Blue & Gold: 3rd Place Game Standouts
The 74th annual Blue & Gold Tournaments wrapped up last night from JQH Arena on the campus of Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri. Prep Hoops was in the building for all of the trophy games. The two third place games…
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Continue ReadingThe 74th annual Blue & Gold Tournaments wrapped up last night from JQH Arena on the campus of Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri. Prep Hoops was in the building for all of the trophy games. The two third place games may not have been for the grand prize, but they certainly paired up some high quality teams for solid match-ups.
The Blue Division saw top seed and talented Willard fall to the second overall seed Nixa 67-39. In the Gold Division, it was fourth seeded Republic taking down second seeded Ozark 59-50. Here are the standout performances from these two games:
6’3 Sr Josh Mason | Nixa
Josh scored a game high 21 points in Nixa’s big win over Willard, and caught my eye as much as anyone did this week. He is a big time shooter that nailed four threes both stepping into right off the catch and pulling up off the bounce. He’s smooth with the rock, finished a nice euro-step around a defender for a lay-up and slipped right through a trap and got to the basket. Solid all around player that had a few nice assists and came up with some big steals as well
6’5 Sr AJ Elliott | Ozark
Impressively powerful man in the middle for the Tigers, he is an absolute load inside. When a shot goes up on either end he uses his body very well to punish people out of his way and secure the boards. He gets a lot of put backs and can force his way through contact to finish. When he gets a touch inside good things happen for Ozark. He can score it, but is also a very good passer out of the post that can skip it out to shooters or hit cutters for easy baskets. He had 13 points and was a bulk rebounder for the Tigers.
6’1 Sr Race Looney | Republic
Race was relentless against Ozark getting the ball to the rim and finishing or getting to the line to convert free throws. He seeks contact on the drive and has solid body control. Very sharp without the ball. Several times he timed his cuts perfectly to blow past a snoozing defender for an easy score. He finished with a game high 23 points.
5’10 Jr Drew McMillin | Republic
One of the top shooters in the area, Drew connected on some big threes for Republic last night. However, he really is much more than just a shooter. Always impressed with his ability and willingness to curl hard running off screens and finish with craft around the basket or use his plus vision to drop off to a teammate when help comes over. He finished with 15.
6’6 Sr Daniel Abreu | Willard
Abreu was held well below his season average, but still led his team with 14 in the game. He did not attempt a three or really attack from the perimeter which are two things he does quite well. However, he made his mark in this game operating as more of a power forward. He was able to post up and hit a few turnaround jumpers and also showed off a polished face up came where he can pull up and bury it or use some fancy footwork to spin his way to the basket.