The holidays are a special time, but in Southwest Missouri, there is always an extra buzz surrounding the week-long holiday basketball tournaments that take place in Springfield. Thousands of fans from all ages flock to the campus of Missouri State to witness the legendary Greenwood Blue and Gold Basketball Tournament.

Nixa Eagles head coach Brock Blansit is no stranger to the bright lights that turn on during the last week of December. Blansit won two Blue and Gold championships as a player at Hillcrest, numerous as an assistant coach at Nixa, and last year, won his first as a head coach.

"I seriously love the Blue and Gold. I've said it for years, it's [my] favorite time of year", Blansit stated. "The community supports it, there's 4,000-5,000 people watching these games". 

Coach Blansit's team put on a show in the 2022 rendition, smashing records en route to a dominant championship win over Rogersville.

Senior Josh Peters, along with his teammates, had a feeling they would have a good chance at a repeat, "We watched the seeds being revealed, and we knew that we had a really good shot [to repeat] as soon as we saw we were the number one seed."

Nixa's squad was dead on, as the Eagles claimed their 12th tournament title, the second most in tournament history (Kickapoo, 13). It was anything but easy, though, as it took a full team effort and plenty of clutch moments, some out from unlikely heroes. 

In the Gold Division, former Nixa point guard Jordan Epps led his Central Bulldogs squad to their first Blue and Gold championship in over 40 years. 

Read below for game summaries from the Eagles championship run.
 

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Nixa dominates both ends in opening round matchup vs. Reeds Spring

The Eagles title defense saw them slated as the top seed in the Blue division, which presented an opening-round matchup with Reeds Spring. 

Nixa showcased a dominating offense and a suffocating defensive effort throughout their performance in the Hammons Student Center. 

Josh Peters set the tone of the matchup on the first possession when he nailed a long ball. 

The Eagles got out to a hot start and never looked back, as a strong full-court press gave them the 26-5 lead after the first quarter. 

Devon Kemp and Peters made one of the best plays from the first round when Kemp threw a pass off the blackboard to Peters, who dunked on a defender.

With 3:48 left in the second quarter, Reeds Spring hit a 3-pointer. That was the last field goal Nixa's stout defensive effort would allow, holding the Wolves scoreless from the field for the remaining 19:12 of the game. 

At halftime, the Eagles commanded a 30-point lead, 48-18. 

In the second half, Nixa was able to clear the bench, allowing everyone to make an impact.

Nixa coasted to a 72-19 opening-round win. 

Freshman Adam McKnight made his name known in his Blue and Gold game as he led the way with 20 points.

Box Score
Nixa 26 | 22 | 22 | 2 | 72
Reeds Spring  5 | 13 |  1 | 0 | 19

Nixa Individual Scorers: McKnight (20), Peters (13), Kemp (9), Vincent (9), Cantwell (4), K. Flint (4), Foster (4), Hines (4), R. Flint (2)

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Explosive 2nd half propels Nixa to 5th straight semifinal

Nixa shifted gears to Great Southern Bank Arena for their quarterfinal matchup against Mountain Grove. It was the first meeting between the two programs since the Panthers played spoiler over the Eagles in the 2017 Blue Division championship game. 

Mtn. Grove defeated eighth-seeded Lebanon 65-62 to advance to the quarterfinal round. 

McKnight opened up the game on a 6-0 run, scoring all six points from inside the paint. 

The Panthers survived the initial flurry, however, and halfway through the first frame, trailed 8-5. 

Jaise Combs created separation when he traded a Mtn. Grove layup for back-to-back triples. 

McKnight capped off his big quarter with 12 points to give Nixa the 20-16 advantage after one.

In the second, it was the Devon Kemp quarter, as Kemp scored 16 of the 22 Eagle points. Kemp showcased his range with a pair of long balls from well beyond NBA range.

Nixa's lead was as large as 12 prior to the halftime break. Both squads traded runs before Kemp beat the buzzer to give the Eagles a 42-32 edge. 

The third quarter was led by the 3-point and paint game for Nixa, allowing the Eagles to begin to pull away. Four Eagles connected from deep in the frame, paired with eight points from Jackson Cantwell, to ultimately put the Panther defense in a bind. Cantwell ended his big quarter with a mid-range jumper to give the Eagles a 68-43 lead into the final quarter. 

All it took was eight minutes of perfectly executed defense by Nixa, who only allowed three field goals in the fourth and two big Randy Flint 3-pointers to secure the game for Nixa.

The Eagles would put the turbo clock into effect for the second-straight game, winning 87-50 over the Panthers.

Five Eagles reached double figures in the quarterfinal victory, led by McKnight (17) and Kemp (16).

