Woodland boys top Leopold in tourney semifinal

Woodland High School’s boys varsity basketball team limited Leopold to just eight made field goals — four 2-pointers and four 3-pointers — in picking up a 76-31 win over the Wildcats in a semifinal contest of the Woodland Tournament.

The Cardinals scored in double figures in every quarter while Leopold was unable to score more than nine points in any quarter.

Woodland, which got a game-high 24 points from Korbin Kinder, led 22-7 after the first quarter and took a 41-16 halftime lead as it outscored Leopold 19-6 in the second quarter. Kinder tallied nine of the Cardinals’ 28 made 2-point field goals. Woodland juniors Jackson Shock and Kameron McCormick both scored 11 points as Woodland improved to 1-0. Calvin Layton added nine points while Lane Lee and Eli Abernathy, both seniors, each scored five points. Remaining scorers for Woodland were: Peyton Meek, four; Bryer Sauls, three; and VanGennip and Drew Tarble, two apiece.

Leopold senior Josh Horrell led the Wilcats with eight points, including two 3-pointers. Junior Drew Engelen added seven points, Preston Campbell finished with six points, Tommy Beussink collective five, Alex Hampton contributed two points. Kasen Castile, Riley Engelen and Cody Beussink were all 1-for-2 at the foul line, finishing with one point in the semifinal defeat. Leopold was 11-for-22 at the foul line. Woodland led 65-24 after three quarters.

The Cardinals jumped a quick 5-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, then built a 20-5 advantage before the first quarter concluded. Leopold got within nine, 24-15, midway through the second quarter but then Woodland took control, going on a 17-0 run that only ended on a made free throw by Drew Engelen six seconds before halftime. A good look at a 3-pointer just ahead of the second quarter buzzer didn’t draw iron as the Cardinals enjoyed a comfortable 41-16 lead after two quarters.

Woodland is seeking its 12th Woodland Invitational Tournament Championship. It is 11-5 in its 16 championship game appearances of the event, which is in its 57th year. The Cardinals have won the championship in back-to-back years on two occasions, in 1968-69, as well as 1991-92. The last opportunity they had to win in consecutive years was 2021, when they dropped the championship game to Meadow Heights 60-56 a year after winning against Leopold, 61-43, in the 2020 final.

From 1997-2000, Woodland appeared in four straight invitational title games, going 1-3, with a 67-43 win over Delta in 1998.

Leopold, which will take on Greenville in the event’s third place game, was seeking its fourth championship in the Woodland Invite. The Wildcats are 3-2 when they play in the final game but they’ll have to wait until 2025 to get their next chance at a tournament title.