By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Amid a 16-5 record and state ranking, Kickapoo’s best trademark has been its consistency.
Night in, night out, the Chiefs always show up ready to compete – together.
“This group has been playing at a high level all year long,” said Kickapoo coach Mitch McHenry. “Every single game, they’re ready to play and they play together. It’s been very impressive.
“They’ve done a good job of sharing some shine and glory.”
Tuesday night was not going to be Kickapoo’s first no-show of the season, certainly.
Almost a year removed from a buzzer-beating loss to Nixa in the district finals, the Chiefs earned a bit of revenge by knocking off the Eagles 71-60 in a conference showdown with postseason stakes on the line.
Senior guard Reese Kimrey led a balanced Chiefs squad with 21 points as Kickapoo battled back from an early deficit.
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“We keep our composure really well,” Kimrey said. “We never get too big in the moment. We just let the gameflow come to us.”
Kimrey, a Northwest Missouri State commit, erupted with 11 points in the second quarter to put the Chiefs ahead for good. Nixa called two timeouts within a three-minute span to try to quell the surge.
“I was so excited,” Kimrey said. “My teammates were finding me when I was open, and I just converted and put the ball into the hole.”
Junior forward Adam McKnight scored 23 and Ty Kellis added 20 points to lead the Eagles (17-3 overall, No. 6 in MBCA Class 6 state rankings). McKnight was a load to handle for the undersized Chiefs, who got a commendable defensive effort from senior big man Brock Thompson.
“I thought (McKnight) hit some tough shots and he’s a great competitor,” McHenry said. “In an environment like this, you’re getting to get his best shot… Brock (Thompson) battled. He didn’t come out in the second half and he logged a lot of minutes for us.”
Kickapoo (16-5 overall, No. 5 in MBCA Class 6 state rankings) turned back multiple Nixa rallies in the second half to maintain its lead. The Eagles drew within 60-56 with four minutes to play, but baskets from Brayden Rubidoux and Rylee Tann helped the Chiefs pull away.
Rubidoux (15), Elijah Nabors (11) and Thompson (10) all reached double figures for Kickapoo. That kind of scoring balance has been another common theme for the Chiefs this season.
McHenry estimated Kickapoo has five players averaging eight points or more.
“That’s pretty rare,” McHenry said.
The Chiefs are riding a seven-game winning streak since going 0-3 in the Tournament of Champions last month. Kickapoo hasn’t experienced any letdown since going against some of the best teams in the country.
“Playing in the T of C was fun. I’ve always wanted to play in it my whole life,” Thompson said. “But I feel like every game is a blast with this group we have. We want to make the most of it.”
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Tuesday’s victory gives Kickapoo an inside edge toward a district 1-seed. The Chiefs are also district hosts this year.
With a capacity crowd in attendance Tuesday night, the Chiefs had a preview of what they could see next month.
“It’s great for the kids. This (environment) is what you want to play in front of,” McHenry said. “We’ve had some really good battles (with Nixa) for a long time. To have a gym that’s packed out like this, you don’t really see that as much anymore in the high school level. We’ve done a pretty good job in our Nixa-Kickapoo series to put on a really good environment.”
Kickapoo 71, Nixa 60
Nixa 18 9 18 15 — 60
Kickapoo 16 21 16 18 — 71
Nixa (17-3 overall, 1-1 COC East) – Adam McKnight 23, Ty Kellis 20, Randy Flint 7, Colt McCoy 6, Braylon Smith 3, Cameron Miller 1
Kickapoo (16-5 overall, 2-0 COC East) – Reese Kimrey 21, Brayden Rubidoux 15, Elijah Nabors 11, Brock Thompson 10, Will Winn 6, Rylee Tann 5, Jeydon Suddarth 3
