The quarterfinals are set at the 79th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold basketball tournament in Springfield.
Winners bracket games in the Gold Division will begin the action at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Great Southern Bank Arena, followed by Blue Division quarterfinal games starting at 5:00 p.m.
Gold Division consolation bracket games tip off at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Hammons Student Center, with the Blue Division quarterfinals opening the evening session at 5:00 p.m.
Here are the scores and recaps from Thursday’s opening round of the Blue and Gold Tournament:
Blue Division: In the Blue Division opener at Hammons, Aurora’s Cannon Thornhill tied a Blue and Gold record with 9 three pointers, scoring 42 points in the Houn’ Dawgs’ wild 88-80 win over 8th seeded Willow Springs.
Aurora held a 26-24 lead after one quarter, with Willow Springs going up 50-45 at the half.
The Houn’ Dawgs came back to take a 68-67 lead after the third period before pulling away down the stretch.
Jace Rodgers scored 27 points and Kolby James added 23 for the Bears in a losing effort.
Thornhill’s 9 three pointers matches three other players in tournament history, including Kickapoo’s Matt Ridder in 2013, Parkview’s J-T Brown in 2018, and Glendale’s Amare Witham in 2023.
The combined 168 points between Aurora and Willow Springs ties a Blue Division record for high score by two teams in a game, with the mark previously set in Rogersville’s 92-76 victory over Mountain Grove in 1994.
The top seeded Kickapoo Chiefs had an easy time with the Buffalo Bison, winning 91-33 with a turbo clock in the 4th quarter.
Kickapoo jumped ahead 19-5 after one quarter and held a 57-14 halftime lead. Brayden Rubidoux led the way for the Chiefs with 24 points.
Kickapoo hit 15 three pointers in the contest.
The Fair Grove Eagles, seeded 5th in the Blue Division, outscored Spokane 25-2 in the opening quarter and went on to win 76-37 with a running clock in the 4th quarter.
The Eagles had a balanced scoring attack, with Kyle Winterberg putting in 12 points and Grant Fuller adding 11.
The Hillcrest Hornets advance to the quarterfinals in the Blue Division by defeating Crane 76-34 at Hammons Center.
Hillcrest held a 17-13 advantage after one quarter before upping the lead to 20 points, 38-18, at the half.
The Hornets were led in scoring by Kyrese Simpson with 22 points and Taner Hicks with 21.
Springfield Catholic gets by Stockton 50-40 in the opening game of the evening session at Hammons Center.
The Fightin’ Irish went ahead 17-11 after one quarter and took a 29-15 lead at the half, but Stockton played tough in the second half, pulling within five after three quarters before the Irish pulled away late in the contest.
Junior Ryder Rowden led Catholic in scoring with 18 points, while Jax Baxter put in 21 points for the Tigers in a losing effort.
Logan-Rogersville held Sparta to 15 points in cruising to a 55-15 win in the Blue Division. The Wildcats, seeded 2nd, led 19-4 after one quarter and 30-8 at the half, then 50-14 at the end of three quarters.
Jase Pettifurd and Titus Moore each scored 10 points to lead L-R, with Chase Branham adding nine.
6th seeded Branson got a scare early on from Mt. Vernon, but pulled away in the second half after holding a 32-21 advantage at halftime.
Jayce Culver’s 18 points lead the Pirates, with Brody Gillespie adding 16 points.
3rd seeded Ozark closed out the opening round of the Blue Division with a 65-44 win over Skyline.
Skyline outplayed Ozark early, leading 18-13 after one quarter before Ozark came back to take a 31-26 lead at halftime. The Tigers opened up a 15 point lead over Skyline, 51-36, after three quarters.
Senior Jaxon Dublin finished with 17 points to lead Ozark, while Parker Owen’s 19 points paced Skyline.
Gold Division: In the first round Gold Division at “The Vault,” Bolivar won easily over eighth seeded Camdenton 75-40. The Liberators jumped out to an early 17-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, going up 52-19 at the half and 68-33 after three quarters.
Colton Ingold led the Liberators with 22 points.
The top seeded Nixa Eagles had little problem pulling away from Lebanon, winning 83-49.
Nixa led 28-10 after one quarter, 46-21 at the half, and 75-39 after three periods.
Sophomore Adam McKnight led the Eagles with 17 points, followed by Jaise Combs, who scored 16.
Lebanon was led by Nolan Fort’s 13 points.
The host Greenwood Blue Jays pulled away in the second quarter to defeat Reeds Spring 75-50. Coach Darren Taylor’s squad fell behind 10-0 in the opening quarter, before putting together a run and going up 21-16 after one period.
