Despite another banner evening for the brilliant Glendale sophomore Monty Johal, it was Ozark that got the last laugh on Friday night as four players reached double-digits in the scoring column to will the Tigers to a 94-73 victory at Ozark High School.
Thanks to strong offensive performances from Kyland Hewett-Newbill, Riley Simmons, Clayton Engel and Collin Bottoms, Ozark (14-5) achieved its highest scoring output of the season to outshine a 29-point effort from Johal, who scored the first eleven points for Glendale (11-7).
“That's just Monty being Monty,” Glendale head coach Brian McTague said of his talented sophomore guard. “He's capable of doing that at any time.”
In the early going, it didn't appear that the Tigers were even going to flirt with a win – let alone a 90-point scoring total at the end of the night – considering they found themselves in a 27-20 hole two minutes through the second quarter.
“We didn't really play very well in the first half,” said Ozark head coach Mark Schweitzer. “I didn't think we guarded very well and we looked a half-step slow. I don't think it was anything other than just one of those starts where we weren't hitting on all cylinders yet.”
Schweitzer saw his team come to life in the final six minutes of the half, however, as they rallied to score seven straight points to tie the game at 27 and ultimately grab a 38-35 halftime lead, thanks to back-to-back threes by sophomore Quinn Nelson in the second period's final minute.
Although Schweitzer wasn't exactly pleased with how his Tigers played halfway through the game, he refused to revert to a lecture chock-full of criticism and elevated voices in the locker room, and instead elected to instill one simple message.
“I just told them to build off of that end of the second quarter,” Schweitzer said.
Ozark listened – storming out of the second-half gate with a 13-4 run and outscoring the Falcons 56-38 the rest of the way.
The furious offensive charge from the Ozark was led by senior guard Kyland Hewett-Newbill, who recorded 19 of his team-high 25 points over the final 16 minutes of play.
“He does a great job of scoring the basketball when he's aggressive,” Schweitzer said of Hewett-Newbill. “We need him to take on that attitude more often. Tonight, he did a great job.”
Hewett-Newbill was able to take advantage of gaps in the Glendale defense to cut inside and leave himself open for easy scores.
“I was just getting to the holes and my teammates were finding me when I was cutting,” Hewett-Newbill said. “It made it easy on me to get layups.”
Simmons followed closely behind with 21 points, while Engel and Bottoms chipped in with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
“Really, I think it just goes back to the way we shared the ball,” added Schweitzer. “When our kids trust each other, we're hard to guard.”
Ozark will try to continue its eye-popping level of offensive efficiency against Willard next Friday, while Glendale hosts West Plains on Tuesday.
Box Score
Glendale – 19 16 15 23 – 73
Ozark – 18 20 21 35 – 94
Glendale – Monty Johal 29, Jordan Walton 15, Zach Helm 11, Tristan Baker 7, Will Sachs 5, Spencer Wester 4, Josh Call 2
Ozark – Kyland Hewett-Newbill 25, Riley Simmons 21, Clayton Engel 17, Collin Bottoms 10, Curt Gracey 9, Quinn Nelson 6, Peyton Osborn 4, Carter Burgess 2
