Strafford held off a late charge from Sparta to win its home tournament championship. Cassville (third place), Willow Springs (consolation) and Buffalo (seventh place) each won on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Strafford 61, Sparta 59
Strafford held off a furious charge from Sparta to claim its home tournament title. The Indians jumped out to a 21-12 lead after the first quarter. Sparta chipped away in the second quarter cutting the Strafford lead by five points to 26-22. The Indians extended the lead back to eight at 44-36. Sparta outscored Strafford 23-17 in the fourth quarter, but the Indians held on for the two-point win.
Jacob Lafferty led the charge for Sparta. After scoring just four points in the first half, he poured in 27 points in the second half, including 18 points in the fourth quarter, on his way to a game-high 31 points.
Cody Voysey knocked down five three-pointers on his way to 23 points to lead Strafford. AK Rael (11) and Elliot Goings (10) each scored in double figures for Strafford as well. Nine total players scored at least two points for Strafford in the game.
Walker Lovelan (12) and Dexter Loveland (11) each scored in double figures for Sparta.
THIRD PLACE: Cassville 46, Cabool 30
Cassville’s defense made an early statement while Aiden Cook and Caleb Leach carried the load in a 46-30 win over Cabool in the third place game.
The Wildcats shut out Cabool in the first quarter claiming a 13-0 advantage after the first frame. Cook led Cassville and all scorers with 22 points. Leach was just behind him with 16 points. The duo scored 38 of Cassville’s 46 points in the game.
Cabool’s leading scorer was Josh Shockley with 12 points. Brady Byerly scored eight points for the Bulldogs.
CONSOLATION: Willow Springs 52, Ava 27
Willow Springs used a dominant second half to pull away for a 52-27 win over SCA rival Ava in the Strafford tournament consolation game.
The teams were tied at 9-9 after one quarter with Willow Springs taking a 24-18 lead into the break. Willow Springs outscored Ava 28-9 in the second half to put the game away.
Jace Rodgers led all scorers for Willow Springs with 17 points. Rodgers scored all 11 of Willow Springs’ third-quarter points. Ryan Koehler also scored in double figures for Willow Springs with 12 points.
Ava was led by eight points each from Roebe Henry and Isaac Dalton.
SEVENTH PLACE: Buffalo 70, Conway 52
Buffalo dominated the fourth quarter on the way to a 70-52 win over Conway in the seventh place game. The Bison trailed Conway 18-13 after one quarter. They took a 30-29 lead into the break. That lead remained at one point after three quarters at 46-45.
Buffalo went to work in the fourth quarter outscoring the Bears 24-7. Easton Skinner scored 10 of his 18 points to lead Buffalo in the final frame. Joseph Horinek had eight of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. Steven Cox gave Buffalo three players in double figures with 16 points.
Conway was led by 16 points from Tyler Vaughn and 12 points from Cade Archer.
