By Sam Conner The Winslow Bulldogs take second in the Pepsi Invitational Tournament at Flagstaff on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs won their first three games and reached the championship game on Saturday against the Faith Lutheran Crusaders from Las Vegas, Nev. The Bulldogs had an 8-3 record after the tournament. Bulldogs Darius James and Junior Villanueva were named to the All-Tournament Team. In the championship game the undefeated Crusaders took control of the game early and coasted to an 81-39 victory. The Crusaders led at every quarter and had five players scoring in double digits. Walter Brown led all scorers with 14 points. Parker Kaine had 11 and three Crusaders had 10 points. Winslow had no player with more than seven points. The win was the 12th for Faith Lutheran with a defeat. The Bulldogs met the Northwest Christian Crusaders in their first tournament game in the tournament on Thursday. The Bulldogs pulled out a 59-50 victory in that game in overtime. The teams were tied 10-10 after the first quarter but Winslow led 36-20 at the half and 45-34 after three quarters. Zach Johnson led all scorers with 17 points for Northwest Christian, which also had Jonah Hamstra in double figures with 12 points. Winslow was led by Villanueva with 16 points. Yoann Djassa and James both had 10 points for the Bulldogs. On Friday night the Bulldogs met the Flagstaff Eagles and defeated them 84-68 in a game that was close until the fourth quarter. The Eagles led 20-15 but the Bulldogs were ahead at the half 38-37. Flagstaff regained the lead in the third quarter and led 57-55 in the closely played game. The Bulldogs used a 29-point final period to take the game. Villanueva led all scorers with 27 points for the Bulldogs. James with 25 points and Djassa with 12 points were also in double figures for the Bulldogs. Flagstaff was led by Ramsey Penza with 24 points. K. P. Korsten with 21 points and Troy Yazzie with 13 were also in double figures for the Eagles. On Saturday the Bulldogs defeated the Valley Christian Trojans 59-57 in overtime to advance to the championship game Saturday night. Valley Christian led 14-10 after the first period but Winslow was up 27-25 at the half. The Trojans were up 44-43 after three periods and the teams were tied after time expired. Zach Timmer led all scorers with 21 points for the Trojans, which also had Connor Braun in double figures with 16 points. The Bulldogs were led by Villanueva with 16 points and also had James in double figures with 11 points. The Bulldogs had more players score and several near double figures. Prior to the Pepsi Tournament, the Bulldogs went to Kingman on Tuesday and defeated the Kingman Academy Tigers 65-52. The Bulldogs had a double-digit 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 33-20 advantage at the half. They led by 20 points at one time and were ahead 51-33 after three quarters. Darius James led the Bulldogs with 26 points. Djassa with 14 points and Villanueva with 13 were also in double figures for Winslow. Tyler Chinyere led all scorers with 28 points for Kingman Academy. Logan Day was also in double figures for the Tigers with 10 points. The Bulldogs were slated to host Tuba City on Tuesday and play the Hopi Bruins in Polacca on Thursday. They will host the Snowflake Lobos on Tuesday, Dec. 19, and the Mingus Marauders on Wednesday, Dec. 20, to complete the 2017 portion of their schedule.
