The Lawson Invitational Tournament’s championship round will feature a boy’s showdown of rivals, and an upstart girl’s team looking for its third straight upset, going against a state-ranked foe, but those storylines were forced on hold for 48 hours, as the concerns of ice in the forecast forced the postponement of the boys third place, girls championship, and boys championship games from Lawson High School.
Instead of being played on Saturday, the boys third place game will start play tonight (Monday night), as the Trenton Bulldogs battle the Richmond Spartans at 5 o’clock. Trenton lost 50-45 to Penney in the semifinal round, while Richmond went down to the #1 seeded host Lawson Cardinals.
With two upset victories in the LIT, the Penney Lady Hornets will look to make it three in a row, taking on the #7 ranked Trenton Lady Bulldogs at 6:15. Trenton comes into the contest at 11-2, with defeats only against Class 4 competition (Chillicothe and Smithville). Penney, the number 6 seed in the LIT, beat #3 seed Gallatin in an overtime quarterfinal thriller, then beat #2 seed West Platte in the semifinals, showing rapid improvement in their play under Coach Jordan Richman.
At 7:30 tonight, two budding rivals in football and basketball in the KCI Conference, the #2 seed Penney Hornets and #1 seed Lawson Cardinals will play for the LIT title. The matchup will feature superb play from the point guard position, as Lawson’s Cody Glenn duels with Penney’s Jaran Richman.
The weather also forced the postponement of the three games scheduled for Saturday in the Milan Invitational Tournament. Instead of playing on Saturday, the Linn County boys will battle Green City in the third place game at Milan High School on Wednesday afternoon (January 18th), starting at 4:30. Regularly scheduled games involving the Milan junior varsity teams (girls and boys) will follow.
The championship games of the Milan Tournament will be played on Saturday, January 28th, with the Milan Lady Wildcats battling Green City at 5 o’clock, followed by the Milan boys taking on Novinger at 6:30, a team that Milan team in the season opener in late November.
The tournament meal (spaghetti, dessert, and drink) will be available on the 28th, with the tournament t-shirt also available for sale.
