Stessman tournament part of a high school hoops tradition
The third week in January is traditionally high school basketball tournament week. In Liberty, that means it’s time for the C.W. Stessman Boys Basketball Tournament.
The 46th edition of the C.W. Stessman tournament took place last week at Liberty High School with eight teams spread from Columbia to St. Joseph taking part. This year’s champion was St. Joseph Central, which rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to down Lee’s Summit North 77-67 in overtime in Friday’s championship game. St. Joe Central was the tournament runner-up last season.
Host Liberty, which fell to Lee’s Summit North 71-59 in the first round, bounced back to beat St. Joseph Lafayette 63-60 in the consolation semifinals and take fifth place with a 69-57 win over Blue Springs in the consolation final. Center beat Rockhurst 69-64 in the third-place game.
This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Stessman tournament part of a high school hoops tradition."