Takeaways from the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament's second half of opening-round games
There were no upsets or historic scoring performances in the final eight games of the first round at the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament. Instead, we were left to learn more about each team and see who the threats were to win it all moving forward.
Here are our takeaways from the second half of Tuesday's openers.
Ozark impresses after falling to Central before the tournament
We might have already gotten a sneak peek at the Gold Division championship when the two top seeds met on Dec. 22 ahead of the tournament. The Bulldogs ran away with the game in a 79-61 statement that left you wondering if Ozark was worthy of its No. 2 seed.
A 75-32 win over Clever showed that the Tigers aren't backing down and they'll be better if they get their chance at the Bulldogs again, even after how impressive the Central looked earlier Tuesday in its 86-51 win over Skyline.
More: Takeaways from the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament's first half of opening-round games
Clever only had 10 points at halftime against the overwhelming Tigers' defense. Hudson Roberts scored 15 points with freshman Kylan Pickren adding 12.
Republic has one of the highest ceilings of any team in the area
There is a lot to like about the Tigers this season. We heard before the year that this could be Tim Brown's best team at Republic and we saw glimpses that suggest that could be true.
Republic's 71-51 win over Buffalo was a bit of a mixed back. There are some solid players for Buffalo — especially in 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Blair Abraham.
More: Why Logan-Rogersville freshman Chase Branham has chance to be special in his coach's eyes
But the Tigers have some dudes. Brenley Hagewood is unquestionably one of the better players in the Ozarks and Aslan Ebisch was impressive during the Tigers' opening round win. The Tigers' bigs are as athletic as they come with football standout James Rexroat being the muscle down low and C.J. Uhl being a matchup problem with his 6-foot-7 versatility. They also have solid depth in Davin Parks, Rylee Tan, Cason Bekemeier and others.
Republic is a threat to win the Blue Division. Nixa hasn't appeared to be as overwhelming as in previous years early this season and we've seen Republic have success against Hartville in recent history.
Glendale should be much better than what it showed in opening-round win over Marshfield
The Falcons left some to be desired after their 48-40 win over Marshfield to cap off the Gold Division opening round. If Glendale plays the way it's capable of playing, it could be a team that makes a run to a championship game.
The first half, which Glendale trailed by three after, didn't see the Falcons play their best team basketball. There were a lot of poor shot selections and turnovers that allowed Marshfield to have early hope.
Luckily, senior guard Ta'Veaion Washington had a great night by scoring 24 points when others weren't having their best nights from the field. We know how capable sophomore star Amare Witham is as he scored 13 points while creating a few plays for others. Witham was a bit off but if he gets going, he could lead the Falcons past Strafford and have an opportunity in a semifinal game against Ozark or Branson.
More: What to know about the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament: Brackets, top players, storylines
Glendale's talent is there and it can be one of the best teams in the Ozarks. A solid showing Wednesday and they'll be a scary team come the tournament's final two days.
Hartville looked like... well... Hartville
The Eagles looked like a team that should have gotten more attention as a possible No. 1 or No. 2 seed. They were their usual dominant selves during a 53-25 win over Stockton.
Stockton only scored more than six points in a quarter once when it went for nine in the second. By that time, the Eagles had already built a 40-13 lead as they continued to look like the team we've become accustomed to over the last few years.
More: Predicting the 2023 Blue and Gold Tournament. Is this Central's year? Will Nixa repeat?
Jalon Cryer scored a game-high 19 points while knocking down four 3's. The Eagles also got 10 points out of Mason Cogdill and Payton Cogdill.
The win was the second time Hartville has allowed just 25 points in a game this season along with its opening day 49-25 win over Chadwick in late November.
Strafford's Cody Voysey looks like the best shooter in the area
Voysey had been in contention as one of the area's best shooters for the first two years of his high school career but he might be at the top of the list now.
Voysey finished with 25 points with four 3's in Strafford's 57-46 win over Mount Vernon. He scored nine of the game's first 11 points.
It had been a few years in the making for Voysey to become the unquestioned leader of the Strafford basketball team. He was one of the better freshmen in the area and later stepped into a main role as a sophomore with different standouts on the Strafford roster sitting out.
And there's no dropoff. Strafford looks like a team that's going to challenge in a Class 4 district that it's hosting which features schools in a bit of a transition year including Bolivar and Catholic.
A run in the Gold Division? Don't rule it out, even against No. 3 Glendale at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Branson defense shuts down Ava
No player scored more than eight points for Branson but its defense was dominant in a 45-24 win over the Bears.
Ava was held to four points in the third and fourth quarters each. It followed a three-point second quarter for the Bears who only scored seven points as a team outside of Isaac Dalton's 17 points.
Brody Gillespie and Jayce Culver each scored eight points for the Pirates.
Catholic hits late free throws to escape West Plains
After Catholic claimed a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter, it played evenly with West Plains until the fourth quarter when the Zizzers hit two quick 3's and brought the game within one.
West Plains could never get over the hump and claim the lead as Catholic hit its free throws down the stretch and pulled away for a 61-49 victory.
Ryder Rowden scored 15 points while hitting all 10 of his free throws with six coming in the fourth quarter. He scored eight of the Irish's 18 points in the fourth.
The Fightin' Irish were a combined 21 for 26 from the free throw line during the game.
Willard uses balanced attack to take out Bolivar
Four different Tigers put up more than 10 points to advance Willard past Bolivar in a 69-53 first round victory.
Braxton Boyer and Nahmy Kelley each scored 13 points to lead the Tigers.
Bolivar was held to 19 points in the first half before finding its stroke in the third quarter by scoring 23 points. However, Willard couldn't miss either as it scored 30 points in the frame to hold off any Liberator comeback.
Blue Division results and schedule
Mountain Grove 65, No. 8 Lebanon 62
No. 1 Nixa 72, Reeds Spring 19
No. 5 Fair Grove 77, Aurora 64
No. 4 Logan-Rogersville 71, Camdenton 45
No. 7 Catholic 61, West Plains 49
No. 2 Republic 71, Buffalo, 51
No. 6 Willard 69, Bolivar 53
No. 3 Hartville 53, Stockton 25
Gold Division results and schedule
No. 8 Ash Grove 82, Willow Springs 80
No. 1 Central 86, Skyline 51
No. 5 Greenwood 64, Crane 40
No. 4 Sparta 61, Spokane 24
No. 7 Branson 45, Ava 24
No. 2 Ozark 75, Clever 32
No. 6 Strafford 57, Mount Vernon 46
No. 3 Glendale 48, Marshfield 40
Blue Division quarterfinal schedule
Winner's bracket games in Great Southern Bank Arena
5 p.m. — No. 1 Nixa vs. Mountain Grove
6:30 p.m. — No. 4 Logan-Rogersville vs. No. 5 Fair Grove
8 p.m. — No. 2 Republic vs. No. 7 Catholic
9:30 p.m. — No. 3 Hartville vs. No. 6 Willard
Gold Division quarterfinal schedule
Winner's bracket games in Great Southern Bank Arena
9:30 a.m. — No. 1 Central vs. No. 8 Ash Grove
11 a.m. — No. 4 Sparta vs. No. 5 Greenwood
12:30 p.m. — No. 2 Ozark vs. No. 7 Branson
2 p.m. — No. 3 Glendale vs. No. 6 Strafford
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: Opening round takeaways, scores
