BASKETBALL
As the end of the 2022-23 basketball season arrived Saturday with Kickapoo boys and Carl Junction girls playing for a state championship, I wanted to give some thoughts on this season and what it has meant to me and some final thoughts.
First and foremost, I want to thank every single one of my subscribers…
It is better late than never. Yes, I am aware that my coverage from day one of the small school Final Four lacked…or better yet nonexistent. Work unfortunately kept me from Great Southern Bank with the exception of the final four minutes of Chadwick’s semifinal win over #2 Platte Valley. However, Lets take a look…
The Class 3 District 11 tournament is by far the most brutal district across on both the boys and girls side. SWMO's new photographer and reporter Houston Johnson was in Fair Grove on semifinal Wednesday and several guys stood out. Here is Johnson's Standout performers.
Greenwood
Nick Burri 6'3 Greenwood 2023
is a…
Verona and Pierce City kicked off our action Monday night in the 4-5 showdown where the Verona Wildcats were upset hungry. Verona sophomore Jessy Gamel was on fire early getting 10 second quarter points as the fifth seeded Wildcats led 27-23 at the break. Strong play from Verona and good shooting from Gamel allowed them…
It is almost that time! District tournament brackets are out and starting as soon as Monday for Class 1-3. After Norwood earned the lone boys state title a year ago in Class 2 with El Dorado Springs and West Plains hoisting the trophy on the girls side, we have 122 local teams ready to make…
It is almost that time! District tournament brackets are out and starting as soon as Monday for Class 1-3. After Norwood earned the lone boys state title a year ago in Class 2 with El Dorado Springs and West Plains hoisting the trophy on the girls side, we have 122 local teams ready to make…
It is almost that time! District tournament brackets are out and starting as soon as Monday for Class 1-3. After Norwood earned the lone boys state title a year ago in Class 2 with El Dorado Springs and West Plains hoisting the trophy on the girls side, we have 122 local teams ready to make…
What a night we had in Forsyth last Friday night as we saw two legit final four caliber squads battle it out for a marquee win. There was not an empty seat as Forsyth celebrated their seniors and the 1972 state championship team ahead of a top 10 matchup as the Forsyth Panthers came into…
We were in Rogersville Thursday night as the Wildcats looked to stay perfect in Big 8 play as the athletic Aurora Houn’ Dawgs came to town.
The Cats wasted little time as the size of Rogersville proved to be the difference early on. Oh yeah and Curry Sutherland. Sutherland and the Cats jumped out big…
Nixa Sweeps Late Season Super Night in Thrilling Fashion
What a day of basketball we had in Bolivar as the Bolivar tournament came to a conclusion with Republic hoisting the trophy with a thrilling win over defending champion Thayer.
The games started before I was able to get up there with West Plains convincing 88-60 thumping over Branson that saw Zizzer Garrett Mahana put…
What a night of basketball we had in Sparta Thursday night. Three teams who are state ranked in a very good Class 3 took center stage in the round robin portion of the Sparta invitational.
#3 Mansfield took on a very good Fair Grove team who held the lead on Nixa through three quarters in…
Jay Baxter 6’5 Stockton 2023
Last time I will talk about my boy Jay Bax for this week. I promise. Jay was fantastic this week despite being the focal point of everyone else’s defensive gameplan. Jay was still able to be a game breaking type of player in the first two rounds shredding the defense…
Saturday marked the Championship round of the 53rd annual Stockton boys tournament and the 13th annual Stockton Girls tournament and we were treated to several very good games and notable performances. Here is what you missed from Championship Saturday.
5th Place Game: 4 Lamar Lady Tigers vs 6 Buffalo Lady Bison
I thought coming into…
Friday marked the semifinal round of the 53rd annual Stockton boys tournament and we were treated to several very good games and notable performances. Here is what you missed from Semifinal day of the boys tournament.
7 New Covenant Warriors vs 6 Buffalo Bison
I will be the first to admit that I was a…
Tuesday marked the opening round of the 53rd annual Stockton boys tournament and we were treated to several very good games and notable performances. Here is what you missed from day one of the tournament.
4 Mt. Vernon Mt’neers vs 5 Lockwood Tigers
The first game of the day featured two historically successful programs with…
Brayden Shorter 6’5 Kickapoo 2023
It was a tough tournament for the Chiefs but Shorter was fantastic for the Chiefs. Him and Trae Oetting competed as hard as anyone else in the tournament and it paid off for Shorter. He led the Chiefs in scoring all three games and did it in all aspects of…
The 38th annual Bass Pro Shoppes Tournament of Champions has finally concluded and Link Academy from Branson is your champions. This was the most talent we have seen in a single tournament and that has made it yet another memorable tournament. If you were not here for some reason, here is what you missed.
