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By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
NIXA — With the way he played in the second half of Nixa’s district championship game on Wednesday night, junior guard Colin Ruffin left little opportunity for anyone to one-up him.
Once the final horn sounded, an Eagles fan found a way.
Ruffin scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as Nixa overcame a sluggish start for a 67-49 victory over archrival Ozark and the school’s first district title since 2017.
After the Eagles collected the Class 6 District 11 championship plaque and headed to celebrate with the student section, Ruffin prepared to lift the long-awaited award over his head. Just before he could, a fan surprised Ruffin by lifting him up — plaque and all — and held him on his shoulders as a crowd formed around them to celebrate Nixa’s return to the state tournament.
“It feels amazing,” Ruffin said. “Probably one of the best feelings you can ever get.”
The Eagles will face either Kickapoo or Republic in the state sectional round next Tuesday. Those two schools will play for the District 12 championship at 7 p.m. this Friday in Republic.
Nixa beat Republic by 18 points last month, part of its current 10-game win streak that has pushed its record to 25-3. Two of those losses came to Kickapoo, the only team to beat Nixa in the calendar year, and those results have made Nixa hungry for another shot at the Chiefs.
Even though they’ve been more successful against Republic, there’s little doubt about which team the Eagles would prefer to face. As they entered the half down 25-21, Ruffin said the coaching staff’s halftime message focused on the Eagles missing out on that potential rematch.
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“He said ‘If you guys want to be done now, then just give up now. Would you guys rather be done now or go on and try to beat Kickapoo?’” Ruffin recalled. “We just decided we didn’t want to be done now, so let’s just hurry up and get with it.”
The results of the speech were immediate, as Nixa got a pair of free-throws from Jaret Nelson and a 3-pointer from Ruffin to take the lead less than 90 seconds into the third quarter.
The lead changed two more times in the first four minutes of the period, but Kael Combs completed a three-point play to give the Eagles a 33-31 lead with 3:56 to go in the frame.
Nixa never trailed again, and used an 18-5 run across the third and fourth quarters to put the game out of reach. Combs capped the run with a highlight-reel dunk, part of his 16-point night.
“We hit a couple big shots to put them away and I think they really went away after that dunk,” Ruffin said. “I’m just glad we kept our composure the whole time, because obviously we struggled in the first half. We weren’t making shots. Second half, we kept our composure in the locker room and came out better and stronger.”
Jason Jones scored 11 points and Nelson added 10, giving Nixa four players in double-figures.
“They’re one of the most balanced teams that I’ve seen around here in a while,” Ozark coach Mark Schweitzer said. “They have very few weaknesses, if any. They’ve got posts. They’ve got guards. They’re athletic. They’re long. They’ve got a good team to be proud of in Nixa and I thought we played well enough to win for three quarters, for sure.”
But Ozark ran into foul trouble, particularly in a fourth quarter in which it was outscored 26-13. Four players finished with four fouls for the Tigers, who were called for 22 infractions against Nixa’s eight. Ozark had just seven free-throw attempts, the Eagles shot 21-of-31 from the line.
“Maybe they didn’t foul them,” Schweitzer said. “I don’t know. There are three guys that are paid to call the game and they made it clear to me that they had a better view than I did.”
Nixa coach Jay Osborne said his team didn’t do enough to establish its inside game early, which contributed to the halftime deficit. The team didn’t work the ball to Jones, Nelson or reserve player Colton Berry nearly enough in the first half, and they combined for just seven points.
“Berry got some touches in the first half, but Nelson maybe got two,” Osborne said. “He’s kind of our bread and butter right now. He’s the glue that holds us together. We’ve got to get the ball inside, no matter who it is. Whether it’s Berry, Jones or Nelson, we’ve got to establish an inside game — especially tonight, when they’re outsized in there.”
That changed after the break. Jones and Nelson combined for 15 in the second half, which created some additional opportunities for Ruffin, Combs and the rest of the Eagles.
“It’s an unselfish type of team,” Osborne said. “It’s an unselfish game. When those two go hand-in-hand, good things happen.”
Post play is one area the Eagles need to shore up prior to next week’s quarterfinal matchup, particularly if the Chiefs avoid an upset at the hands of Republic on Friday and set up a showdown between the teams that are currently ranked No. 2 and 3 in Class 6.
“They’re obviously loaded,” Osborne said. “They’ve got an outstanding basketball team. If we happen to play them — which I’d put my money on if I were a betting man, that we’d be playing Kickapoo. No disrespect to Republic, but we know what’s in store. We’ll do our best to prepare. I think the Eagles will show up. I think we’ll be alright.”
