By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Through two rounds of the Blue and Gold Tournament, the Nixa Eagles have been in championship form.
And they’ve done so by shooting at a record-breaking pace.
Nixa lit up the nets again in Tuesday night’s Gold Division quarterfinal matchup with Marshfield.
The Eagles drained 10 3-pointers overall in a 78-50 victory. Junior forward Josh Peters led the way with a game-high 25 points, including five 3-pointers.
“Our strength is shooting the ball,” said Nixa coach Brock Blansit. “We’re going to shoot it a lot and our kids know they have the green light to let it fly. Whether it’s no passes, one pass or 10 passes, if you’re open then shoot it. That’s how we play. If they’re not going in, we’re going to keep shooting.”
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At this rate, Nixa would smash the Blue and Gold Tournament record for 3-pointers.
Nixa, which made 17 3-pointers in Monday’s blowout win over Clever, has tallied 27 treys through two games.
The 1994 West Plains Zizzers hold the overall tournament record for most 3-pointers (42). Ozark set the Gold Division record for made 3s with 39 in 2011.
Nixa (10-0 overall) will face Fair Grove in the Gold Division semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield.
Unlike past Nixa teams, this year’s Eagles don’t seem affected by the college court.
“This is a place where we’ve not shot the ball well in the past,” Blansit said. “They’re soft rims here, so I’m not sure why we haven’t shot it as well. Hopefully we can shoot it well for two more nights.”
Nixa raced to a quick lead against Marshfield, jumping the passing lanes to force turnovers that resulted in fastbreak points.
Despite an early 12-2 lead, Marshfield was still within 13 points by halftime.
“I thought our defense, the first few minutes, was pretty good,” Blansit said. “We kind of let up a little bit there for a while. I felt like it should’ve been a bigger (lead) at halftime. But give Marshfield credit: They played hard and hit some big shots.
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“Second half, we came out in the third quarter and guarded a whole lot better and got more separation.”
Merrick Dennis, Bryant Bull and Tegen Curley scored 11 apiece to lead Marshfield (5-6 overall).
Kael Combs added 20 points for Nixa, while dishing out plenty of assists to the Eagles’ stable of perimeter shooters.
“With Kael running the point for us, it spreads out the defense,” Blansit said. “Teams have to choose: Do we double-team him or do they stay with the shooters. Kael’s a really good passer and if they double him, he’ll find the open guy.”
Nixa 78, Marshfield 50
Nixa 20 23 16 19 — 78
Marshfield 10 20 11 9 — 50
Nixa (10-0 overall) – Josh Peters 25, Kael Combs 20, Carsten Seitz 13, Garrett Hines 5, Noah Engelman 4, Ramone Green 3, Jaise Combs 2, Corey Kemp 2, Jackson Cantwell 2, Bryce Foster 2
Marshfield (5-6 overall) – Merrick Dennis 11, Tegen Curley 11, Bryant Bull 11, Brayden Hicks 8, Zach Mings 7, Carson Adams 2
