By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
Logan-Rogersville’s Titus Moore scored 23 points Tuesday night as the Wildcats mostly cruised to a 60-43 victory over Willard in the blue bracket championship of the 80th Annual Blue & Gold Tournament at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Rogersville (9-0) jumped out on Willard early, taking a 15-7 lead midway through the first quarter, and a 20-10 lead after one.
“Our first half, we executed our stuff and played with a lot of energy, made shots and really did a good job on them defensively,” said Rogersville Coach John Schaefer. “A tale of two halves, a little bit, with fatigue, foul trouble a little bit and a little bit of me being cautious.
“We’re playing for a Blue & Gold title, I’m not going to risk very much. We wanted to run a little bit of clock, run some sets and gets get some guys in and out and make sure we got to the fourth quarter with that 20-point lead.”
But Willard rebounded from a four-point second quarter, outscoring Rogersville 17-12 in the third quarter and 29-26 in the second half. The Tigers sank two nearly full-court buzzer beaters in the game.
“They made some adjustments and some big shots,” Schaefer said. “I can’t remember a game where they have thrown in two full-courters, basically.”
Rogersville’s star junior, Indiana University commit Chase Branham, scored eight of his 18 points in the first quarter and looked to possibly be on his way to a 100-point tournament, having started the night with 76 points.
As it was, he falls just six points short of what would have been a first for a Rogersville player in the team’s 76 appearances in the annual holiday tournament.
But as the second half ground on, Branham passed on open shots, finding teammates who were also open instead.
Schaefer said neither he nor Branham knew he was within reach of doing something no other Wildcat player has ever done at the Blue & Gold, not that it would have mattered to either.
“He’s going to get his points,” Schaefer said. “We’re not trying to win any records, we’re just trying to win for L-R.”
Late in the third quarter, Branham drove to the basket, but was fouled by Willard’s Gavin Brady. Officials ruled the foul intentional, and after a few moments of laying on the floor in pain, Branham went to the free-throw line and knocked down the pair.
“He plays with his body on the floor and with a lot of contact,” Schaefer said. “We have to tell him [in practice] there’s no need to dive for this loose ball. That’s how he is going to play.”
Playing to find opportunities for you teammates is something Schaefer emphasizes to all his players, he said.
“He is very unselfish,” Schaefer said of Branham. “But I’m also reminding him, and all of our guys, to trust their teammates. We are a better basketball team when we move it, because we do have a lot of guys that can shoot it.”
Branham finishes with 183 career Blue & Gold points, making him the 76th player in tournament history to have at least 150 career points, the seventh Wildcat ever to reach that mark.
With a year to play, he’s just seven points behind Rogersville’s all-time leading Blue & Gold scorer, former MSU Bear Drew Richards, who had 190 points in his tournament appearances.
The win is the first Blue & Gold title for Rogersville since 2018 and the school’s eighth overall. The Wildcats lost in last year’s blue division finale to Kickapoo.
Tuesday’s victory is also a milestone for Schaefer, who is now tied for 10th overall in Blue & Gold coaching wins, with 35. He shares the mark with Jacky Payne, who coached Marshfield, Lebanon, Stoutland and Skyline in the tournament.
Schaefer came into the 2025 tournament in 12th place overall, but passed former tournament director Darren Taylor for 11th place earlier in the week.
“I’ve heard of him, yeah,” Scheafer said with grin. “He’s a pretty good coach.”
Taylor was Schaefer’s high school coach.
Willard (8-2) was led by Colby Mowell and Nahay Kelly, who each scored 13, and Jude Wallace, who added 12.
ROGERSVILLE 20-14-12-14 — 60
WILLARD 10-4-17-12 — 43
Rogersville: T. Moore 23, Branham 18, Shook 10, Sutherland 9
Willard: Mowell 13, Kelley 13, Wallace 12, Brady 3, Huskisson 1
