By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Springfield, Mo. — Rogersville head coach John Schaefer needed a big finish in Thursday’s Blue Division quarterfinal in order to stay alive in the bracket.
His Wildcats responded in a big way.
Down 32-28 heading into the final quarter, the No. 6 Wildcats poured in 27 points and 9 of 10 free throws to upset No. 3 Nixa 55-49.
“We talk about it all the time,” Schaefer said. “The three most important things in basketball are defense, rebounding and free throws. We felt like we did all those tonight and found ourselves on top.”
Rogersville senior Luke Vandersnick set the tone early for the Wildcats, scoring 12 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter with aggressive moves to the basket.
“I was just going out there, playing hard and attacking the rim to see if I could get to my shot,” Vandersnick said. “I could, so I kept doing that every possession.”
The 6-foot-5 Vandersnick picked up right where he left off in the second quarter with an alley-oop dunk in the opening seconds to key a 5-0 run and 21-14 Rogersville lead.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
For Rogersville head coach John Schaefer, getting his standout going early was paramount to the team’s success.
“There’s a reason he’s one of the better players in the area, but he’s not been showing it a lot — he’s a very passive kid,” Schaefer said. “For us to win games, he’s going to have to take on a lot more load, so that’s pretty much what we’re trying to do. We just get on his back and go a lot of the time.”
Vandersnick’s quick start gave Rogersville the early advantage; however, Nixa head coach Jay Osborne was quick to adjust, moving 5-foot-9 junior Evann Long into the defensive assignment and helping with double-teams.
With Long helping to limit touches and his driving opportunities limited, Vandersnick didn’t score another basket in the game.
“That’s poor coaching,” Osborne said. “We should have had Evann Long on him to start the game. That’s on me. We should have started Evann; should have put him on [Vandersnick] because he would keep him from catching.”
Trailing 24-22 at the half, Nixa stepped up the defensive pressure in the third.
The move paid off, as the Eagles held Rogersville to four points in the third quarter and entered the final frame up 32-28.
Nixa was unable to hold the lead for long; however, as a 3-pointer from junior Cade Blevins — his second of the quarter — gave Rogersville the lead for good at the five-minute mark.
From there, classmate Ryker Strong took over.
The 6-foot-3 Wildcat senior scored 13 of his 15 points in the final quarter, which included seven of eight free-throw conversions.
Strong was quick to credit teammates for creating his scoring opportunities.
“Most of that came from Cade strapping up his 3-pointers at the end,” Strong said. “He started making them, and they had to step up and guard him a little more. That gave me more room to get off on the other side, get to the basket and get some free throws in at the end.”
Blevins joined Vandersnick and Strong in double figures with ten points for the Wildcats.
Despite Rogersville’s late scoring barrage, Nixa was able to keep within striking distance, thanks to timely baskets from junior Ace Akers and senior Luke Roemen.
The pair finished with 18 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Eagles.
While his team was able to hold onto the late lead, Schaefer was far from comfortable.
“[Nixa] was never out of it, and you’re just one screw up away from being on the other end of the scoreboard,” Schaefer said. “Down the stretch was just handling the basketball and making free throws.”
While free throws helped propel Rogersville to a victory, they had the exact opposite effect on Nixa.
The Eagles converted only 15 of 27 attempts in the game. To compound matters, Nixa’s late attempts to rally from long range were unsuccessful.
“We made two 3s,” Osborne said. “[Rogersville] put a little bit of pressure on us, and we didn’t make 3s — and 12 free throws — we missed 12 free throws. We make free throws, and we win the game. There’s not much else to say.”
Up next for Rogersville (6-3) is a Blue Division semifinal matchup against Willard. Nixa (4-6) squares off against Fair Grove in the fifth-place bracket.
Blue Division Quarterfinal: Rogersville – 55, NIxa – 49
Nixa 14 08 10 17 — 49
Rogersville 16 08 04 27 — 55
Nixa scoring: Ace Akers – 18, Luke Roemen – 12, Brandon Gordon – 7, Jason Jones – 4, Evann Long – 4, Isaiah Engleman – 4
Rogersville scoring: Luke Vandersnick – 19, Ryker Strong – 15, Cade Blevins – 10, Josh Linehan – 7, Kanon Gipson – 4
