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By Jordan Burton
Springfield, MO – It’s been awhile since it has been said, but the Greenwood Blue Jays are marching on…
Greenwood received a game-high 32 points from senior Julius Walker, helping to upset No. 8 Reeds Spring in the first round of the Blue and Gold Tournament Monday at JQH Arena. The win snapped a seven-game Blue and Gold losing streak and is the Jays first opening round win in more than a decade.
“I think the kids are very excited, you could see some extra emotion from them after the game because they were happy to move on,” said Greenwood coach Darren Taylor. “It’s a great win for them.”
While it was Walker that gave Reeds Spring fits defensively throughout the game, the most pivotal plays came from senior guard Wes Bergen.
The Blue Jays scored 20 points in the opening quarter – 15 of which came off the scorching hot right hand of Julius Walker – but the Wolves zone defense was able to stymie Walker and the Jays, holding them to just 12 points in a 10-minute stretch of game action.
That zone allowed Reeds Spring to open up a 45-38 advantage late in the third quarter.
“We went with some matchup zone there to give some help to whoever was guarding Walker and it was able to slow them down a little bit,” said Reeds Spring coach Barry Yocum.
That’s when Bergen helped ignite a 22-6 run to end the game, including a personal 9-0 run coming on three consecutive 3s.
“It was huge for us,” said Taylor. “We’re playing at our best when we’ve got all five guys going and Wes really got hot there. Two of those plays were set for Wes and he stepped up and made them at a big time.”
Bergen finished with 12, all of which came beyond the arc. Walker pulled down 12 rebounds to go along with his 32 points.
Reeds Spring received 16 points from senior guard Joel Gertson. Lane Carroll added 12 points, all of which came in the second quarter.
Things get no easier for the Wolves as they draw a gritty Strafford team in Tuesday’s consolation round.
Greenwood will look to continue the magic against top-seeded Nixa. The Eagles – ranked No. 4 in Class 5 – beat Strafford 60-34.
“I’m sure the kids are really excited to get a shot at them, I’m not sure their coach is as excited,” said Taylor. “Our kids wanted to play on this side and they knew who they had to play if they won. I know they’ll at least give great effort.”
Nixa and Greenwood will tip off Tuesday at 5 p.m. in JQH Arena.
Nixa handles Strafford
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No team in the history of the Blue and Gold Tournament has been more dominant than Jay Osborne’s Nixa Eagles and that continued on Monday.
The Eagles received a game-high 19 points from Christian Bundy en route to a 60-34 opening round win over Strafford. Senior Austin Bracker added 16.
The Indians were led by Riley Oberbeck’s eight points.
Nixa has now won 24 of its last 25 and Osborne is now one win away from tying Steve Hunter for the most wins in the history of the tournament.
