid 36-27 lead. It seemed as if the Warriors might be able to waltz their way to a tournament championship.
Unfortunately for Crofton, that was not the case as the Blue Devils would come out of halftime firing on all cylinders, and outscored Crofton by seven in the third quarter to cut their deficit down to just two points.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors pulled out all of the stops. With both teams sharing baskets, the Warriors were finally able to pull away at the end and secure a 63-58 victory, earning themselves the championship trophy in the holiday tournament.
Showcasing how well the Warriors were able to share the basketball in the contest, five of Crofton’s players were able to reach the double-digit mark in the scoring column.
Leading the way was Jace Foxhoven with 14 points, followed by Seth Pinkelman with 13, the duo of Braxston Foxhoven and Trevor Allen each with 12, Sam Pinkelman with ten, and Jace Panning with two.
Just one day prior to their championship victory, on Friday, Dec. 29, the Warriors took on the St. Francis Flyers for an opportunity to play in the championship game the following day.
Similar to their game against Wynot, the Warriors came out red hot in the first quarter as the team scored 23 points to help them take a 33-29 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, the teams continued trading baskets with both defenses continuing to struggle getting stops. With each team scoring 18 points in the third, the game headed into the decisive fourth quarter with the Warriors clinging on to a 51-47 lead.
Despite the Flyers best efforts to complete their comeback in the fourth, the Warriors offense remained solid as the team was able to outscore the Flyers by one in the fourth to secure a 68-63 win to give them a spot in the championship game the following day.
In this contest it was Braxston Foxhoven leading the way with 21 points, followed closely by Seth Pinkelman with 20, Allen with 12, the duo of Jace Foxhoven and Sam Pinkelman with five each, Tyson Jackson with three, and Panning with two.