By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
BOLIVAR – Friday night’s regular-season finale between Kickapoo and Bolivar was billed as a heavyweight battle, with the Blue & Gold Tournament division champions — and two of the region’s top players — finally going head-to-head with the Ozark Conference title on the line.
It was the perfect opportunity for the Chiefs to send a message.
“A lot of people felt like us and Bolivar were probably the two top teams (in the conference) and obviously this was the championship,” Kickapoo junior Harrison Doennig said. “We wanted to come out and make a statement. I feel like we did that.”
That’s putting it lightly.
Zaide Lowery led four Chiefs in double-figures as Kickapoo dominated throughout a 67-33 victory and completed a perfect 10-0 run through the conference to win its fourth straight title.
Lowery scored 16, Doennig and Brayden Shorter had 11 apiece and Trae Oetting added 10 for the Chiefs, who improved to 35-2 in conference play over the past four seasons. They’ve won three straight outright titles, split the fourth and have not lost to an Ozark Conference foe in two years.
But the 34-point victory over a fellow state-ranked team days before the start of the district tournament sends a message not just to the rest of the conference, but the rest of Missouri.
The Chiefs may have graduated four starters from last year’s state championship team — including three current Division I players — but the returners are also capable of making a run.
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“This is a first step for us because we have big goals,” Doennig said. “It’s definitely something to feel good about. I feel like not everyone expected us to come out and go undefeated in the conference, so it’s something to be proud of.”
Predominantly led by a seven-player junior class, the Chiefs are 23-3 heading into the Class 6 District 5 playoffs. The tournament’s No. 2 seed will face Central at 6 p.m. Monday in Joplin.
“I knew we would be this good going in,” Doennig said. “I knew the talent we had. I feel like no one else had seen the talent we had yet. I feel like we have just gotten better every year and gotten better playing together, but I honestly expected this. I knew what we had.”
A win against Central sets up a showdown with Ozark or Carthage. And the top seed in the tournament belongs to Nixa, which is the only team to beat Kickapoo in the calendar year.
“It’s a gauntlet,” Kickapoo coach Mitch McHenry said. “We’re going to have to play three tough teams and get three tough wins if we’re going to win it. It doesn’t matter what district you’re in. It’s going to be tough. We’re excited for the challenge.”
With all that lies ahead, it was important for the Chiefs to finish the season strong against Bolivar (22-4, 8-2), which would have clinched a share of the title if it knocked off Kickapoo.
“The atmosphere is an atmosphere we need to play in if we’re going to make a run,” McHenry said. “It’s a great atmosphere — a great student body by them — and then it’s for a conference championship. … We wanted to play a really good team going into districts and we did that.”
Regardless of the opponent, McHenry said it was also important for the Chiefs to get back on the floor after not being able to practice over the past two days due to inclement weather.
But they more than doubled the offensive output of last year’s Class 5 state runner-up and held Division-I prospect Kyle Pock to just 13 points, which bodes well for their postseason hopes.
“It just goes to credit our guys and a bunch of dudes that this is their first year of big-time varsity experience,” McHenry said. “For them to put on a show like they did tonight with zero practices going into it kind of goes to show what they’re made of. It was really fun to watch.”
Kickapoo led by as many as 21 points in the first half before Bolivar went on a 9-0 run late in the second quarter to close the gap to 12. But Lowery, a fellow Division-I prospect, got multiple offensive rebounds before hitting a putback at the buzzer to give the Chiefs a 35-21 halftime lead.
Bolivar scored just 12 more points all night.
“I thought it was a big play,” Liberators coach Robby Hoegh said. “I know it’s just two points, but we had some momentum and they kind of got that momentum back with that play at the end with their relentless pursuit for the ball. They can build and rack together a lot of good offensive possessions in a hurry.”
Seven different players hit a 3-pointer for Kickapoo, which made 10 overall.
“We’re probably best when we’re balanced scoring because we have so many guys that are capable of hitting shots,” McHenry said. “We have so many guys that can make the right reads. We had a stretch in the first half where they made a run, but there weren’t many possessions offensively that were bad. They did a great job of finding each other, sharing it and playing together.”
As impressive as Kickapoo was on Friday, the Chiefs believe they still have room to improve.
“Hopefully that’s not our best,” McHenry said. “We’re going to need better to make a run, but we have prided ourselves as a program of playing our best ball late. In the last few years, we’ve played really good basketball in late February and early March — which is why we’ve been able to have the success we’ve had. I thought we did a heck of a job tonight. We’ll look at it and talk about the things we did well and things we can improve, but we’ve got a quick turnaround. Everybody is 0-0 and it’s win or go home. It’s the best time of year for basketball.”
Bolivar’s turnaround is even quicker, as the Liberators open district play at 4 p.m. Saturday. They are the top seed in the Class 5 District 6 bracket and will play Carl Junction at Willard.
Hoegh said that having less than 24 hours to dwell on the result would make it easier for the Liberators to move past the loss and refocus their energy on the district tournament.
“We’re going to come out and give Carl Junction everything we have,” Hoegh said. “We have a great group of seniors who care a lot about the program and we have to start our journey tomorrow. We take nothing for granted. Credit Kickapoo. They came out and beat our tail.”
Bolivar experienced similar results at the end of the last season, but they helped fuel the team.
“Last year, we ended the season with three 30-point losses and we went to the state championship game,” Hoegh said. “Against three quality teams. And even then, we did some things that were beneficial and helpful for us. The idea is we have to make sure that we’re ready to go each and every possession, trying to do things as disciplined as we possibly can. And then you see what happens at the end of the day.”
KICKAPOO 22 13 13 17 — 67
BOLIVAR 10 11 8 4 — 33
