By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPRINGFIELD – Given the way the last three meetings between Greenwood and Strafford played out, the Blue Jays preached the importance of getting off to a fast start on Tuesday night.
They did — and now they’re one step closer to another Blue & Gold Tournament title.
The Blue Jays scored 19 of the game’s first 22 points and held on as Strafford slowly chipped away at the deficit, securing a 62-55 victory in a Gold Division quarterfinal at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Sixth-seeded Greenwood (9-2) never trailed en route to the largest upset of the tournament, as the hosts were the lowest-seeded team to reach the semifinals in either the Blue or Gold Division.
The Blue Jays will face No. 2 Logan-Rogersville (9-0) at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Great Southern Bank Arena, with a chance to advance to their third tournament title game in the past four years.
It was also the second straight season the Blue Jays upset Strafford in the Blue & Gold quarterfinal round, as they rallied from a seven-point, second-half deficit to stun the Indians last winter. That game was the first of three meetings between the schools in a three-month span, with each game decided by less than five points.
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Strafford won the next two games, and dealt Greenwood a season-ending, one-point loss in the district semifinals.
The teams share a district again this season, and Tuesday’s highly physical game undoubtedly added more fuel to the fire in one of the region’s fastest-growing rivalries.
The teams were whistled for 43 combined fouls, with Strafford called for 28 of them.
“We’re just evenly matched,” Greenwood coach Darren Taylor said. “I think both teams respect each other and give each other your best game.”
Strafford’s depth allowed it to play much of the game without anyone truly in foul trouble, moving to a next-man-up situation if a player did need a break.
“This is one of the most physical teams that I have coached,” Strafford coach Tyler Ryerson said. “We kind of pride ourselves on being physical. We need to be a little bit smarter and kind of adjust to how the game was being called – and I didn’t think we did a very good job of that.”
The Indians (5-4) were also never able to fully overcome a troubling start that saw them spot Greenwood a 19-3 first-quarter lead.
“I told our guys in the locker room it was kind of a theme that we’re not starting games great,” Ryerson said. “It’s something that we really have to take seriously. We have to figure out a way to start better. We’ve kind of done that a little bit, but hats off to Greenwood. They really started the game off on fire. They got kind of whatever they want. They got into a flow offensively early.”
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Griffin Litherland (seven) Nick Burri (five) and Collin Clark (two) combined for 14 of Greenwood’s points during their dominant first quarter. All three eventually went on to finish in double-figures.
“We were planning on coming out, hitting them in the mouth and just going from there,” Burri said. “I’m proud of the guys (and) how we started. Great start.”
After the first quarter, the Indians showed more elements of the style that has propelled them to third place in the statewide Class 3 rankings. They cut the deficit to four late in the third quarter, but never found a way to tie the game or take the lead.
“We were fortunate,” Taylor said. “(Strafford) missed some shots that they normally make and we made a couple of shots that kind of got that spread out there a little bit. I knew that they would start making shots and that they would come back.”
Clark finished with a team-high 19 for the Blue Jays after Litherland (15) and Burri (14) missed significant stretches of the game while in foul trouble. But the damage they dealt during the first quarter helped the Blue Jays survive Strafford’s late onslaught.
Cody Voysey scored a game-high 20 for the Indians, while Braden Willard (16) and Jourdyn Edelstein (11) also finished in double-figures.
“Our kids did a really good job of bouncing back,” Ryerson said. “It’s tough to spot a team like Greenwood 16 points in the first quarter. You have to chip away. I’m proud of our guys’ effort.”
The Indians nearly pulled off the comeback despite playing without AK Rael.
The senior is prominently featured on the cover of the Blue & Gold’s souvenir program alongside other regional standouts like Bolivar’s Kyle Pock, Republic’s Ahlante Askew and Nixa’s Kael Combs – making his absence from the tournament particularly noteworthy.
Asked if Rael was injured or expected to return this season, Ryerson declined to comment.
Strafford will face Lebanon (5-4) at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in a consolation game at Hammons Student Center. At the same time, the Blue Jays will take on the Wildcats who used their own strong start — a 20-0 game-opening run — to beat the Yellowjackets in their quarterfinal.
Should the Blue Jays pull off another upset, they’ll advance to the Gold Division championship game for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. But the Wildcats have won a tournament-record 128 games, and have yet to lose this season.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons in their arsenal,” Taylor said. “They’re big, they’re fast and they’ve got people that can shoot the ball. Coach (John) Schaefer does such a good job with that matchup zone, as you can see today. It’ll be a big challenge.”
GREENWOOD 19 11 13 19 — 62
STRAFFORD 6 16 17 16 — 55
