The Nixa boys basketball team opened up its 2022-23 campaign by winning the Willard Classic Tournament.

In the opening round, it was all Eagles, as Nixa defeated Flippin, Ark. in a turbo-clock victory 83-40. Nixa's was sparked by Kael Combs' (21), Garrett Hines' (18), and Josh Peters' (10) double-digit efforts and its stout defense.

Box Score:
Nixa 27 | 19 | 28 | 9 | 83
Flippin (AR) 10 | 8 | 19 | 3 | 40

View game photos here.
 

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Nixa faced off with Springfield Central in the semifinals and the matchup provided the Eagles with a greater test, unlike its first round. It was a back-and-forth contest for the majority of the game, as neither team gained a comfortable cushion. 

The first-half intermission saw the Eagles carry a two-point lead of 28-26 into the break.

Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs led 42-39, but a three-pointer by Josh Peters and a bucket by Kael Combs with under a minute remaining gave the Eagles the lead again at 46-44.

Nixa held Central off the scoreboard for the first minute of the fourth quarter and extended its lead to 50-44 with 6:50 left. A minute later Central trimmed Nixa's lead to 52-49 after a couple of miscues by the Eagles.

From there, free throws down the stretch eventually secured the victory for the Eagles. Nixa scored 15 points with 5:15 remaining in the game, 13 of which came from the charity stripe. 

Combs tallied eight of those 15 points, helping lead the Eagles off the court with a 67-56 victory. He finished with a game-high 26 points, while Peters notched 16.

Box Score:
Nixa 15 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 67
Central 13 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 56

View game photos here.
 

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The championship game featured two of the area's top teams and players, and the matchup did not disappoint. Nixa entered as the No. 8-ranked team in Class 6 and Bolivar entered as the No. 5-ranked team in Class 5. Within their rosters are returning All-State selections, Kael Combs and Kyle Pock, and the two stole the show.

Pock scored the first points of the game, Josh Peters responded back with a three-pointer, and Combs intercepted a Bolivar pass and converted it into a monster dunk, giving Nixa the 5-2 lead early. 

Midway through the first quarter, Bolivar gained its first lead of the game at 10-9 and eventually also carried a one-point advantage into halftime. 

The Liberators went on an 11-0 run to end the first and begin the second quarter. Combs ended the run with a pair of freebies, trimming Bolivar's lead to 23-13, but the Liberators held onto a double-digit margin for the majority of the frame and led by as much as 15 points around the three-minute mark.

Then came the Eagles comeback. 

Combs (8) and Peters (7) combined for 15 points in the final three minutes of the half to overcome the double-digit deficit. Combs drained two pull-up three-pointers under a minute left, including one as time expired. 

At the break, Bolivar led Nixa 43-42.

The Liberators scored the first bucket of the second half at the 6:32 mark and then in the following Nixa possessions, Peters drained back-to-back threes and gave the Eagles its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. 

Next it was Garrett Hines' hot hand. He scored two-consecutive threes late in the third and gave Nixa its largest lead in the game of eight with 1:34 in the third and forced a Bolivar timeout.

Heading into the final quarter, Nixa led 59-51 and was eight minutes away from hoisting the title.

Bolivar again tallied the first points of the quarter but Nixa fired back. Combs drove to the lane but was instantly swarmed by blue jerseys, thus he dished it out to a wide open Devon Kemp at the top of the three-point line. Kemp swished it right in, and it was 62-55 in favor of Nixa with seven minutes left.

Nixa went the next two minutes scoreless and Bolivar used it to their advantage on offense, as the Liberators cut into the Eagles led and only trailed 62-60 with five left. Peters ended the scoring drought with a corner and extended Nixa's lead to five. 

With Nixa leading 67-60 and 3:35 remaining, the Eagles started to melt the clock and possessed the ball for nearly a minute until Bolivar intentionally fouled Noah Engelman. Nixa enacted the same tactic for another 30 seconds but then turned the ball over, and Bolivar started to gain momentum.

Bolivar scored eleven points, six of which came from Pock, in the final two minutes of the game but the clock was not in the Liberators' favor, and it would be to little too late, as Combs' clutch free-throwing shooting iced the game for Nixa. Combs made six free throws down stretch to cement the 75-71 title-winning victory for the Eagles.

Combs (29) and Peters (24) were red hot from the field, combining for over half of the Eagles scoring in the game. Pock went neck-to-neck with Combs all night and finished with 26. 

Combs finished the invitational averaging 25 a game, while also making pivotal assists and steals.

Nixa (3-0) travels to Kansas City to compete in the Liberty North Invitational Dec. 7-9.

Box Score:
Nixa 11 | 31 | 17 | 16 | 75
Bolivar 16 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 70

View game photos here.