However, Keys knocked down four free throws in the closing 45 seconds to hold off Vian 53-48 Saturday night in the finals of the Greenleaf Invitational hosted by Braggs.
The crowd inside Allen Field House saw the two Big Eight Conference rivals battle it out in a game almost as close as the Wolverines' 35-28 win on the football field back in November.
The lead went back-and-forth on Saturday with Vian going up by three before the Cougars rallied to grab a 49-46 lead in the final minute. Junior forward Londell Taylor grabbed an offensive rebound and scored for Vian to get the Wolverines back within a point, but that was as close as they could get.
Keys went on to sink four free throws, including two from Trey Kimble, to pull away in the final seconds and drop Vian to 2-1 on the young season.
Vian was led in scoring by Taylor and Seth Sloan with eight points apiece, while Ryan Taylor added seven. Londell Taylor and Sloan were both named to the all-tournament team.
Keys (4-1) was represented on the all-tournament team by Most Valuable Player Jayson Steeley and Mark Enkey. The Cougars' top scorers in the championship game were Zack McIntosh with 12 points and Kimble and Zack Harbuck with 10 each.
Oaks 65, Vian 57 (Girls)
The Lady Warriors edged Vian by eight points on Saturday to grab third place at the Braggs tournament.
The Lady Wolverines dropped to 1-2 with the loss despite 13 points from senior post Leigha Girty, who was one of six players named to the all-tournament squad.
Jamie Warren netted a game-high 19 points for Oaks, which had four players reach double figures.
Warner 56, Webbers Falls 42 (Boys)
A double-double from Daniel Ashby powered Warner past the Warriors in the third-place game Saturday at the Braggs tourney.
Ashby poured in 28 points and snagged 13 rebounds to lead the way for the Eagles.
Senior Cody Carter paced Webbers Falls with 17 points. That was his third double-figure scoring effort of the tournament and earned him a place on the all-tourney team.
Vian 86, Warner 56 (Boys)
The Wolverines trailed by nine after the first quarter, but it was all Vian after that as they roared past the Eagles on Friday night in the tournament semifinals.
Warner led 20-11 entering the second period before the Wolverines surged into a 37-35 halftime lead. Vian led by 11 after three quarters and outscored the Eagles 31-12 over the final eight minutes to pull away.
Londell Taylor led the way with 16 points. Seth Sloan added 15, Ryan Taylor 12 and Zac Rogers 11 for the Wolverines.
Warner was paced by Daniel Ashby's 20 points.
Keys 46, Vian 26 (Girls)
Keys used a 13-3 spurt in the second quarter to take control on Friday in the semifinals of the Greenleaf Invitational.
The Lady Cougars, who would go on to lose to Warner in the tourney finals, got 19 points from Tabitha Lawrence and another 10 from Kaci Hood.
Vian was led in scoring by Leigha Girty's 13 points.
Keys 56, Webbers Falls 31 (Boys)
Keys dominated the middle two quarters on Friday to book a spot in the title game with a semifinal win over the Warriors.
Webbers Falls led 12-11 after the first period, but Keys outscored the Warriors 13-5 and 14-5 in the next two quarters to seize a 16-point edge.
Cody Carter led Webbers Falls with 19 points and Kalib Webb dropped in eight.
Keys was led by 24 points from Zack McIntosh.
Watts 54, Webbers Falls 46 (Girls)
A rough second quarter was the difference on Friday as Watts eliminated the Lady Warriors in the consolation bracket semifinals.
Webbers Falls played evenly with Watts in the first stanza and outscored the Lady Engineers in the third and four periods. However, Watts held the Lady Warriors to a single point in the second to build a 27-11 halftime lead.
Sarah Humphrey and Ramie Toddy both scored 10 points to lead Webbers Falls, while Lauren Martin added eight.
Watts, which was defeated in the fifth-place game on Saturday, was led by Erica Jo Bonaparte's 17 points.
