St. James Academy, ranked No. 6 in last week’s Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A rankings, defeated Liberal in the quarterfinals and then knocked off two fellow ranked teams for the championship plaque. SJA defeated Piper (No. 4 in 5A) in the semifinals and Eudora (No 4 in 4A) in the finals. The victories moved the Thunder to 8-2 on the season.

On the boys side, Atchison, No. 5 in 4A, rolled by Wichita North and eventually pulled away from Tonganoxie before facing Eudora in the finals. EHS upset the ranked Phoenix, 69-40, in the championship clash. Eudora moved to 5-4 with that victory, while Atchison fell to 7-3. AHS won an earlier meeting in December, 47-39, at Atchison.

The Tonganoxie High boys moved to 3-9 after last week’s tournament. THS slipped by Schlagle, 38-37, in the quarterfinals before falling to Atchison, 73-57, in the semifinals. Bonner Springs built a big double-digit lead in the third-place game, but Tonganoxie cut it to six, 43-37, with 3:16 left in the third quarter. BSHS would then go on a ferocious tear at the end of the third and into the fourth for a 25-point victory, 76-49.

The THS girls (7-5) dropped an overtime heartbreaker in the quarterfinals to Holton, but bounced back with a commanding victory against Blue Valley West, 40-31, in the consolation semifinals. THS carried that intensity into Saturday’s fifth-place game against Liberal. The Chieftains had a double-digit lead in the first half, but Liberal eventually erased it and went on to win, 63-54.

Next up for both Tonganoxie teams are home games Friday against Turner at Chieftain Arena. The girls start at 6 p.m and the boys 7:30 p.m.

A complete rundown of tournament scores and all-tourney teams can be found online at tonganoxiemirror.com and in next week’s print edition.

GIRLS BRACKET

Quarterfinals

Eudora 46, Blue Valley West 39

Holton 46, Tonganoxie 40 (OT)

Piper 49, Bonner Springs 37

St. James 64, Liberal 47

Consolation semifinals

Tonganoxie 40, Blue Valley West 31

Liberal 63, Bonner Springs 47

Semifinals

Eudora 50, Holton 45 (OT)

St. James 66, Piper 59

Seventh place

Bonner Springs 40, Blue Valley West 25

Fifth place

Liberal 63, Tonganoxie 54

Third place

Piper 63, Holton 31

Championship

St. James 56, Eudora 40

BOYS BRACKET

Quarterfinals

Bonner Springs 57, Midland Adventist 18

Eudora 54, Metro Academy 50

Atchison 48, Wichita North 14

Tonganoxie 38, Schlagle 37

Consolation semifinals

Metro Academy 96, Midland 23

Wichita North 39, Schlagle 35

Semifinals

Eudora 53, Bonner Springs 51

Atchison 73, Tonganoxie 57

Seventh place

Schlagle took seventh, as Midland Adventist could not play

Fifth place

Metro Academy 68, Wichita North 37

Third place

Bonner Springs 76, Tonganoxie 49

Championship

Eudora 69, Atchison 40