Smith-Cotton Wins Eldon Tournament

Bryson Couch scored 20 points and Zion Buckner had 19 as the Smith-Cotton Tigers captured the 86th Annual Eldon Invitational basketball tourney title, defeating Christian of St. Louis, 63-50, on Saturday night in Eldon.

The Tigers were up by 10 at half, 30-20, then Christian went on 6-0 run to start the third quarter. S-C responded with a 7-0 run to build the lead back and kept the lead the rest of the game.

"Our kids were a little tired after playing three games in a row but they played hard throughout and I'm very proud of their effort," said S-C head coach Bill Barton. "I am happy with how we are playing right now, especially as we begin this conference run."

Before the game the team from Lebanon came to S-C's locker room to wish the Tigers good luck and to apologize on behalf of their community for the incident that occurred after the teams' game last week in Lebanon.