Staff writer
For the first time in the history of the Burrton Men’s Invitational Basketball Tournament, the Peabody-Burns High School Warriors achieved the highest honor.
The team defeated Berean Academy in third round play Saturday to be crowned champion of the eight-team tournament.
PBHS had three wins in the event including a first round win over Central Christian, 61-31.
On Thursday, Pretty Prairie put up a good fight in round two, but PBHS came out with the win, 62-59.
In the third-round championship on Saturday, the Warriors were victorious over Berean Academy, 47-41. The team will have a week off before returning to regular season competition Tuesday at home when they will take on the Sedgwick Cardinals.
Central Christian
PBHS offense controlled the first period of the contest and took a big 22-7 lead at the buzzer. All five starters scored from the field.
Aaron Topham had eight points and Martin Hofkamp had six. Brian O’Neal scored four. Jacob Simmonds and Sean Jones each had two.
PBHS outscored the Cougars, 20-10, in the second period. Again, Topham led with nine points. O’Neal had five and Simmonds had four. Jones added two and the Warriors led, 42-17.
With the huge lead from the first half, the Warriors cruised through the last half of the competition. PBHS added 19 and the Cougars put in 14. Simmonds had 10 for the Warriors in the second half. Brody Kyle added four. Jones and Topham each had two and Derek Price contributed a free throw. PBHS won the first round against Central Christian, 61-31.
Topham was high scorer for the Warriors with 19. Simmonds had 16 and O’Neal had 9. Jones and Hofkamp each added 6 in the contest and Kyle came up with 4. Price had a free throw.
Pretty Prairie
Both offenses played tough in the first quarter. The Bulldogs outscored PBHS, 15-12. Hofkamp and Topham each had four points. Jones and Simmonds each had a basket.
While both offenses slowed in the second quarter, PBHS did outproduce Pretty Prairie in the period, 12-10. The Warriors were up by one with one minute to play in the half, but the Bulldogs took the lead with seconds left on the clock. Pretty Prairie had a one-point edge at the half, 25-24.
Isaac Burnnett and Hofkamp each had four points, while O’Neal and Storm Pickens had two each.
The Warriors claimed the lead again in the third and with 4:07 left in the period, baskets from O’Neal and Topham made the gap seven. A Bulldog bench technical gave the Warriors the largest lead of the contest 41-32. PBHS added two more baskets to extend the lead to thirteen but with 15 seconds left in the quarter, Pretty Prairie connected with a 3-point basket and came back to within 10, 45-35. Simmonds scored ten in the period. Topham had nine and O’Neal had two.
Both offenses battled the fourth. The Bulldogs outscored PBHS 24-17 but never regained the lead. PBHS was up three when an injury substitution put Pickens on the free-throw line and he made one of the two shots to make the gap four, 57-53, with 1:15 on the clock. Pretty Prairie made a trey with 10 seconds left on the clock and pulled to within two points of the Warriors, 60-58. Two free throws by O’Neal late in the contest iced the win and PBHS held on for the 62-59 victory and advanced to the finals. Simmonds had eight in the final quarter. Pickens added five. O’Neal and Topham each had two.
Simmonds led the scoring with 20 points, Topham 15, Hofkamp 8, Pickens 7, O’Neal 6, Burnett 4, and Jones 2.
Berean Academy
Simmonds and Hofkamp combined for four points in the early minutes of the contest. PBHS went on to outscore Berean 12-3 in the quarter. Simmonds had eight and Jones and O’Neal each added two.
Berean scored 10 in the second and PBHS added seven. The PBHS Warriors led 19-13 at the half. O’Neal had a trey in the period. Topham and Hofkamp each had two.
Berean had trouble forming the field throughout the contest but PBHS defense took advantage of rebounding opportunities to set up second half offense. Berean had only six points in the third. PBHS had 11. PBHS Warriors led the Berean Warriors, 30-19, at the end of three quarters.
PBHS offense had 17 in the fourth and Berean had their best scoring quarter with 22 points. Berean managed to make the gap seven at 37-30 at the 4:35 mark, but PBHS never relinquished the lead. PBHS claimed the win and the championship, 47-41.
Jones and O’Neal each had four in the quarter. Hofkamp and Topham had three each and Pickens had two. Simmonds added a free throw.
Topham led the team with 12 points, Simmonds, O’Neal, and Hofkamp each had 9, Jones 6, and Pickens 2.
