The Winslow Bulldogs defeated the Tuba City Warriors 55-54 in a thrilling game to win the Tournament of Champions in Window Rock on Monday. The win improved Winslow’s record to 8-3 for the season. Tuba City dropped to 8-2. The Bulldogs will host the Page Sand Devils tonight (Jan. 2) in Winslow.

The Bulldogs trailed by 13 points in the second quarter and again in the second half, but came back to win in a game that was not decided until the final buzzer. The fourth quarter was played on fairly even terms.

The Warriors led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter and had built a double-digit lead in the second, but Winslow stormed back in the final minute of that period to cut the lead to 31-24 at the intermission. The Bulldogs closed the gap to four points with the score at 47-43 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was filled with lead change after lead change. With Tuba City up by two points with less than a minute to go Trelonnie Sanders stole an inbound pass and hit a three-point shot to give Winslow the lead, which held until the contest ended.

Sanders was named the Outstanding Player of the Tournament after the game. He led Winslow with 18 points. Dalvin Benally added 11 for the Bulldogs and Akkeem Foster had 10.

Christian Begody led Tuba City and all scorers with 19 points. Davean Yazzie was also in double figures with 13 points.

The game and the girls’ championship game got late starts because a Tuba City Lady Warrior player suffered a serious injury and needed to be treated.

The Window Rock Scouts won the boys’ third place game 56-41 over the Monument Valley Mustangs. The Piñon Eagles defeated the Chinle Wildcats 71-60 in the boys’ fifth place game.

The Bulldogs opened the tourney with a 65-56 victory over the Chinle Wildcats on Dec. 26. Winslow established a 17-9 first period advantage and maintained that lead throughout the contest, scoring 16 points in each of the next three quarters. The Bulldogs led 33-22 at the half and 49-39 after three quarters. Sooner Brady of Chinle was the high scorer with 21 points. Tylon Yazzie led Winslow with 13 points and Sanders added 10 for the Bulldogs.

The next day the Bulldogs defeated the Window Rock Scouts 52-47. Winslow held a narrow 16-14 lead after the first quarter and was up 28-21 at the intermission. The margin was 45-32 after three quarters of play. Foster led all scorers with 17 points for Winslow. Yazzie added 10 for the Bulldogs. Jacob Emerson led Window Rock with 10 points.