We found out Tuesday Brandon Gordon is a hugger.

Gordon reveled in the jubilation of Nixa's 61-54 double-overtime win over Ozark in a Class 5 District 11 semifinal. He stayed on Kickapoo's court longer than any of his Eagles teammates for no other reason than he didn't have any choice with seemingly everyone wanting to embrace the senior guard.

One particular hug stood out for Gordon.

"When my mom (Julie) came running up to me and she hugged me, that was a special moment for me because this doesn't happen in my life without her," Gordon said. "I hugged my family members. I hugged a bunch of friends — they were jumping all over me. I don't even know how many people I hugged, but it was a lot. And I was happy to do it."

We also found out Gordon is clutch come crunch time at the free-throw line. 

He was a big part of Nixa clinching its record-setting third win over Ozark from the charity stripe. The Eagles were 22-of-24 from the foul line over the fourth quarter and overtimes. They were 11-of-12 shooting freebies in the second overtime.

Gordon was 6-of-6 on his free throws in the second overtime to cap his 16-point night.

It was all about a senior wanting to extend his career.

"Hitting those free throws, all I was thinking about was helping my team," Gordon said. "I wanted to continue this. This is my last year. I didn't want to lose tonight. I kept telling myself, 'I'm going to hit these, I'm not going to miss one.'"

For Nixa (15-12), it's the first time in school history the Eagles have swept three games in a season from Ozark (16-11). 

The Eagles can celebrate that feat, even after not leading at all in regulation or the first overtime. They took their first lead at the 3:15 mark of the second overtime on two Josh Mason free throws to go up 50-48.

Nixa outscored Ozark 29-18 from the free-throw line. The only consistency in the Eagles' offense was their free-throw shooting. They were 29-of-33 overall. The Tigers were 18-of-29.

For the full game recap, click here.
 

OZARK (54) — Cline 3 2-2 8, Holzer 2 4-4 9, Ramsdell 2 2-4 6, Cooper 0 2-2 2, Flavin 1 0-0 3, Riwa 1 0-3 2, Elliott 1 6-8 8, Drake 7 2-4 16. Totals 17 18-29 54.

NIXA (61) — Long 2 0-0 4, Engelman 1 5-6 7, Roemen 3 3-4 9, Gordon 3 8-8 6, Akers 0 5-6 5, Mason 6 6-9 18, Wofford 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 29-33 61.

Ozark   13  9   9   13  4   6  - 54

Nixa      5   8  13  18  4  13 - 61
 

For the O-Zone recap and video highlights, click here.

For the O-Zone game photos, click here.