The Washington boys basketball team won the consolation championship Saturday at the Marilyn Jo Franz Invitational in Ripley.

The team leaned into solid defense as they won two of their three games.

Head coach Trevor Smith was happy for the consolation win, but thought his team would stay on the winner’s side of the bracket during their game against Glencoe (14-2).

The Warriors were leading by 12 points with 1:30 left in the game and Smith thought it was in the bag.

“They hit three 3s and we missed our shots,” Smith said.

The Warriors missed eight free throws in the fourth quarter before the game went to overtime and Glencoe secured the 65-61 win.

Jack McKimmey paced the Warriors with 23 points and Jax Mitchell joined him in double figures with 16.

Tonkawa

Washington played Tonkawa (2-8) in the second round and came out with a 51-36 W.

“Tonkawa is a lot better team than their record shows,” Smith said. “Their football team was State runners-up in Class A and they’re a really physical team. They’re a big team and the game was kind of a grind.”

McKimmey and Mitchell each had 14 points in the game.

Cole Beard added 11 more.

Yale

The Warriors rolled over Yale (8-3) 70-45 in the consolation championship.

“We were way more athletic and had a size advantage over them,” Smith said. “So we took advantage of that.”

Beard led the scoring with 21 points.

He was followed by Mitchell (15) and Owen McCalip (11).

“I thought we guarded really well and rebounded really well throughout the tournament,” Smith said. “Our defense carried the way. We haven’t been shooting it as well lately, but they worked hard on the defensive side.

“I would have liked to have been on the other side of the bracket, but the tournament was really good for us.”

The Warriors are 3-8 this season.

Girls

After their Bertha Teague tournament win, Washington’s Lady Warriors only played in one game during the week, a 73-23 win over Lindsay.

Head coach Kale Simon was pleased with his team’s approach to the game.

“I’m proud of our girls because we had a chance to lose focus and not be a machine in our habits,” he said. “But we came out and we were very intentional in our habits.”

Washington held the Leopardettes to under 10 points in every quarter.

Preslee Johnson led the team with 23 points.

Anna Mitchell joined her in double figures with 10 points.

Simon likes the trajectory his team is on.

“We’ve gotten past the point in our season where I’m having to coach our mental and physical effort,” Simon said. “That allows us to focus on other aspects of the game that make us a better team.”

Washington is 10-1 this season.