By Chris Parker
It didn’t take long for the 78th edition of the Greenwood Blue & Gold Tournament to see an all-time record set.
Ash Grove’s Brady Nicholson became the first player in tournament history to score 50 points in a single game helping lead the Pirates past Willow Springs 82-80 in the first game of this year’s Blue & Gold Tournament.
“I feel like a broken record, but man he (Nicholson) is special,” Ash Grove head coach Grant Williamson said. “Everyone got to see it if they were able to get themselves up and come to a game this morning. He means a lot to this program. I know he means a lot to the guys in that locker room. He means a lot to me as a coach and a person. I think it is a testament to all of the hard work he has put in. I say it time and time again, I think he is one of the hardest working guys in southwest Missouri if not the entire state. I think he saw it all come together in that game. He put us on his back.”
Ash Grove, the No. 8 seed, needed every one of Nicholson’s points, as the Pirates battled unseeded Willow Springs throughout. They led Willow Springs 15-14 after one quarter and 39-32 at the half.
Nicholson scored 20 of Ash Grove’s 26 points in the second quarter.
Willow Springs jumped on Ash Grove in the third quarter carrying a 26-20 advantage in the frame to cut the Ash Grove lead to 59-58 going into the final eight minutes.
Willow Springs grabbed the lead in the fourth quarter, but Ash Grove was able to execute down the stretch led by Nicholson going nine-for-nine from the free throw line in the final period.
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“We knew it was going to be a really tough one coming in. Willow Springs has a lot of guys who can shoot it, which you saw. We knew we would have a hard time guarding them, and we did for most of the game,” Williamson said. “I was really proud down the stretch of how our guys found a way to get some stops and get down on the offensive end and find ways to be aggressive and score.”
Nicholson finished the game with 12 two-point makes and four three-point makes to go with a perfect 14-for-14 mark from the free throw line. His 50-point effort broke the previous record of 49 set by Greenwood’s Aminu Mohammed in 2019.
“It feels amazing especially because of how many players have been through (this tournament). I am happy that it is coming from a small town. It is probably going to put our school name out there a little bit more and that is what I do it for,” Nicholson said.
Ash Grove advances to face No. 1 seed Central in the quarterfinal round.
“The reason we play in this tournament is because we want to have the chance to play the best teams around. I think we are going to have the chance to play the best team around tomorrow. We are going to compete no matter what and play the toughest we can and try to execute the best we can no matter who we are playing,” Williamson said.
“We have an extremely tough game (against) Central, the one seed. It is a big school, but that is what this tournament is all about, the big schools playing the small schools. It is going to be really good for us to go out and compete against a really good team,” Nicholson said.
Ash Grove faces Central at 9:30 am on Wednesday at Great Southern Bank Arena on the campus of Missouri State.
Willow Springs – 14-18-26-22 – 80
Ash Grove – 15-24-20-23 — 82
WS: Kolby James 30, Aiden Stuart 17, Jace Rodgers 15, Brady James 10, Brody Thompson 6, Braxton Wilbanks 4
AG: Brady Nicholson 50, Kyler Reece 14, Bryce Davis 7, Asher Rust 5, Cooper Burks 2, Harison Thompson 2, Joseph Jolivette 2
