After a couple postponements, Linn finally on Saturday had the chance to play Steelville in the championship game of the Owensville tournament, finishing second with a 54-46 loss.

“In the first half we did some really good things,” said Coach Clay Crouch. “We held them to 20 points, which was a credit to our defense.”

Linn held a slim lead after the first quarter and held a 27-20 advantage at the break, but Steelville controlled the third quarter with an 18-6 run to take the lead for good.

“Unfortunately we turned the ball over too much throughout the game,” said Crouch, as the team recorded 19 turnovers. “It is tough to win against good teams when you give them extra possessions. That is on me as the coach and we will get that fixed.”

On the night, Drew Voss posted a team-high 13 points as Caleb Maassen added eight, Jackson Voss, Austin McKim and Alek Peters each posted five, Parker Patterson had four, and Alex Grellner and Andy Hueste each scored three. McKim led with five assists and Peters dished it four times, followed by Patterson and Grellner, each with one.

Maassen led with seven rebounds as D. Voss grabbed six, Grellner had five and Peters posted three.

In the steals department, D. Voss had two and J. Voss added another, while Maassen and McKim each counted one block.

“Obviously, nobody enjoys losing but getting to play in three tournament championships in a given year is something to be proud, and it is because of the kids and the buy-in and hard work,” said Crouch. “Hopefully we can use this as motivation to attack the last few weeks of the season.”