The Republic Tigers and Kickapoo Chiefs have won their respective divisions at the 79th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament Monday night at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield.
The Chiefs, seeded #1 in the Blue Division, held off a furious 4th quarter comeback attempt by second seeded Logan-Rogersville to win their record 14th Blue and Gold title and first since 2021, downing the Wildcats 47-43.
Kickapoo dominated early, leading Logan-Rogersville 13-4 after one quarter, but the Wildcats got a goaltending call on a three point attempt at the 2nd quarter buzzer that narrowed the margin to four, 26-22, at the half.
Kickapoo held a three possession lead, 39-30 after three quarters, and extended that lead to 13 points early in the fourth period.
But Logan-Rogersville kept battling, pulling within ten, 45-35, with 4:21 left in regulation.
Chase Branham’s shot underneath pulled L-R within six, 45-39, at the 3:54 mark.
Senior Jase Pettifurd narrowed the margin even further with a bucket that made it a 45-41 game with just over three minutes remaining.
Branham’s shot with 51 seconds to go made it a one possession game, 46-43.
But the Wildcats missed a three point attempt with the clock ticking down and Shorter hit one of two free throw attempts with three seconds left to seal the win for Kickapoo, who managed to piece together their trophy, which they broke during the postgame celebration.
The Republic Tigers won their eighth Blue and Gold Tournament championship, downing the unseeded Bolivar Liberators 64-49 in the Gold Division title game.
At the half, Republic held a 25-20 lead over the Liberators. The two teams were tied 12-12 after one quarter, but the Tigers went on a 13-0 run to go ahead by 11, 23-12.
Bolivar closed the half on an 8-2 run to close within five of the lead.
But the Tigers were too strong in the second half, opening up a 13 point lead with 1:00 left in the 3rd quarter and going into the final period with a 43-33 advantage.
The Liberators got within 11 midway through the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get the lead down to single digits.
Brody Blades scored 23 points to lead the Tigers, with Brenley Hagewood adding 18.
For Bolivar, Brody Ingold led the way with 17 points, followed by Gardner Casey with 15.
The Liberators were trying to become the first unseeded team to win a Blue and Gold Tournament championship.
The host Greenwood Blue Jays capture the 3rd place trophy in the Gold Division, defeating #6 Willard 67-56 to start the evening at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Coach Darren Taylor’s squad opened up a 40-23 lead at the half and 57-38 after three quarters before holding off a Willard run in the final frame to win by 11.
Greenwood senior Collin Clark led all scorers with 36 points, while J.J. Huskisson and Blake Daugherty led Willard with 13 points apiece.
The Hillcrest Hornets got by Branson 69-64 to win the Gold Division 3rd place trophy.
The contest was close throughout, with the Pirates leading 13-10 after one quarter and 28-22 at the half.
It was 47-43 Hillcrest after three quarters.
Senior Levi Romero took charge for the Hornets late in the game, getting a shot to fall with 1:17 remaining to give Hillcrest a 65-64 lead, then hitting a pair of free throws with 16.1 seconds on the clock to push his team’s margin to four, 68-64.
Kyrese Simpson’s 19 points led Hillcrest, while Jayce Culver put in 20 points to lead Branson.
Here are the scores from Monday’s final round games at the Blue and Gold Tournament:
Gold Division 3rd Place Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: (5) Greenwood 67, (6) Willard 56
Blue Division 3rd Place Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: (4) Springfield Hillcrest 69, (6) Branson 64
Gold Division Championship Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: (2) Republic 64, Bolivar 49
Blue Division Championship Game (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: (1) Springfield Kickapoo 47, (2) Logan-Rogersville 43
Gold Division Consolation Finals (Hammons Student Center):
Final: Lebanon 47, Clever 46
Blue Division Consolation Finals (Hammons Student Center):
Final: Mt. Vernon 51, Crane 41
Gold Division 5th Place Game (Hammons Student Center):
Final: (1) Nixa 66, (7) West Plains 58
Blue Division 5th Place Game (Hammons Student Center):
Final: (3) Ozark 70, Aurora 46
