When Branson returned to the Forsyth Tournament in 2023, area fans were hoping for a match-up between the two schools. While each school made the title game the last two years, this year the match-up is finally set.

Both the Pirates and Panthers secured wins in the final games of Pool Play to set-up the match-up between the Lakes Area Schools.

For the Pirates, they overcame a slow start then a late Lebanon rally to secure a 58-51 win. The Pirates had built a 15 point second half lead only to see the Yellow Jackets get hot from the field while the Pirates missed free throws that closed the gap late, but Branson did just enough to secure the win to try for their second tournament championship in the three years since their return to the tournament. Griffin Mehrhoff led the Pirates in scoring with 21 points.  

The Panthers meanwhile won a rematch of last year's title game, avenging their loss to Carl Junction by rallying from a big early deficit to grab a 53-51 win. The Panthers fought their way back to grab the lead then after losing the lead briefly, got a three-point shot from Ben Boyer with under 10 seconds left then made a last defensive stand to hold on for the win. Chris Halbrook scored 20, Cooper Lais added 19 for the Panthers.

The final day of the tournament will feature the 5th place game at 4:00 between Hollister and the Missouri Warriors followed Carl Junction and Lebanon playing for third with the championship game between Branson and Forsyth wrapping up the schedule at 7:00. 

The Hollister contest as well as the Branson-Forsyth match-up can be heard on MOARK Sports.