Boys Basketball Earn ‘Tournament of Champions’ Runner-Up
The Junction City High School varsity boys basketball team were crowned the Tournament of Champions runner-up with a second place finish.
January 25, 2019
The Junction City Boys varsity basketball team traveled to Dodge City on January 17 to compete in the 76th annual Tournament of Champions. The Participating teams included Junction City (6A), Dodge City (6A), Shawnee Mission South (6A), Wichita North (6A), Hutchinson (6A), Newton (5A), Bishop Carroll (5A), & Derby (6A).
In the first round the Blue Jays faced Derby (6A), The game was a hard-fought victory for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays shined in the third and fourth quarter putting up big points and finished the game defeating Derby with a score of 64-54 to move on in the tournament.
The next team the Blue Jays faced was the home team Dodge City (6A). The Blue Jays easily defeated Dodge City. The final score of the game was 73-58. This win advanced the Blue Jays to the final championship game.
In the final game, the Blue Jays faced the Bishop Caroll Golden Eagles (5A). The Blue Jays took an early lead in the first quarter but the Golden Eagles scored enough points to tie the game up by half time. Junction City fell to Bishop Carol 64-54. The Blue Jays finished as the runner up in the 76th annual tournament of champions.
In addition to the impressive tournament finish, AJ Dickerson and Qua’Vez Humphreys both were named to the all-tournament team. AJ Dickerson also received the Most Inspirational Player award.
We talked to Qua’Vez Humphreys about his experience in the tournament.
Tell us about your highlight of the tournament?
“Probably when I glassed him off the backboard and going to the championship,” Humphreys said about one of his highlight dunks in the tournament.
How did it feel when you received the award?
“Felt pretty good because I felt like I played hard that whole weekend, and it felt good cheering on my teammate AJ.”
What was the team atmosphere going to the championship game?
“It was a lot of hype, it was big for us, No one thought we were going to make it that far due to the previous season. It was make or break for us.”
The Junction City Blue Jays are currently 6-4 heading into their game against Washburn Rural in Topeka, KS on January 25.
