Lebanon boys take consolation bracket of Blue and Gold

The Lebanon Yellowjackets beat the Clever Bluejays in a close final consolation round of the Blue and Gold Tournament in Springfield. The Yellowjackets, beating the Bluejays 47-46, capped off their rollercoaster tournament with a trophy. After losing the first round of the tournament to Nixa (49-83), the ‘Jackets went on to beat Camdenton (62-57) and Miller (66-60). Going into the finals, Lebanon had a season record of 3-6 and Clever one of 4-0. Lebanon took the first points of the game and a narrow lead in the first period. However, Clever caught up to and surpassed Lebanon by the end of the half, foreshadowing the competitive latter half of the game. The score at half was 16-22. Except for a brief tie, Lebanon continued to lag behind Clever in the third period, ending the quarter behind by 6 points. In the fourth quarter, the ‘Jackets climbed towards the Bluejays as the seconds counted down, and with defense of late-substitution junior Antwon Givens, they kept their one-point lead at the game’s buzzer. After the game, head coach Ryan Toombs was pleased on the evolution and tenacity of the team throughout the tournament. Despite seniors falling ill for their Camdenton and Miller games, Toombs was proud to say that the team came out on top in those matches. For more on this story, see Saturday's LCR.