There's a reason Isaac Johnson has earned the nickname "Ice".
Notorious for being cool in the clutch and knocking down big shots in huge games, Kickapoo's senior guard scored 12 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Chiefs to a 68-59 win over Ozark for the Class 5 – District 11 championship Friday night in Branson.
“I’m never thinking about myself when it comes to scoring, but we needed a boost tonight because we were struggling shooting the ball,” said Johnson. “Those first three quarters I was a little passive and I wasn’t really hitting shots. In the second half I tried to come out aggressive, my teammates found me and I tried to just knock down shots.”
Kickapoo led wire-to-wire, but what was once a double-digit advantage had dwindled to just a possession, 53-51, after Ozark seniors Kyland Hewtt-Newbill and Riley Simmons willed the Tigers back into the game with a 12-5 run.
Simmons hit his lone 3 of the game to cut Kickapoo's six-point lead in half, 52-49. The senior guard battled foul trouble thought Friday's game.
Hewett-Newbill scored seven of the other nine points of the run and 12 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter.
“The last few games he’s played with a certain level of assertiveness that it was good to see him attain,” said Ozark coach Mark Schweitzer. “He really took it upon himself to get buckets for us whenever we needed them tonight. I thought he did a great job.”
That's when Johnson took over.
The Drury commit hit a 3 immediately following a timeout to extend Kickapoo's lead to 56-51 with 2:53 to play.
Two possessions later, following a Hewett-Newbill layup, Johnson hit another 3 to give Kickapoo a 62-54 lead with under two to play.
He scored 12 of Kickapoo's final 15 points to, well, put the game on ice.
“This is his third year as a starter in our varsity program and I think he just took it upon himself,” said Kickapoo coach Dick Rippe. “The team needed a lift and he was hitting things in rhythm. Our guys did a good job of sharing the ball and Ice was fantastic down the stretch and made some big shots for us.”
Ozark hung tough despite facing two separate stretches that seemed like Kickapoo might pull away from the Tigers for good.
The Chiefs scored the first seven points of the game and opened up a 13-3 lead before Ozark began to settle in.
An 8-0 run in the second quarter pulled Ozark within one, 18-17, and the Tigers trailed by just a possession at the half, 29-26.
Kickapoo started the third quarter with a 13-4 run, capped by a Johnson 3, taking a 42-30 lead before Ozark began chipping away again.
In addition to Hewett-Newbill's 23 points, classmates Collin Bottoms and Clayton Engel added 11 and 10 respectively.
The Tigers have now lost in back-to-back district championship games to Kickapoo by a total of 10 points. But, after losing a loaded senior class not many outside of Ozark expected the Tigers to have a 19-win season and again compete for conference and district championships.
With sophomore standouts Curt Gracey and Quinn Nelson back, as well as Parker Hanks, there will be plenty for Schweitzer to build on next year.
“Our seniors exceeded the expectations of the people on the outside,” said Schweitzer. “They weren’t expected to have as good of a year as we did, and we had some ups and downs, but we ended on a high and playing well. We have a lot of young guys coming and they were able to compete and make us better this year by positively competing.”
The Four Horsemen continue to power Kickapoo offensively, with Johnson, Niekie Thomas-Fontleroy (15), Jared Ridder (13) and Cam Davis (8) combining for 61 of Kickapoo’s 68 points.
The Chiefs claim back-to-back district championships for the first time since 2006-07 when Kickapoo won five straight district titles starting in 2003.
The win also sets up a rematch with budding rival Nixa. Kickapoo won the inaugural meeting this season, 74-43; this after the Eagles won the regular season and sectional meeting last year.
Rippee and the Chiefs are eager for an opportunity to extend their season.
“They’re a different team; they’re a better team than they were then,” said Rippee. “We respect that program and from here on out there’s not going to be any games where you can just flip it out there; you’ve got to come prepared and ready to play. We don’t want this thing to end, hopefully our seniors continue to show leadership and keep us moving forward. We are looking forward to that opportunity and we know Nixa is too.”
Kickapoo 68, Ozark 59
Ozark 7-19-13-20 – 59
Kickapoo 16-13-19-20 – 68
Ozark (19-8) – Hewett-Newbill 23, Bottoms 11, Engel 10, Nelson 6, Simmons 5, Osborn 2, Hanks 1, Gracey 1.
Kickapoo (26-2) – Johnson 25, Thomas-Fontleroy 15, Ridder 13, Davis 9, Vokolek 4, Roberson 3.
