By Tyler F. Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For the Bolivar Liberators (7-2), winning at the annual Blue and Gold Tournament simply is old hat.
For the first time in three years, head coach Robby Hoegh has his guys back in the Gold Division championship game as they bested the fifth seeded host Greenwood 52-46 Saturday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena (GSBA).
The win pits Bolivar against Republic — a common foe — at 7 p.m. Monday at GSB Arena for the title.
For the first time since 2016, an unseeded team has advanced to the championship tilt.
“He does a great job. He brings us out to practice every single day working hard, working together,” Matthew Giglio said of his veteran head coach. “We are just a group of guys who love each other. We love to play for each other every day.”
Giglio finished with 13 points.
The Liberators cruised to the 26-19 lead at half, but the second quarter was one Bolivar would have liked to avoid as the Blue Jays, behind the play of 6’7” senior Collin Clark, who finished with 29 points.
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The Blue Jays authored a 10-0 run late in the second quarter after being down 14-4 at the end of the opening quarter.
Typical ebbs and flows, Giglio said. After all, adversity breeds success.
“They just made shots. They have a great player in Collin. But we stuck together,” Giglio said. “We had to fight through the storm.”
After tossing up trey after trey in the first with little success, Clark took over in the paint, as the Blue Jays took just their third lead of the game, 32-31, before Bolivar regained the lead to close out the third.
This year, love, yes, love is the centerpiece for the 7-2 Liberators.
“We stick together no matter what, from the bad to the good,” Giglio said.
As for what the opposition can expect from the Liberators this season, Giglio did not mince words.
“We are coming for you,” he said.
For Hoegh, who has coached the likes of Conley Garrison and Brandon Emmert, to name a few, versatility was key.
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“They bring the energy. They can pass and catch and win in a variety of ways, like the 2016 team,” Hoegh said. “This team right now is the second-best passing and catching team I have ever coached. They can get a great shot every time down.”
This year’s Cinderella story of the tournament, the finale has yet to be written.
But given the historic nature of Hoegh’s program, the Liberators are in it until the final whistle blows.
Scoring for Bolivar: Giglio – 13; Gardner Casey – 17; C. Ingold – 5; B. Ingold – 5; Wyatt Campbell – 12.
Scoring for Greenwood: Clark – 29; Tyler Harrell – 7; Kalen Hetzler – 4; Logan Sanders – 6.
