The boy’s basketball team may have some new achievements to add to their list this year. The Bulldogs competed in the St. James Tournament, but this is the first time in 18 years that they brought home the championship trophy after participating for the last 67years..

“They had us at first, but after we started playing we got better. Jay and David helped us out with scoring and ball skills which helped us eventually win the game. We left everyone, especially ourselves feeling very satisfied,” senior Miles Wilson said.

The Bulldogs played Salem in their semifinal game and prevailed with 64-53. The bulldogs had a rough start but as soon as they got a hold of the lead in the fourth quarter they never let go of it. The Bulldogs went into the fourth quarter 47-43, and soon outscored Salem 13-0 over a 3:06 span. Soon after that one of Salem’s players fouled out, and gave Rolla the final game winning edge, which put them in Saturday’s championship game.

“Before the game, most of us had no idea that it had been 18 years since Rolla won the championship. We knew it had been a long time but not exactly 18 years. Championship games are always fun though and you come out with that extra motivation, especially with such a great fan base there to cheer for us,” senior Jay Zalis said.

In Saturday’s championship game the bulldogs prevailed with a score of 47-36 win over Blair Oaks in Saturday’s championship game in St. James which puts them in the group of only four that have brought the first place title home. Zalis scored a total of 15 points, Garner added 12 points, and Brown and Miller both with 6 points. Zalis was also named the MVP of the tournament.

“It felt great to finally come away with a first place in a tournament. As far as seeding, we didn’t really pay attention to that. We just came out ready to play our game, have fun, and came away with a championship,” Zalis said.