CHAMPAIGN (WCIA) — Tuscola bounced back and capped its best season in school history with a third place finish at the IHSA Class 1A state tournament. After scoring just 27 points in a semifinal loss to Scales Mound Thursday afternoon, the Warriors responded in the 3rd place game beating Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy 69-46 at State Farm Center.

Kam Sweetnam led the Warriors (31-7) with 19 points, as four players scored in double figures, including 17 from Chris Boyd, 13 from Jordan Quinn and 10 from Parker James. Tuscola shot 58 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3, a big improvement from earlier in the day.

“If you would’ve told me at the beginning of the season that we’d be playing here, competing for a trophy, medals, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Tuscola senior guard Colton Musgrave said. “But you know these guys, they’re unbelievable to play basketball with and it just means a lot to me honestly to be here.”

“Nobody signs up to play in a third place game and like that’s not the intent when you come here, or play in any sort of tournament, but we talk all the time about how competitive we are,” Tuscola head coach Justin Bozarth said. ” It’s kind of what makes them a pretty special group.”