Greenwood led 45-25 at the half and 60-34 after three quarters.
Tyler Harrell led the Blue Jays with 24 points.
The 4th seeded Strafford Indians held off Miller 70-56 in the final game of the day session at Great Southern Bank Arena. The first half was close, with the Indians ahead 15-11 after one quarter and 32-25 at the half.
Strafford was able to open up a 15 point advantage, 51-36 after three quarters and pulled away down the stretch.
Indians’ senior Cody Voysey led all scorers with 37 points.
Owen Weiss led Miller in scoring with 15 points, all on three pointers.
The West Plains Zizzers withstood an early fight from the Marshfield Blue Jays, winning 69-44 in the first game of the evening session at Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Zizzers, who held a 27-24 lead at the half, began to pull away from the Jays in the third quarter, leading 50-34 at the end of the third period.
Clayton Robbins’s 22 points led the way for West Plains.
Republic, seeded second in the Gold Division, dominated in its first round matchup, beating Clever 74-21.
It was 21-9 Republic after one quarter and 45-11 at the half. The Tigers used a turbo clock in the final period to close out the win.
Brenley Hagewood led a balanced scoring attack for the Tigers with 14 points, and Ryder Davis and C.J. Uhl each added 12.
The Willard Tigers, seeded 6th in the Gold Division, downed Mountain Grove 66-35. The Tigers held a 19-11 lead after one quarter, but outscored the Panthers 23-2 in the second period to take control of the contest.
Blake Daughtery scored 15 points to lead the Tigers, with teammates Braxton Boyer and Jude Wallace adding 13 points apiece.
Sam Peterson scored 15 points to lead the Panthers.
Hartville, the 3rd seeded team in the Gold Division, held a slim 11-7 lead over the Ava Bears after one quarter, but opened things up in the second frame, leading 37-16 at the half and 46-24 after three periods.
The Eagles were led in scoring by junior Boone Garrison, who put in 16 points, with Jordan O’Quinn adding 15.
Here are the final scores from Thursday’s 1st Round of the Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament.
Blue Division (1st Round games at Hammons Student Center):
Final: Aurora 88, (8) Willow Springs 80 (Aurora’s Cannon Thornhill ties a B&G record with 9 three pointers)
Final: (1) Springfield Kickapoo 91, Buffalo 33
Final: (5) Fair Grove 76, Spokane 37
Final: (4) Springfield Hillcrest 76, Crane 34
Final: (7) Catholic 50, Stockton 40
Final: (2) Logan-Rogersville 55, Sparta 15
Final: (6) Branson 71, Mt. Vernon 45
Final: (3) Ozark 65, Skyline 44
Gold Division (1st Round games at Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: Bolivar 75, (8) Camdenton 40
Final: (1) Nixa 83, Lebanon 49
Final: (5) Greenwood 75, Reeds Spring 50
Final: (4) Strafford 70, Miller 56
Final: (7) West Plains 69, Marshfield 44
Final: (2) Republic 74, Clever 21
Final: (6) Willard 66, Mountain Grove 35
Final: (3) Hartville 57, Ava 33
Here’s the schedule of games for Friday’s quarterfinal round of the Blue and Gold Tournament:
Gold Division Quarterfinals (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Bolivar vs. (1) Nixa 9:30 a.m.
(5) Greenwood vs. (4) Strafford 11:00 a.m.
(7) West Plains vs. (2) Republic 12:30 p.m.
(6) Willard vs. (3) Hartville 2:00 p.m.
Blue Division Quarterfinals (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Aurora vs. (1) Springfield Kickapoo 5:00 p.m.
(5) Fair Grove vs. (4) Springfield Hillcrest 6:30 p.m.
(7) Springfield Catholic vs. (2) Logan-Rogersville 8:00 p.m.
(6) Branson vs. (2) Ozark 9:30 p.m.
Gold Division Consolation Bracket (Hammons Student Center):
(8) Camdenton vs. Lebanon 9:30 a.m.
Reeds Spring vs. Miller 11:00 a.m.
Marshfield vs. Clever 12:30 p.m.
Mountain Grove vs. Ava 2:00 p.m.
Blue Division Consolation Bracket (Hammons Student Center):
(8) Willow Springs vs. Buffalo 5:00 p.m.
Spokane vs. Crane 6:30 p.m.
Stockton vs. Sparta 8:00 p.m.
Mt. Vernon vs. Skyline 9:30 p.m.
After Friday’s quarterfinal round action, the tournament continues Saturday with the semifinals, and the final round of the 79th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament will be played on Monday.
Winners bracket games will be played at Great Southern Bank Arena, with the consolation bracket games taking place at Hammons Student Center.
