2023 Blue and Gold Tournament: The top performers from Tuesday's opening round matchups

The opening day of the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament featured one of the best individual performances in the tournament's history along with a handful of others that helped lead their teams to victory.

Here are the players who impressed us the most during the first round.

Brady Nicholson, Ash Grove

Nicholson broke area legend Aminu Mohammed's single-game tournament record by scoring 50 points in the opening game of the Gold Division. Every point was needed in a close 82-80 victory over Willow Springs. Nicholson showed off his smooth stroke and got to his spots on the floor. Playing with four fouls for much of the second half, Nicholson was still aggressive and got to the foul line where he made 14 of 14 shots. Mohammed set the record at 49 in 2019 during a Gold Division championship win over Kickapoo.

More: Takeaways from the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament's first half of opening-round games

Kolby James, Willow Springs

James was one of the more impressive sophomores of opening day but a special performance on the other side handed James a defeat in the opening round. James still scored 30 points for the Bears which included four makes from deep.

Bradley Henry, Mountain Grove

Henry scored a game-high 29 points in the Panthers' upset win over eight-seeded Lebanon in the Blue Division. The 6-foot-3 senior scored 16 of his points in the first quarter and knocked down five 3's overall.

Josh Peters, Nixa

Peters nearly outscored Reeds Spring by himself while putting up 18 points in a 72-19 win over the Wolves. All of Peters' damage came in the first half as he scored 10 points in the first eight minutes and eight points in the second.

Tyrique Brooks, Central

There are a few names who can stand out for Central in any given game but Brooks took the spotlight in an opening round 86-51 win over Skyline. Brooks, who moved to Central from Waynesville, threw down highlight dunks all morning long en route to 26 points.

More: Takeaways from the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament's second half of opening-round games

Parker Owen, Skyline

Skyline didn't have much resistance against Central but the play from its standout freshman should put him on a few radars heading into the rest of the year. Owen, at 5-foot-10, scored 24 of the Tigers' 51 points. He knocked down six 3's with three coming in the third quarter.

Collin Clark, Greenwood

Clark entered the tournament expected to put on a few big showings and he didn't disappoint in the opening round. The 6-foot-7 guard got to the basket when he wanted and scored a team-high 22 points.

Logan Sanders, Greenwood

Sanders helped Greenwood get off to a 15-0 run to set the tone in Greenwood's win over Crane. He scored 21 points and made five shots from beyond the arc.

More: Why Logan-Rogersville freshman Chase Branham has chance to be special in his coach's eyes

Blake Winterberg, Fair Grove

Winterberg made big shot after big shot whenever Aurora threatened to make it a game. Winterberg scored 14 points for the Eagles during their 56-43 win over the Houn Dawgs.

Tyler Barnett, Fair Grove

Barnett is a steady 6-foot-7 presence for a Fair Grove team that features a few capable of having good games. He scored 20 points with all of his damage coming from short range or at the free throw line.

Cannon Thornhill, Aurora

Thornhill did all he could while coming up short against Fair Grove. He scored 29 points with 24 of them coming in the second half. He exploded for 17 points in the third quarter to help Aurora get back into the game. He finished with four 3's.

Chase Branham, Logan-Rogersville

Branham announced himself to the Blue and Gold Tournament with his first appearance as a freshman. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the second quarter to help lift the Wildcats over Camdenton. He's one of the smoother freshmen you'll see with great passing and playmaking ability. He's going to be in these lists plenty over the next four years.

Ta'Veaion Washington, Glendale

The Falcons struggled to get their offense going at times but there was no struggle from their 6-foot-3 senior guard. Washington was critical in the Falcons' win over Marshfield as he went for 24 points with four 3's. He scored eight of the Falcons' 11 first quarter points and seven of their 11 second quarter points to keep them within reach.

Jackson Basham, Camdenton

Basham helped the Lakers threaten the Wildcats early with his hot shooting from deep. He made seven 3-pointers in the loss and finished with 25 points.

Cody Voysey, Strafford

Voysey scored nine of the game's first 11 points while leading his team to a 57-46 Gold Division win over Mount Vernon. He knocked down four 3's and scored 25 points in the game. Whenever the junior guard was in the game, you felt like he was in control as he continued to establish himself as one of the area's best players.

Rowdy Ball, Sparta

Four different Trojans scored in double-figures and Ball led the way with 14 points in a beatdown of Spokane. He knocked down a pair of 3's in a balanced attack when the Owls were keying in on star senior Jacob Lafferty.

Tegen Curley, Marshfield

Curley looked like one of the better basketball players in the Ozarks despite coming up short in Marshfield's loss to Glendale. The 6-foot-7 senior guard scored 20 points despite sitting out for the majority of the third quarter. He made three 3's in the first half to give Glendale a bit of a scare through the first 16 minutes.

Ryder Rowden, Catholic

West Plains had a few comeback attempts late in the game but Rowden's steady play throughout the fourth quarter held off any hope the Zizzers had. Rowden scored 15 points while going 10 for 10 from the line — including hitting all six of his free throws in the fourth quarter.

Hudson Roberts, Ozark

The Arkansas baseball commit continued to show why he's one of the best basketball players in the Ozarks as well. He scored a team-high 15 points for the Tigers in a 75-32 beatdown of Clever.

Jalon Cryer, Hartville

We named Cryer a Second Team All-Tournament player a year ago and he looked like a player who could challenge to make the first team this year. He opened up his tournament by scoring 19 points with four 3's in the Eagles' win over Stockton. He's been one of the more impressive players in the area for the last few seasons.

Kylan Pickren, Ozark

We've given a lot of love to Branham, Rogersville's super freshman, during the preseason and early part of the season. Don't forget about Pickren who has been impressive for the Tigers throughout the early part of the season. He had 12 points for the Tigers on Tuesday.

James Rexroat, Republic

Yes, it's the same Rexroat who dominated the football field and led Republic to a Class 5 state runner-up finish this season. The tight end doubles as a strong forward for the Republic basketball team. He scored 17 points for the Tigers during their win over Branson.

Blair Abraham, Buffalo

Here's a sophomore for you to know from a team that doesn't get as much publicity as others. Abraham is a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard who has the body to develop into one of the better small-school players in the region. He had 12 points in the Bison's loss to Republic.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament: Top performers from opening round