Box Score
Nixa 20 | 22 | 26 | 19 | 87
Mountain Grove  16 | 16 |  11 | 7 | 50

Nixa Individual Scorers: McKnight (17), Kemp (16), R. Flint (11), Hines (11), Cantwell (10), Combs (9), Vincent (4), Lewis (3), Peters (3), Meltabarger (2), Foster (1)

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Nixa prevails in defensive showdown vs. Fair Grove

Basketball fans were in store for a treat on day three in Great Southern Bank Arena. Top-seeded Nixa and No. 5 Fair Grove clashed in a rematch of the prior year's Gold Division semifinal game. Nixa narrowly won that matchup 53-45, so this edition was highly anticipated. 

Points were at a premium in this defensive battle, which was expected when looking at these teams on paper. 

Nixa got out to an early 8-3 lead when Devon Kemp hit a 3-pointer with 3:40 to play in the first. However, Nixa would go scoreless for nearly the rest of the quarter, giving Fair Grove the 10-8 advantage. Finally, the drought ended when Keivon Flint beat the first-quarter buzzer to knot the score at 10.

The second-quarter defense for both teams was tremendous. Nixa outscored their opponent 6-2 in the quarter, but it felt larger due to holding Fair Grove scoreless for nearly nine minutes across the first half.

Nixa led 16-12 at halftime. 

The Nixa offense had clearly made the proper adjustments in the locker room, as the Eagles opened up the half on a 7-0 run, scoring on each of their first three possessions. 

Fair Grove proved multiple times throughout the second half that they were up for the fight. The opposition answered with a run to cut the lead back down to single digits.

Keivon Flint had his biggest quarter of the tournament with seven massive points to keep Nixa in control. He capped off his big outing by driving to the lane, pump-faking to get his defender air bourne, and scoring an easy basket at the block, which appeared to end the quarter, but four seconds still remained. Fair Grove wasted no time, though, hitting an outlet pass and finding a buzzer-beating deep ball within four and all the momentum to the purple and black.

Nixa held onto a 32-28 lead with eight minutes between them and another championship game appearance.

It was almost a poetic ending to the night, as free throw shooting won the games for Nixa, something Coach Blansit had been relaying to his squad they needed to improve on. 

"We've kind of struggled a bit at the [free throw] line and the 3-point line, so it's good to see us step up and make some free throws," Blansit stated. "I try to tell the kids that free throws are important in practice, and sometimes I think that kids just don't really get it, but it feels like our guys are understanding now."

Nixa would go 9-of-11 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, securing the 45-39 victory and a spot in the championship game for the third time in the last four years. 

Box Score
Nixa 10 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 45
Fair Grove  10 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 39

Nixa Individual Scorers: K. Flint (12), Kemp (9), Peters (9), McKnight (8), Hines (4), Cantwell (3)

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Super subs send Nixa atop the Blue Division field for 12th title

It was an all-Central Ozark Conference battle in the Blue Division title game, as No. 1 Nixa (8-3) battled No. 2 Republic (8-3) in a clash of the 2022 Blue and Gold champions.

This title game was another defensive battle in Great Southern Bank Arena for both squads, as it felt like every possession was so magnified. Republic controlled most of the first quarter, but Jaise Combs, per usual, provided a spark off the bench with a 3-pointer that gave the Nixa crowd something to cheer about.

After one, Republic led 13-9.

Nixa never led in the first half, but the energy in the building was clearly trending towards the Eagles when Devon Kemp tied the game at 24 with under a minute to play in the first half. That score would stick into the locker room. 

Out of the break, Kemp found Peters on a baseline inbound play early in the third quarter to give the top-seeded Eagles their first lead of the championship game. The Tigers regained a one-point lead, but again, Combs answered by draining a deep ball at the one-minute mark in the period to put Nixa in front 38-36.

With just north of four minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Bryce Foster hit what coach Blansit called the shot of the game. Foster swished in a corner 3-pointer for his only field goal of the night, but perhaps the biggest of the entire tournament, and erupted the Eagle faithful, who were now up six.

"Bryce hit the biggest shot of the game there in the fourth to get the lead up to six, which felt like 20 in a low-scoring game like that," stated Blansit.

Nixa would use another four minutes of lockdown defense and spot-on free-throw shooting, which was the best of the season, to secure the second-straight championship.

"I thought our effort was real good, and the fourth-quarter defense was the best the team had played all year," said Blansit. "Keivon's defense was just incredible. We made our free throws again and it came down to free throws to extend that lead from six to ten or twelve, instead of four-to-six, it makes a big difference."

Kemp led the way with 14 points, followed by McKnight with 12 and Peters with 10.

Nixa moves to 9-3 on the season and crowned their second tournament championship of the season. The Eagles return to action on January 6, 2024, when Nixa hosts (Columbia) Hickman. 

Box Score
Nixa 9 | 15 | 14 | 21 | 59
Republic 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 48

Nixa Individual Scorers: Kemp (14), McKnight (12), Peters (10), Combs (9), Cantwell (6), Foster (4), R. Flint (2), Hines (2)

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