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By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPRINGFIELD – Only one member of this year’s Hartville boys basketball team received any kind of measurable playing time during its run to a second consecutive state championship last year, a historic 31-0 campaign that also included a second straight Blue & Gold Tournament title.
Despite the significant roster turnover, the all-new cast of Eagles are still playing like champions.
Hartville stuck to the script that has been so successful in Brett Reed’s tenure at the school and defeated Willard, 47-41, in a Blue Division quarterfinal on Tuesday afternoon at JQH Arena.
The win was the 300th of Reed’s decorated coaching career, which includes nine district titles in a row, a trio of state championships and a 45-game unbeaten streak that ended earlier this year.
The Eagles also have the chance to be the first school to win three consecutive Blue & Gold Tournament titles since Nixa won five in a row between 2010 and 2014.
They must first face Kickapoo in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal on Wednesday at JQH Arena, a showdown between defending state champions. The Chiefs went 28-2 en route to the Class 6 title a year ago, with one of the losses coming to Reed’s Eagles that eventually won Class 3.
Despite all it has accomplished, Hartville entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Blue Division after graduating all five of last year’s starters and falling to Springfield Catholic earlier this year. But the Eagles blew out Reeds Spring in the first round, then got 17 points from Eric Wilson and managed the game’s tempo to upset third-seeded Willard for Reed’s milestone win.
“It’s special,” Reed said. “It’s really special. When you can come in and win a big game like this in the Blue & Gold when you’re knocking off a team that’s seeded higher than you. Extremely special. But, honestly, I kind of forgot about it. My wife reminded me this morning. ‘Hey, if you win tonight, it’s your 300th win. That’d be pretty neat.’ It’s special to do it with this group of guys that I care so much about.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Wilson, the only player on the team who got more than a few varsity minutes last season, was held scoreless in a first quarter that ended 6-6. The senior scored all of his points over the final three frames as the Eagles clung to leads of 22-17 at the half and 32-30 after three quarters.
Jacob Ballard, the only other senior on the team, scored five of his seven points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles held off a Willard rally. Hayden Brown closed the gap to a single point with about 4:30 to go, but Hartville entered clock-management mode and extended its possessions over the final few minutes to keep the ball out of Willard’s hands.
Brody McNeil hit a 3-pointer to make it 40-36, then Logan Simpson hit a layup to give Hartville a six-point lead with 94 seconds to go. Willard never got within five points the rest of the game.
Weaponizing the clock, limiting possessions and dominating defense and rebounding are the same basic formula that allowed Hartville to win a state quarterfinal game last season despite scoring all of 36 points. They needed only 43 to win the state championship game.
The faces have all changed, but the brand is the same.
“It’s kind of like last year,” Reed said. “I just feel like these kids trust me and they trust that I have their best interest in mind as far as trying to win the game. If I told them we need to run through the wall right there to win, they would trust that’s the right thing. They trust that whatever the best way I tell them to go about winning is, they’re going to try to do it.”
That’s not hyperbole.
“We trust anything he says,” Wilson added. “No matter if we agree or disagree, we’re following it. He tells us to run through a wall, you’re going to see us all try our hardest to run through that wall.”
That’s the kind of commitment that a 300-65 career record inspires.
“He’s led us to a lot of wins,” Wilson said. “Last year, you saw we went undefeated. He’s earned all of our trust and he trusts us to get the job done. So we trust him.”
Hartville hasn’t lost a Blue & Gold Tournament game since a one-point loss to Strafford on December 28, 2018 – three years to the day before Tuesday’s win over Willard.
“Coming in, we all knew we’re the underdog,” Wilson said. “No one was really expecting us to come through and get that win. It feels real nice to show what we could do. We knew we could. Just had to prove it to everyone else.”
Reed noted that while his team is short on experience, they did spend all of last season practicing against what was arguably the best team – in any class – in the state. That helped immensely, although there are still signs of inexperience they hope to eliminate by March.
“We’ve had some tough games early on and it was nice for us to get that early loss against Catholic,” Wilson added. “That pushed us. Even though we lost, we’re like ‘We can play up at that level.’ We’re just pushing every day and working to get better.”
Brown scored 17 points to lead Willard, which fell to 7-4 and will face Branson at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hammons Student Center in a consolation game.
The Tigers would finish their 67th appearance in the Blue & Gold in fifth place if they win that game, then beat the Fair Grove/Marshfield winner on Thursday evening.
Hartville remains in title contention and could add another impressive line to Reed’s resume.
“It’s awesome,” the coach said. “It’s definitely awesome, but I’m not the type of guy to look past the next game. So right now we’re just going to worry about Kickapoo.”
