The semifinal round matchups are set at the 78th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament following a full day of quarterfinal games Wednesday at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield.
Top seeded Springfield Central will face #4 Sparta at 4:00 p.m. and 7th seeded Branson will meet #3 Springfield Glendale at 5:30 p.m. in the Gold Division semis.
The #1 seed in the Blue Division, Nixa, will take on #5 Fair Grove at 7:00 p.m. and #2 Republic faces sixth seeded Willard at 8:30 p.m. at the arena.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 23-10 lead over Ash Grove in the Gold Division quarterfinals at Great Southern Bank Arena and never looked back, downing the Pirates 86-43.
Ash Grove’s Brady Nicholson, who broke the single game Blue and Gold scoring record with 50 points in the Pirates’ 82-80 win over Willow Springs on Tuesday, got into trouble with four fouls midway through the second quarter, and was held to 15 points.
Central’s Bryce Walker led all scorers with 24 points, with his teammate, Tyrique Brooks, adding 17.
Springfield Glendale sophomore Amare Witham put on a performance in the opening period of the Falcons’ quarterfinal round game against Strafford, draining seven three pointers. Witham finishes with nine treys, tying the Blue and Gold Tournament record previously set by Kickapoo’s Matt Ridder in 2013 and Parkview’s J.T. Brown in 2016.
Here are the scores and schedules for the quarterfinal round of the 78th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament (seeds in parenthesis):
Gold Division Quarterfinals (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: (1) Central 86, (8) Ash Grove 43 (Bryce Walker’s 24 points lead the Bulldogs, while Ash Grove record-setter Brady Nicholson is held to 15 points).
Final: (4) Sparta 43, (5) Greenwood 40 (The Blue Jays led 31-26 after three quarters, the Spartans came back to win it. Senior Jacob Lafferty scores 29 points for Sparta, with Logan Sanders’ 11 points pacing the host team).
Final: (7) Branson 66, (2) Ozark 63 (The Pirates pull off the first significant upset of the tournament, winning a tight contest that was tied 31-31 at halftime. Ozark led 53-47 after three quarters. Branson’s Jayce Culver makes two free throws with 1.7 seconds left in regulation to give his team a 66-63 lead, and Ozark’s last second three point attempt fell short. Phin Scott leads Ozark with 14 points).
Final: (3) Glendale 73, (6) Strafford 48 (Glendale’s sophomore Amare Witham ties a Blue and Gold Tournament record with 9 three pointers, including seven in the opening quarter. He scored all 23 of the Falcons’ points in the opening eight minutes. Witham finishes with 37 points in the contest).
Blue Division Quarterfinals (Great Southern Bank Arena):
Final: (1) Nixa 87, Mountain Grove 50 (The Eagles pulled away in the third quarter after leading 42-32 at the half. Freshman Adam McKnight’s 17 points led the way for the Eagles, with Devon Kemp adding 16).
Final: (5) Fair Grove 51, (4) Rogersville 47 (Tyler Barnett leads the Eagles with 18 points. A big five point play with two and a half minutes left in regulation propelled Fair Grove).
Final: (2) Republic 59, (7) Catholic 44 (The Tigers pull away in the final quarter after holding a slim 46-41 lead after three. Brenley Hagewood, a 6-0 junior, scores 18 for Republic).
Final: (6) Willard 60, (3) Hartville 52 (The Eagles pull within four of the lead with 1:40 left in the game, but the Tigers hang on for the upset. Braxton Boyer and Blake Daughtery each score 12 for Willard. Jackson Ward scores 17 in the loss for the Eagles).
Gold Division Consolation Quarterfinals (Hammons Student Center):
Final: Willow Springs 68, Skyline 56 (Bears’ teammates Jace Rodgers and Kolby James each score 25 points in the win).
Final: Crane 54, Spokane 49 (Ethan Newell scores 21 to lead the Owls).
Final: Clever 47, Ava 37 (Lucas Peebles leads the way for Clever with 16 points)
Final: Marshfield 60, Mt. Vernon 45 (Senior Silas Massey scores 23 points to lead the Blue Jays).
Blue Division Consolation Quarterfinals (Hammons Student Center):
Final: (8) Lebanon 63, Reeds Spring 27 (Kelby Vandergrift and Caleb Ray pace the Yellow Jackets with 10 points each).
Final: Aurora 77, Camdenton 51 (Thomas Lara scores 21 points for the Houn’ Dawgs).
Final: West Plains 56, Buffalo 37 (Briggs Hughston leads the Zizzers with 20 points).
Final: Bolivar 66, Stockton 47 (The Liberators get 17 points from Drake Durham and Gardner Casey adds 16).
The tournament will continue on Thursday with the semifinals and the championship round is scheduled for Friday.
Here’s the schedule for Thursday’s semifinal round games at the 78th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament (seeds in parenthesis):
Gold Division Semifinals Thursday (Great Southern Bank Arena):
(1) Central vs. (4) Sparta 4:00 p.m.
(7) Branson vs. (3) Glendale 5:30 p.m.
Blue Division Semifinals Thursday (Great Southern Bank Arena):
(1) Nixa vs. (5) Fair Grove 7:00 p.m.
(2) Republic vs. (6) 8:30 p.m.
Gold Division Consolation Semifinals Thursday (Hammons Student Center):
Willow Springs vs. Crane 9:30 a.m.
Clever vs. Marshfield 11:00 a.m.
Gold Division 5th Place Semifinals Thursday (Hammons Student Center):
(8) Ash Grove vs. (5) Greenwood 12:30 p.m.
(2) Ozark vs. (6) Strafford 2:00 p.m.
Blue Division Consolation Semifinals Thursday (Hammons Student Center):
(8) Lebanon vs. Aurora 4:00 p.m.
West Plains vs. Bolivar 5:30 p.m.
Blue Division 5th Place Semifinals Thursday (Hammons Student Center):
Mountain Grove vs. (4) Rogersville 7:00 p.m.
(7) Catholic vs. (3) Hartville 8:30 p.m.
Friday’s final round gets underway at 4:00 p.m.