After trailing by seven points early, the Junction City Blue Jays rallied to take the lead in the second quarter, and never trailed again enroute to a 56-42 win over Wichita North in the seventh place consolation game of the Tournament of Champions in Dodge City.

The Blue Jays got 13 points from Raye Wilson, 11 from Josh Bryan, and 10 apiece from Cody Magree and Ricardo Erans.

Junction City, ( 4-9 overall ), went 1-2 in the eight team tournament which was played at the United Wireless Arena in Dodge City. The Blue Jays fell in the first round to Central Plains, and to Bishop Carroll in the consolation semifinals.

Pat Battle, Junction City coach, noted his team shot horrible on Saturday, but did a good job defensively against a team with a lot of good speed. Battle said the Blue Jays did good job in the second half, adjusted their press, and that bothered Wichita North.

Battle said the Tournament of Champions is “a great tournament. ” He was glad the Blue Jays made the trip. “They treat you great. It’s a great venue, good teams, people are very friendly down here, and yeah, it was a great experience for us from the standpoint of a midseason tournament.”

Derby captured the tournament title with a 50-37 win over Central Plains in the championship game. For Central Plains, a Class 2A team, it was their fourth straight game against a Class 6A team. They had defeated Dodge City before the tournament, and then Junction City and Shawnee Mission South in the tournament before finally losing to Derby.

This is the first time Junction City has competed in the Tournament of Champions, which is 72 years old, and billed as the oldest high school basketball tournament west of the Mississippi River.