Game…
Day two of the 38th annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions is concluded and we were not disappointed. However, when are we ever at this spectacle. We finally had some tight contests where Link and Sunrise proved that they are not inevitable and we also finally had some impressive individual performances. Lets take a look…
Day one of the 38th annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions have come and gone and if it proved anything, its that there is more talent in this years field it is crazy. There was no crazy explosive performances that was are accustomed to seeing in the opening day and I think the talent is…
OH MY GOD!!!!!! ITS HERE AGAIN!!!!!! My favorite event of the calendar year. Forget the Super Bowl. Forget the NBA Finals. The Blue and Gold is a close second but definitely second none the less. The Bass Pro Shoppes Tournament of Champions return to Springfield and this years event promises to be just as good…
Small schools are notorious for peaks and valleys as its nearly impossible to maintain high levels of success without some decline or a “rebuild”. A rouge Facebook post really got me thinking about why some programs continue to rebuild and reload and why some programs go from multiple successful years in a row to struggling…
The Liberators Rebounds and knocks off Hartville
The defending Gold Division champions Bolivar looked to be on their way for another championship after solid wins against Catholic and Ash Grove. But 2022 Cinderella Sparta pulled carpet out from the feet of the Liberators in OT for the shocker of the tournament to this point. Hartville…
JD Tate may be the best player you haven’t seen
In all of the hustle and bustle of the Blue and Gold there are always guys that maybe you missed as they light up the consolation bracket. Last year it was Stockton’s Jay Baxter. This year it is definitely JD Tate. Through three games, the…
Chalk Chalk Chalk Chalk Chalk
One of the things that makes the Blue and Gold magical is the upsets. Through the first day we got 0. Through the first two days we have 2. With 5 seed Sparta defeating 4 seed Ozark and 6 seed Greenwood defeating an AK Rael-less Strafford. With the majority of…
Alex Boyer - The Eagles are no rookies in the Blue and Gold tournament. A year after advancing to the semifinals as a No. 6 seed, the Eagles are back in the semifinal round with a dominant 55-41 win over the Camdenton Lakers in the Blue Division on Tuesday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena.…
Sparta shocked Great Southern Bank Arena and the Ozark Tigers as the Trojans downed the Tigers 60-59 in true David vs Goliath fashion.
In the two teams’ first meeting since 1989, Ozark opened the game strong with a quick 4-0 run but the smaller of the two Christian County squads did not let up as…
The Bolivar Liberators secured the first spot in the Blue semifinals with a convincing 69-46 win over Ash Grove.
Bolivar jumped out to a quick lead in the opening quarter thanks in large part to their size advantage over the Pirates. Bolivar scored the first six points of the game but Ash Grove was able…
It is the most wonderful time of the year Andy Williams says in the classic Christmas anthem and I completely agree. Christmas time means Blue and Gold time!!! The 77th annual tournament is set for another instant classic as powers around SWMO and small schools with a chip on their shoulder looks to shock SWMO.…
It is the most wonderful time of the year Andy Williams says in the classic Christmas anthem and I completely agree. Christmas time means Blue and Gold time!!! The 77th annual tournament is set for another instant classic as powers around SWMO and small schools with a chip on their shoulder looks to shock SWMO.…
Seymour brought all the fight that Marionville wanted and forced OT in the second semifinal of the Marionville tournament but late heroics from Marionville’s Blane Young gave the Comets 63-53 win.
To play a home game is fun. To play in your own tournament’s championship in front of your home fans, is special. That is…
Tournament week is heating up and that certainly was the case in the opening semifinal game in the Marionville tournament where Greenwood held off Springfield Homeschool team RUSH 69-65.
This was a premiere matchup early on and it lived up to the billing right out of the gate as the teams got off to a…
The 2022 Boys Verona Tip-Off Classic is behind us and more importantly the 2022-23 basketball season is officially underway. We were impressed by the talent and the and the lack of parity from the top seed Verona through the eighth seed Everton. Here is the break down of how it happened and we reveal the…
Finally! Our new and improved site is up and functional and ready for content to flow once again. Just in time for basketball season I may add!!! Well over the summer we had our annual Future50 camp once again and this time under a new format! We had two fantastic days full of competition and…
Recap of Championship Friday from Walnut Grove
Final results and standings from our Blue and Gold Challenge.
The Blue and Gold and Pink and White is now concluded!!! Here is what happened on Championship Thursday.
Here is the updated standings from our Blue and Gold Challenge
Day 3 recap from the Blue and Gold
Day two results of our Blue and Gold Challenge
Miss day 2 of the Blue and Gold or Pink and White? Here is what you missed.
Day 1 results from our Blue and Gold Challenge.
Day 1 Coverage of the 76th annual Blue and Gold tournament
Are you as excited for the Blue and Gold as we are? Here’s something to tide you over until the tournament tips off at 9:30 Monday morning!
Day 1 recap of the Walnut Grove tournament
Its the best time of the year!!! We take a look at the Gold division matchups and give our predictions for the 2021 Blue and Gold Tournament.
Its the best time of the year!!! We take a look at the Blue division matchups and give our predictions for the 2021 Blue and Gold Tournament.
With an abundance of storylines coming out of Saturday. This is what we walked away thinking.
What a day of basketball in the Ozarks Saturday. We had to stretch thin to cover as many games as possible but this is who stood out.
Miller holds Blue Eye scoreless after one quarter however Warren and Arnold get last laugh
Vaught’s 30 not enough as North Shelby defeats Crane 62-61
Cole Feuerbacher shines as the Falcons down Shiloh Christian
Four Lions score double figures in dismantlement of one of Arkansas Finest.
With only eight Class 6 teams in the area, see who sits on top of arguably the toughest class in SWMO.
Class 5 is loaded with talent but what team leads the way?
Who is the cream of the crop in class 4 in SWMO?
Class 3 may be the deepest class in the entire state. See how theses SWMO squads stack up.
Combs rallies for 20 in the second half alone to down the Vikings
No Coach Price? No problem for the Lady Cardinals.
Class Two Boys Power Rankings
Our early season Power Rankings for Class One Boys
Mays hits seven threes as the Lady Bulldogs defeat the Lady Bison
Stars were out in Willard all week. Here who shined the brightest.
After a great week of games at one of the premiere early season tournaments in the area, This is who stood above the rest.
The Tigers use 22-0 run to defeat the Lakers
Tanner Jones shines as Greenwood defeats Flippin (AR)
Miller Long shines as the Cougars down the Eagles
Blaine Salsman goes nuclear for Monett with six threes.
Jay Baxter dominates as Stockton rolls Hurley
Jacob Stellwagen shines for Verona but the Pirates get the last laugh