By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For several of Nixa’s varsity players, basketball isn’t their No. 1 sport.
But one trait every Eagle brings to the court: competitive toughness.
“We’re not very big. As you could see tonight, we were probably smaller at every position. But we are a very physical team for a small team,” said Nixa coach Brock Blansit. “These guys get after it. They’re not afraid of nobody.”
Nixa, after a sluggish first half, answered the call in Friday night’s Class 6 state quarterfinal versus Rockhurst. The Eagles took control in the second half and pulled away for a 58-49 home victory in front of a near-capacity crowd.
For the second time in four seasons, and 11th in program history, the Eagles (28-2 overall) are headed to the final four. They’ll face top-ranked Oak Park (29-1 overall) at noon next Wednesday, March 19 in the Class 6 semifinals at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
“It’s surreal,” said Blansit, a longtime assistant at Nixa now in his third season as head coach. “A lot of coaches don’t ever get to go to the final four. There are a lot of coaches – a whole lot better than me – that don’t get to go to the final four. These (players) have made me look really good at times. They’re a lot of fun to coach.”
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Keivon Flint, an SBU football signee, led a balanced Nixa attack with 14 points. He scored 11 in the second half to jumpstart Nixa’s surge.
Flint and the Eagle guards relentlessly attacked a bigger but slower Rockhurst lineup. Nixa was 21-for-28 at the free throw line while Rockhurst attempted just five free throws.
Nixa senior guard Jaise Combs (11), the hero in Monday’s district-title win over Kickapoo, joined Flint and Adam McKnight (11) in double figures.
“We have a lot of athleticism and speed, so we just try to use that to our best advantage,” Combs said. “(Rockhurst) wore down, so we just kept going at them.”
The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-0 lead at the start, but turnovers allowed Rockhurst to go up by five halfway through the second quarter. Nixa trailed 28-27 at halftime.
“I thought we were really uptight in the first half. I thought we played a little bit, uncharacteristically, timid,” Blansit said. “We just decided that we have to get after it and pick it up a little bit more. We loosened up and played a lot better in the second half.”
Flint along with McKnight, who battled foul trouble in the first half, helped Nixa retake the lead for good in the third quarter. The Eagles began the second half on a 9-0 run and never trailed again.
“I keep saying that I need to start out with my second half speech in the first half, because we usually get out to slow starts,” Blansit said. “We didn’t really get out to a slow start today, but I do think we did a good job of staying in it with Adam (McKnight) on the bench.”
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Said Combs: “We just had to get the jitters out, because we’ve never been here before. It was a new experience, so everyone’s going to be a bit nervous.”
Junior forward Kevin Sullivan led Rockhurst with 13 points. The Hawklets (23-5 overall) were held under 50 points for just the fourth time on the season.
“It all started on the defensive end,” Combs said. “We really dug deep, toughened up and tried to play the best defense that we could with the best effort.”
Nixa has won 13 straight games since losing to Park Hill in overtime at home on Jan. 31.
Nixa 58, Rockhurst 49
Rockhurst 14 14 12 9 — 49
Nixa 13 14 19 12 — 58
Rockhurst (23-5 overall) – Kevin Sullivan 13, Cohen Robinson 9, Nathan Lamley 7, Maxwell Moylan 7, Kemper Roberts 4, Callen Eskew 4, Aiden Weinheimer 3, George Effertz 2
Nixa (28-2 overall) – Keivon Flint 14, Jaise Combs 11, Adam McKnight 11, Randy Flint 8, Lane Meltabarger 7, Colt McCoy 4, Ty Kellis 2, Bryce Foster 1
