The West Elk Patriot basketball teams competed in the SCBL Tournament last week, at Cowley County, where the Lady Patriots claimed third place and the Patriot boys placed fifth.
Both teams went 2-1 for the tournament. The West Elk ladies claimed their opening round win over Argonia, 41-36. In the championship semifinals, the Lady Patriots lost to the Flinthills Mustangs, 2650 which took them to the third place game on Saturday, Jan. 20.
West Elk jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and maintained the momentum, leading 19-13 at half and 29-18 at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Patriots went on to win the game 39-29. Scoring for West Elk was Briea McGee 18, Gillespie 6, Jaicey Tillapaugh and Milly Koop each with 5, Josey Toon 3 and Neveah Tillapaugh 2.
The Patriot boys opened the tournament against the CedarVale Dexter (CVD) Spartans. West Elk opened the game, hanging tight with CVD, with the Patriot Boys trailing by one, 12-13 at the end of the first period. Before heading to the half, the Spartans knocked down another 6 shots, West Elk sitting 17-25. The Patriots came out strong to start the second half. Four three-point shots, two each from Garett Usry and Maddex Moreno, helped West Elk gain some momentum. The Patriots reduced their deficit to three, before the top of the 4th quarter, 3336. West Elk fell to CVD, 36-50. Scoring for the Patriots were: Moreno 13, Usry 8, Trent Haag 6, Kase Kill 5 and Uriah Tillapaugh with 4 points.
Moving to the consolation side of the bracket, the Patriots defeated Argonia 54-43 and advanced to the fifth place match-up, against South Haven. Scoring for West Elk against Argonia was Morano 30, Martin Shipley 10, U. Tillapaugh 5, Haag 4, Kill 3 and Usry 2.
In the fifth place match, the Patriots held on to a one-point advantage going into the second 14-13. U. Tillapaugh had a strong second quarter scoring 11 of his 23 points to increase the Patriots lead to 8, 3224 at halftime. West Elk continued to hold the edge of South Haven outscoring them by 4 and 5 in the next two quarters. The Patriots won the game 65-48. Scoring for the Patriots were: U. Tillapaugh 23, M. Moreno 22, Shipley 10, Kill 6 and Roman Moreno 4.
Up Next
The Patriots are scheduled to host South Haven this Friday, Jan. 26, for their winter homecoming event. Game time is slated to begin at 5 p.m.
(Courtesy photo)
