Republic and Nixa Win Championship Trophies at the 77th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament

The Republic Tigers and the Nixa Eagles are the champions of the 77th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament in Springfield.

Nixa and first year Head Coach Brock Blansit win the school’s 11th Blue and Gold championship, downing second seeded Logan-Rogersville 59-38 in the Gold Division finals at Great Southern Bank Arena.

The Eagles move into a tie with Ozark for the second most titles in tournament history, trailing only Kickapoo, who has 13.

Nixa junior Josh Peters lit up the scoreboard in the first half, scoring 23 of his game high 26 points.

Peters finished with seven three pointers, one short of the Gold Division record set by Branson’s Tate Unruh in 2007.

The Eagles led 19-12 after one quarter before opening up a 37-18 advantage at the intermission.

Nixa continued to dominate in the second half, maintaining a 20-plus point lead for much of the final 16 minutes.

The Eagles tied a Blue and Gold team record with 42 three pointers in the four game tournament, matching the 1994 West Plains Zizzers.

Logan-Rogersville’s Curry Sutherland scored 19 in a losing effort.

Republic captured its seventh Blue and Gold title, beating the fifth seeded Sparta Trojans 51-46 in the Blue Division title game.

Sparta, playing in its first Blue and Gold finals since 1954, took a 10-7 lead after one quarter, but Republic held a 24-23 edge at halftime.

The Tigers opened up an eight point lead, 34-26, after three periods, but Sparta kept it close in the final frame.

Ahlante Askew’s 22 points led the Tigers, with Sparta’s Jacob Lafferty leading all scorers with 24 points.

In the Blue Division 3rd place game, the Bolivar Liberators have defeated the Hartville Eagles 47-30.

Bolivar, seeded first in the Blue, lost a 68-66 double overtime thriller to Sparta in Wednesday night’s semifinals.

The Liberators jumped out to a 16-6 lead after one quarter, and went ahead 27-14 at halftime.

Hartville pulled within ten, 36-26 after three quarters, but Bolivar pulled away in the final frame.

Senior Kyle Pock scored 16 points to lead the Liberators, with Kaden Griswold adding 12.

The Eagles were led by Jalon Cryer’s 12 points.

The host Greenwood Blue Jays won the Gold Division 3rd place trophy, edging Fair Grove 38-32.

The Blue Jays, seeded sixth in the Gold, took a 10-9 lead after one period, and led 19-18 at the half.

At the end of the third quarter, it was fifth seeded Fair Grove’s turn to take a one point lead, 29-28.

The Blue Jays quickly grabbed back the lead and pulled away down the stretch.

Sophomore Collin Clark led Greenwood’s balanced scoring attack with 11 points, while Nick Burri and Chance Rose scored 10 points each.

Jaxon Rowden’s 14 points lead the Eagles.

Here are the scores from Thursday night’s games at the Blue and Gold Tournament:

Blue Division 3rd Place Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):

Final: (1) Bolivar 47 (3) Hartville 30

Gold Division 3rd Place Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):

Final: (6) Greenwood 38, (5) Fair Grove 32

Blue Division Championship Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):

Final: (2) Republic 51, (5) Sparta 46

Gold Division Championship Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):

Final: (1) Nixa 59, (2) Rogersville 38

Blue Division Consolation Final (Hammons Student Center):

Final: Springfield Catholic 40, Spokane 26

Gold Division Consolation Final (Hammons Student Center):

Final: Willard 57, Branson 50

Blue Division 5th Place Game (Hammons Student Center):

Final: (7) Springfield Hillcrest 65, (4) Ozark 63 (Hillcrest came back from a 13 point halftime deficit, led by Amarre Clark’s 29 points).

Gold Division 5th Place Game (Hammons Student Center):

Final: (4) Springfield Parkview 72, (3) Strafford 34 (Parkview’s T.J. Hill scored 24 points)