By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
One of the biggest upsets in recent Blue and Gold history was unfolding, and the Bolivar Liberators were on the wrong side of it.
Unseeded Central led top seed Bolivar by 11 midway through the third quarter of Tuesday’s Gold Division quarterfinal.
Time to panic? Not for the battle-tested Liberators.
“We stuck together,” said Bolivar junior Kyle Pock, who had 20 points. “We didn’t get mad at each other. We got down by 11 at one point, but stuck with each other and just kept going.”
Bolivar got the key stops and baskets down the stretch to outlast Central, winning 54-51 at JQH Arena.
Sophomore Antonio Starks-Fewell scored 14 and freshman Keion Epps added 10 points for Central. The Bulldogs missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would’ve forced overtime.
“I don’t think we played bad,” said Bolivar coach Robby Hoegh. “I think Central’s a really good team, and we knew that going in.”
Central went up 45-42 midway through the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Epps.
The Liberators, who struggled on offense much of the night, answered back with eight straight points.
“We’re not an overwhelming team on offense,” Hoegh said. “Every game, for me, I’m trying to figure out how the other team is going to guard us.
“I think I overthink it at times. In the second half, I just said, ‘Let’s move the ball and see what happens.'”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Josh Bowes’ three-point play with 2:45 left put Bolivar ahead 48-45. The Liberators got a basket from Pock on their next possession to make it 50-45.
Pock scored 14 of his game-high 20 in the second half.
“The (shots) really just came my way. I didn’t try to force anything,” Pock said. “We started moving the ball a little bit better and I was able to get free.”
Bolivar (9-0 overall) plays 5-seed Greenwood in the Gold Division semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at JQH Arena.
Bolivar hasn’t won a Blue and Gold championship since 2015.
“You’re playing four games in four days,” Hoegh said. “You’re going to need one of those games where you go, ‘Man, I don’t know how we got it done, but we did. Hopefully that was this one. We’ll have our hands full in the next round.”
Central (3-6 overall) plays Strafford at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Hammons Student Center in the consolation bracket.
The Bulldogs’ record is deceiving. Central has been competitive in every game; all six losses have been by 12 or fewer points.
It’s a big turnaround for a program that recently didn’t win a game for two straight seasons (2018, 2019).
“(Head coach) Jordan Epps is doing a great job with those players,” Hoegh said. “That team is going to be doing some really, really special stuff over the next four years. Epps invests in those guys. It started with (former head coach) Brandon Kimbrough. I’m really happy for those kids they have, to have this experience.”
Bolivar 54, Central 51
Bolivar 12 10 13 19 — 54
Central 11 14 12 14 — 51
Bolivar (9-0 overall) – Pock 20, Bowes 16, Cribbs 8, Gabani 6, Griswold 4
Central (3-6 overall) – Starks-Fewell 14, Epps 10, Lawrie 7, Walker 7, Vinson 6, Hughes 5, McShane 2
