By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
NIXA – When the shot left Jaise Combs’ hand, there were some prayers being spoken and there was also no doubt that something great was about to happen.
With 1.5 seconds left in the game, and the score knotted at 53, Combs’ long-range 3-pointer hit nothing but net, giving the top-seeded Nixa Eagles a 56-53 victory and the Class 6 District 5 Tournament title over No. 2 Kickapoo on Monday night.
“To be honest with you, I literally said before the shot, ‘Please, God… just one time,’” Nixa head coach Brock Blansit said. “I was going to run a set, but I thought we’ve already got the ball in Jaise’s hands. Let’s let him make a play and just see what happens. If he makes it, great, and if not, we’ve got overtime.”
But overtime wasn’t necessary, as the senior forward lifted the Eagles to their second win over the Chiefs this season and only the second victory for Nixa in the teams’ last seven postseason matchups.
“I was unconscious. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t really know what was happening until I hit it,” Combs said of the game-winner. “I’m feeling really lucky and just proud of myself and my team for all the hard work we put in. I think this is a great win and it just feels good that I get to keep on playing with my guys.”
It was all Kickapoo to start the game as the Chiefs jumped out to a 12-2 lead, powered by Reese Kimrey’s eight points during that stretch. But Nixa chipped away and used a 7-0 run of its own, capped by a Combs 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, to tie it up at 17.
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A 3-pointer by Keivon Flint just a minute and a half into the second quarter gave the Eagles their first lead of the game (20-19). The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter with Kickapoo taking a 34-30 lead into halftime.
“That’s pretty much what happened the first time we played them,” Blansit said of the Eagles’ 51-43 win over the Chiefs on Feb. 11. “We were down 17-6 at the end of the first quarter (in that game). So, I told our guys, when it was 12-2, I called time out and said, ‘Hey, don’t panic. There’s a lot of game left.’ We were a little nervous, but we came out strong and got ourselves back in it going into halftime.”
Kickapoo outscored Nixa 6-2 early in the second half for an eight-point lead (40-32), but the Eagles went on a 9-0 run late in the quarter to regain the lead at 41-40. Free throws by Elijah Nabors and Jackson Shorter put the Chiefs back on top (44-41) before Nixa responded on back-to-back baskets from Randy Flint (45-44) to close out the quarter and set up a wild fourth.
Kimrey hit a couple of free throws (46-45) and the Chiefs held Nixa scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. Adam McKnight’s coast-to-coast layup gave the Eagles their first points of the quarter (47-46), but Shorter scored seven straight points in the Chiefs’ 7-0 run to open up a six-point lead (53-47) – the final points Kickapoo would score in the game.
“Our kids are just resilient,” Blansit said. “Even when we got down six with two minutes left, in the timeout the kids were just saying, ‘Hey, let’s just get a couple of turnovers, a couple of baskets,’ and that’s exactly what they did.”
Brothers Keivon and Randy Flint came out and hit back-to-back 3s to tie the game at 53, setting up Combs’ heroics.
“They keep battling and they play their tails off,” Blansit said of his Eagles. “It isn’t always pretty with us. We’re not very big, but we’re physical and I’m really happy with our effort tonight.”
Winning the district title with his older brother, Kael, in attendance was extra special for Jaise and the Combs family. Kael and his Drake University Bulldogs captured the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament title with a 63-48 win over Bradley on Sunday afternoon.
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“It felt really good because he just won the Missouri Valley Conference championship, so this has been a successful 24 hours for our family,” Jaise Combs said. “(Beating Kickapoo) feels really good because my brother lost to Kickapoo in his senior year, so it feels good to get a little revenge on them.”
Kickapoo coach Mitch McHenry said the Eagles made the plays they needed to down the stretch to win the game, but was proud of his players’ efforts and praised his seniors, Levi Phillips and Jackson Shorter.
“They fought really hard, they executed the game plan, they played together,” McHenry said of his team. “These types of games you’re going to look back at a couple of possessions that you wish you had back. That’s the third district championship that we’ve lost since I’ve been here and they’ve all been three points. So, that one stings and it stings for our kids because we preach how every possession counts and every possession matters. And I needed to do a better job toward the end of the game. We had a six-point lead, and I didn’t manage the end of the game very well.
“Levi is a three-sport athlete and you don’t see many three-sport athletes in Class 6. For him to be committed to being a three-sport athlete in Class 6, and basketball not being his No. 1, getting to his senior year and being able to play a role for us on a really good team, just speaks volumes.
“And then Jackson Shorter has been an absolute warrior for us. He’s been a stud all four years, and he’s been a varsity guy all four years at a Class 6 school. They’re both going to be very hard to replace because Jackson has done a lot on the court and has been a rock for our program. Levi’s been a very good leader and he’s as good as it gets on the mental side of the game, accountability and execution. We’re going to miss them both.
“Losing sucks. We had a great year and it came down to kind of a tough break at the end and them making a play and it’s going to sting for a while.”
For the Eagles, who host Rockhurst on Friday in the quarterfinal round, Monday’s victory is one they’ll remember for a long time.
“It’s just one of those games you knew was going to come down to this,” Blansit said. “I told one of our teachers today, ‘Tonight could be in instant classic,’ and that’s a ‘30 for 30’ instant classic right there.”
(1) NIXA 56, (2) KICKAPOO 53
Class 6 District 5 Championship
KICKAPOO 17-17-10-9—53 NIXA 17-13-15-11—56
KICKAPOO (25-4) – Reese Kimrey 14, Jackson Shorter 13, Elijah Nabors 9, Brayden Rubidoux 8, Brock Thompson 6, Rylee Tan 3.
NIXA (27-2) – Jaise Combs 19, Adam McKnight 10, Keivon Flint 9, Randy Flint 9, Lane Meltabarger 9.
Up next: Class 6 quarterfinals – Nixa vs. Rockhurst, a 60-42 winner over Raymore-Peculiar, 7 p.m. at Nixa.
