Upon learning he tied Nixa's single-game school record with eight 3-pointers Friday, Kaleb Wofford couldn't help but poke fun at teammate Jason Jones.
"Dude, why did you travel?" Wofford said to Jones, while referring to a traveling call against Jones in the first half that nullified what would have been another Wofford 3-pointer.
"It's all my fault," Jones replied, as they shared a laugh.
"That's why you don't shoot the ball after a whistle," coach Jay Osborne said. "Back when I played, that was a technical."
Wofford's eight treys were enough to match Austin Ruder in Nixa's records book and highlight the Eagles' 81-60 triumph versus Webb City.
Ruder made eight treys on March 2, 2013.
The company Wofford will share for the record makes the accomplishment all the more meaningful to him.
"Austin and I are pretty close," Wofford said. "We started talking about two years ago. We worked out together prior to this season. We have similar playing styles in terms of shooting the ball and having the mindset of a shooter, we think alike. I've taken a lot from him. I've known how successful he was here as our all-time leading scorer. It's always nice to pick the brain of guys like him.
"Sharing the record with a great player like him is pretty cool," he added.
As Wofford mentioned, Ruder is Nixa's record-holder with 1,772 career points, along with 273 career 3-pointers and 92 3-pointers in a season.
Given Ruder's marksmanship, those who learned of Wofford tying Ruder's record were a bit surprised to learn the latter never made more than eight 3-pointers in a game.
"Part of that is probably my fault," Osborne said. "When we get up by 20-30 points, I let other kids play. I probably should have left him in for some games longer than I did."
Ruder has become a more frequent visitor at the high school since his playing days ended three years ago after one season at Oral Roberts. He also played four years at Missouri State.
"It was hard for him to come around when he was still playing," Osborne said. "Now he's in the real world and I talk to him sometimes and he comes to watch us play every now and then."
Wofford's road to the record saw him swish one 3-pointer in first quarter, two in both the second and third quarters and three in the fourth quarter.
Osborne passed along congrats to Wofford for tying Ruder and felt it was a reflection of how well the Eagles are passing the ball.
"Kaleb has a beautiful shot and when he's feeling it, he's feeling it. I'm happy for him," Osborne said. "He got good looks. His teammates found him when he was open.
"The team is starting to pass the ball well. We're sharing the basketball," he added. "We're very unselfish right now, which is especially important in February. The kids know the more we share and distribute the basketball, the better we are. We're a pretty good team when we move the ball."
Nixa (19-3 overall and 5-0 in the COC) put up 24 points against Webb City in the second, third and fourth quarters.
The Cardinals' Nickhai Howard scored 21 of his 26 points in second half, but couldn't rally underachieving Webb City (14-7 and 2-3). The Eagles' lead in the second half was always at least 15 points.
Colin Ruffin added 17 points for Nixa.
Showdown for COC title on tap
Nixa travels to Republic (20-2 and 6-0) on Tuesday in what very well could be a COC championship game. The Tigers fought off an upset bid by Joplin Friday and won 69-67.
"This will be pretty much the last big step for us to winning the conference," Wofford said. "I think we have a good chance."
Republic's Drew McMillin scored 39 points versus Joplin and, of course, enjoyed a 61-point night that included 16 3-pointers against Camdenton a couple weeks back. That tied the state's single-game record for single-game 3-pointers.
McMillin and Wofford were club ball teammates on three teams as youngsters.
"To think I had half (the 3-pointers) of what he did the other night," Wofford said. "He's a knockdown shooter and is capable of doing things none of us would think is possible. We've been friends since we were little. At the end of the day, he's a friend away from the court, but an enemy on the court."
Osborne respects Republic, but is hoping the competition Nixa has faced has the Eagles battle-tested enough to win on the Tigers' home floor.
"They play a good brand of team basketball. They know their roles well," Osborne said. "It could be a game in the 40s or 50s. We'll try to get it in the 60s. If it gets in the 60s, we'll be all right. If it stays in the 40s or 50s, we'll be in for a dogfight.
"No knock on them, but they haven't played our schedule," he added. "They lost to a really good Greenwood team and a really good Helias team. But they haven't played Hartville and they haven't played Kickapoo twice. I think our schedule is going to benefit us."
Nixa 81, Webb City 60
WEBB CITY (60) — Garrard 1 0-0 2, Martin 2 5-6 9, Hayes 1 0-0 2, Howard 10 1-2 26, Turner 1 1-2 3, Vaden 6 0-0 16, Brummit 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 7-10 60.
NIXA (81) — Ruffin 5 5-8 17, Turner 1 3-4 5, Combs 4 2-4 10, Sorgenfrei 1 0-0 3, Wofford 8 0-0 24, Nelson 5 2-7 12, Jones 4 2-2 10. Totals 28 14-25 81.
Webb City 8 10 18 24 - 60
Nixa 9 24 24 24 - 81
3-point goals - Wofford 8, Howard 5, Vaden 4, Ruffin 2, Sorgenfrei.
