SPRINGFIELD — As badly as Josh Mason had been struck with a virus since last Friday, he endured one of the most stressful weekends of his life and the start of this week was terribly trying on him, as well.
The Nixa senior guard was full of anguish at the very real prospect he may have already played the last game of his life as an Eagle.
He didn't practice Friday, didn't practice Monday and didn't make the team bus to travel to Parkview for Nixa's Class 5 District 11 semifinal matchup with the Vikings on Tuesday.
But in storybook fashion and full of adrenaline, Mason emerged from his doldrums to score 14 points and spark the Eagles to a 68-39 whipping of Parkview.
"I was about to leave tonight to get on the bus and I started to throw up. So, I came here with my parents," Mason said. "I wasn't feeling good. I knew this was going to be hovering over me the rest of my life, if I didn't play this game. I knew I was going to give it everything I had and try to play, regardless. I didn't have to play the fourth quarter, which was good.
"If there wasn't much on the line tonight, I'd be at home now. I don't know if I'll make it to school (Wednesday)."
"Mind over matter," coach Jay Osborne added. "When adrenaline takes over, you forget about not feeling well. When adrenaline gets going, it's time to compete."
Nixa center Jason Jones could relate to Mason as much as anybody. Last month, he was bed-ridden with a virus that forced him to miss a week of practices and two games.
Upon his return for the Eagles' win over Republic two weeks ago, Jones struggled mightily. Since then, though, he has been playing some of his best ball of the season. That trend continued Tuesday, as he scored 11 points and also was a presence in the paint defensively.
"I was definitely out of shape when I came back," Jones said. "The coaches were careful with me and monitoring me."
Jones has found what had been an ever-so elusive balance between being aggressive and not being overly aggressive.
"Jones played well at both ends of the floor," Osborne said. "They didn't have an answer for him. The key is he stayed out of foul trouble. When he does that, he's hard to guard. He's got length and does a nice job around the rim."
"I felt I was ready to play tonight," Jones said. "The coaches wanted me to be aggressive, put a lot of pressure on (Parkview) inside and definitely stay out of foul trouble. You've got to play smart. If you don't play smart, you're going to get fouls."
As Mason mentioned, he and Nixa's starters didn't play any or much at all in the fourth quarter. The Eagles (21-6) put Parkview away and put the turbo clock into effect by outscoring the Vikings 26-0 in the third quarter.
Altogether, Nixa scored 31 straight points going back to the end of the second quarter.
"That was a pretty sweet third quarter," Osborne said. "We started the quarter with a missed two-footer and a wide-open 3 missed. I was thinking at the time, 'That's going to be huge.' The next thing I look up and we're up by 23 or something. We responded well."
"I knew they weren't scoring a lot, but didn't realize they hadn't scored the entire third quarter," guard Kaleb Wofford said. "Once I heard that on the bench, I was in awe because I don't think I've ever had that happen in a game I played. That was great defense. It was a perfect quarter."
Nixa and Parkview put together an entertaining first quarter and were tied at 19 a minute into the second quarter. A classic contest seemed to be in the works between two teams peaking at the right time.
Parkview (17-9) had won 12 games in a row and Nixa had won six straight while capturing a share of the COC championship.
"We beat one of the hottest teams in the area," Osborne said. "They had us concerned because they were playing really well."
Included in Parkview's winning streak was a 54-50 victory over the Eagles in the championship game of the Nixa Invitational Tournament.
"The first time we played them they came out really aggressive and we weren't ready for it," Wofford said. "We switched that up this game and obviously it made a difference."
The manner in which Nixa avenged a loss with an absolute whipping reminded the Eagles of the revenge they gained on Joplin and why not. Nixa blew out Joplin by the same 68-39 score in their COC meeting in February, after Joplin took the teams' first contest 49-40 in December at the Carthage Tournament.
"This was like Joplin when we were up on them by 40," Mason said. "It's hard to keep up with us, I guess."
The Eagles were so hot Tuesday they wouldn't be denied, even when going 5-on-6. While running downcourt and preparing to catch a pass in front of the Nixa bench, Wofford inadvertently was tripped by a referee. He kept his balance, caught the pass and swished a 3-pointer from the corner.
"At first, I couldn't tell if it was a ref who had tripped me or one of my coaches by accident," Wofford said. "I had to recover from it. I didn't let that affect me. Before I got tripped, I knew I was going to shoot because I was feeling good. Once I recovered and caught the ball, I knocked it down."
Nixa advances to meet No. 1 seed Kickapoo (17-9) in the final at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The girls final featuring Nixa and Kickapoo will tip off at 6.
To view video highlights, click here.
Nixa 68, Parkview 39
PARKVIEW (39) — Clark 3 0-0 8, Whitley 3 2-4 10, Johnson 1 0-0 3, Brazile 3 1-2 7, Taylor 1 2-6 4, Parker 1 0-0 3, Toliver 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 5-12 39.
NIXA (68) — Ruffin 3 1-3 8, Combs 2 2-3 6, Mason 5 1-3 14, Sorgenfrei 5 0-0 11, Wofford 3 0-0 8, Engelman 1 0-0 2, Jones 5 1-2 11, Collard 2 0-0 4, Berry 1 1-2 3. Totals 27 6-13 68.
Parkview 17 8 0 14 - 39
Nixa 19 16 26 7 - 68
3-point goals - Mason 3, Wofford 2, Clark 2, Whitley 2, Ruffin, Sorgenfrei, Combs, Johnson, Parker.
