Time for tourney

Photo courtesy of Painted Barn Media Ryan Romzek helped power the Warriors to the No. 2 seed with a big performance in Thursday's win over Eastside.

Weeks of battles between county schools have finished and now the ultimate prize - a county championship - will be on the line over the next two weeks. Games at three schools Thursday wrapped up the 7-8 grade regular season, with no game being bigger than Centertown's home win over the Eastside Bulldogs.

The Warriors clinched the No. 2 seed in this week's boys tournament with a gritty 29-26 victory on eighth-grade night. Ryan Romzek played a key role, scoring a game-high 13 points and hitting key free throws late to perserve the win.

All tournament seeds except for the No. 2 spot in the boys tourney were set before the ball went into the air Thursday. Eastside and Centertown knew the stakes and battled to the final buzzer, with Romzek's key clutch freebies and a pair of buckets from Ryder Gilispie late proving to be the difference. With the win, the Warriors earned a bye in the 3-Point Club postseason tourney.

The Eastside girls and Morrison boys will be the top seeds after finishing off 10-0 seasons Thursday. Both teams will get a bye Monday before making their postseason debuts Thursday, Jan. 26. The Morrison girls also get a bye in the first round.

The 3-Point Club tourney will kick off Monday at Warren County High School with both teams from Boyd, Dibrell and Irving College - as well as the Eastside Bulldogs and Centertown Lady Warriors - all set to play. The tournament is single elimination and is set to conclude Saturday, Feb. 4. The full bracket can be seen above. Read the Standard for the latest details in elementary basketball.

Eastside 29

Centertown 17

Lady Bulldog scoring - Sarah Kate Winfree 10, Avery Bolding 9, Alyssa Parsley 8, Ansli Womack 2

Lady Warrior scoring - Maegan Johnson 6, Presley Winfree 5, Ruby Denning 4, Alyssa Boyd 2

Morrison 41

Dibrell 32

Lady Eagle scoring - Harmoni Kennerly 25, Chloe Wanamaker 12, Kaci Bowdoin 2, Baylee Vincion 2

Lady Warrior scoring - Katie Bechtel 25, Anslee Crick 5, Dayana Esparza 2

Irving College 37

Boyd 6

Lady Tiger scoring - Ali Young 12, Maddie Moore 9, Jayla Hudson 4, Madisyn Petrovic 4, Baelee Crouch 2, Eden Grissom 2, Hailey York 2, Zara Laxson 2

Lady Bronco scoring - Kadenze Herrin 4, Brit Ralph 2

Centertown 29

Eastside 26

Warrior scoring - Ryan Romzek 13, Ryder Gilispie 9, Kiptyn Medley 5, Abdallah Kanakrieh 2

Bulldog scoring - Jackson Gunter 11, Lex Winfree 6, Dylan Delong 4, Dean Cooper 4, Carter Holt 1

Morrison 40

Dibrell 29

Eagle scoring - Kristopher Robledo 13, Rylon Morrison 13, Eli Davis 6, Hayden Fults 3, AJ Whitman 2, Silas Murphy 2, Kennedy Ramsey 1

Wildcat scoring - Jordin Mitchell 8, Cason Davis 8, Halen Myers 7, Connor Cantrell 4, Kolton Wood 1, Aiden Greene 1

The Irving College-Boyd boys box score was not submitted by press time, but the Standard was able to confirm the Tigers won the game. The standings, listed on 1B, reflect the final results.

7-8 grade basketball Top scorers

Girls

1. Sarah Kate Winfree, Eastside 17.4 ppg

2. Harmoni Kennerly, Morrison 15.2 ppg

3. Chloe Wanamaker, Morrison 14.2 ppg

4. Katie Bechtel, Dibrell 13.8 ppg

5. Ruby Denning, Centertown 10.3 ppg

boys

1. Kristopher Robledo, Morrison 13.9 ppg

2. Anden Green, Irving College 12.0 ppg

3. Lex Winfree, Eastside 11.4 ppg

4. Ryan Romzek, Centertown 10.3 ppg