Tonganoxie ? Practicing free throws paid off for the Tonganoxie boys basketball team.

The Chieftains scored 10 of their 14 points in the fourth quarter from the stripe, pulling away from Eudora, 47-40, in the Tonganoxie Invitational.

Tonganoxie’s opportunities from the free-throw line especially were welcoming because offense was sparse in a mostly sloppy game, but Chieftains coach David Walker said he happily would accept the win.

“We’re not going to have pretty wins,” Walker said. “We’re just not that style of basketball. If we can win games ugly, we’ll take them.”

The game was not ugly at all for Tonganoxie’s Sam Mitchell, who lost his spot in the starting lineup.

Walker wouldn’t reveal whether Mitchell would return to the starting five, but making all five shots from the field and scoring six points in the fourth quarter didn’t hurt his chances.

Walker said he was pleased with how Mitchell responded to his demotion.

“Most people would allow that to affect them,” Walker said. “Sam’s the type of person that said, ‘I’m going to allow this to be a positive.'”

Mitchell was at his best when the otherwise-sloppy game got interesting late in the fourth quarter. Eudora used a full-court press to threaten Tonganoxie’s tenuous three-point lead with just more than two minutes remaining.

Eudora High's Brendan Jackson, right, shoots past the defense of Tonganoxie's Zach Pistora. The Chieftains beat the Cardinals, 47-40, Thursday night in Tonganoxie.

The press resulted in several fouls of Mitchell, who scored four points off free throws down the stretch. But his most critical shot might have been the one he missed.

Mitchell missed a free throw with the Chieftains up 41-38 and one minute left, but 6-foot-7 Tongie center Michael Morris grabbed one of his 16 rebounds and laid it back in for a five-point lead.

Morris said he wished Mitchell would have made the free throw, but was pleased with how it worked out.

“I was kind of hoping he would make it, but it kind of gave us a boost,” Morris said.

Eudora coach Scott Stein said missed shots and turnovers deflated his team.

“We make too many mistakes, and that’s why we’re 2-7,” Stein said.

The victory moved Tongie ahead in the consolation bracket. It will play Lansing at 11:30 a.m. Saturday for fifth-place. Eudora will play Silver Lake for seventh-place at 2:30 p.m.