The semifinals are set at the 74th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Basketball Tournament in Springfield as Greenwood, Ozark, Republic and Kickapoo advance in the Gold Division.
(3) Greenwood 63 (6) Mt. Vernon 61:
The Blue Jays win a thriller in the late game at JQH Arena, coming back from a ten point fourth quarter deficit.
Aminu Mohammed scored 36 points for the second straight night and hit six free throws in ten attempts in the final period.
Mt. Vernon jumped out to an early lead, 16-12 after one quarter, but the Blue Jays outscored the Mountaineers 21-11 in the second period to grab a six point halftime lead.
The Mountaineers went ahead 49-47 after three quarters and extended the lead to 59-49 with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
The Blue Jays came storming back, getting two big treys from Grant Harper, the second one putting Greenwood ahead 60-59 with 55 seconds left.
Mohammed hit two free throws with 9.5 seconds on the clock to give his team a 62-59 advantage.
The Blue Jays then fouled Mt. Vernon’s Mason Ballay, who also hit two from the line with 7.1 seconds to go to make it 62-61.
Mohammed was fouled and missed his first free throw with 6.2 seconds remaining, but made the second shot, extending the lead to 63-61.
Ballay had a shot blocked out of bounds with 1.4 seconds left, but Cale Miller missed a three point attempt at the buzzer as the Blue Jays celebrated at mid-court.
Miller scored 23 points to lead the Mountaineers, who hit 12 three pointers as a team.
Greenwood, who has never won a Blue and Gold championship, will play Ozark in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at The Q.
(2) Ozark 59, (7) Strafford 39:
The Tigers turned a four point first quarter advantage into a 38-19 lead at the half, and rolled to victory over the Indians.
Kyle Flavin’s 12 points and Ethan Whatley’s 11 points led the way for the Tigers.
Gabe Mahon scored ten points for the Indians.
(4) Republic 58, (5) Fair Grove 33:
Republic jumped out to a 13 point lead after eight minutes of play and the Eagles were never able to catch them.
Drew McMillin hit seven treys and scored 25 points to lead the Tigers, while David Oplotnik’s nine points were tops for Fair Grove.
Republic will meet #1 Kickapoo in the semifinals of the Gold on Saturday.
(1) Springfield Kickapoo 67, (8) Skyline 56:
The top seeded Chiefs get 21 points from Anton Brookshire and pull away from the Tigers in the final period.
Brookshire hit five treys in the contest.
Skyline led 16-15 after one quarter, but the Chiefs stormed back to take a 36-26 lead at the half.
The Tigers stayed within six, 47-41, through the third quarter.
Lawson Beem led the Tigers with 15 points.
Click here for recaps from Thursday’s Blue Division Quarterfinals
Here are the scores from Friday’s quarterfinal round of the Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament:
Blue Division Quarterfinals (JQH Arena):
Final: (1) Willard 67, (8) Clever 44
Final: (4) Hartville 55 , Branson 25
Final: (2) Nixa 46, (7) Crane 45
Final: (6) Rogersville 50, (3) Bolivar 43
Gold Division Quarterfinals (JQH Arena):
Final: (1) Springfield Kickapoo 67 (8) Skyline 56
Final: (4) Republic 58, (5) Fair Grove 33
Final: (2) Ozark 59, (7) Strafford 39
Final: (3) Greenwood 63, (6) Mt. Vernon 61
Blue Division Consolation Round (Hammons Center):
Final (2 Overtimes): Ava 81, Springfield Hillcrest 74
Final: (5) Lebanon 46, Marshfield 34
Final: Willow Springs 48, Houston 33
Final: Springfield Catholic 81, Ash Grove 35
Gold Division Consolation Round (Hammons Center):
Final: Reeds Spring 66, Aurora 54
Final: Mountain Grove 62, Buffalo 60
Final: West Plains 62, Spokane 49
Final: Camdenton 63, Stockton 49
Here’s the schedule of games for Saturday’s semifinal round action:
Blue Division Semifinals (JQH Arena):
(1) Willard vs. (4) Hartville 4:00 p.m.
(2) Nixa vs. (6) Rogersville 5:30 p.m.
Gold Division Semifinals (JQH Arena):
(1) Springfield Kickapoo vs. (4) Republic 7:00 p.m.
(2) Ozark vs. (3) Greenwood 8:30 p.m.
Blue Division Consolation Semifinals (Hammons Student Center):
Ava vs. (5) Lebanon 9:30 a.m.
Willow Springs vs. Springfield Catholic 11:00 a.m.
Blue Division 5th Place Semifinals (Hammons Student Center):
Clever vs. Branson 12:30 p.m.
(7) Crane vs. (3) Bolivar 2:00 p.m.
Gold Division Consolation Semifinals (Hammons Student Center):
Reeds Spring vs. Mountain Grove 4:00 p.m.
West Plains vs. Camdenton 5:30 p.m.
Gold Division 5th Place Semifinals (Hammons Student Center):
(8) Skyline vs. (5) Fair Grove 7:00 p.m.
(7) Strafford vs. (6) Mt. Vernon 8:30 p.m.
We’ll have complete tournament coverage on KTTS.com, with scores and game recaps.
