Month: December 2021

The first round of action is complete at the 76th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Boys Basketball Tournament on the Missouri State University campus.

The opening round games in the Blue Division took place at Hammons Student Center, with Gold Division contests at JQH Arena.

Blue Division:

In the Blue Division, the top seeded Nixa Eagles set a Blue and Gold Tournament record with 19 three pointers in an 86-24 drubbing of Mt. Vernon.

The Eagles beat the previous tournament record of 15 treys, set by Marshfield on December 26th, 2012 in a 72-32 win over Mountain Grove.

Senior Colin Ruffin drained eight three pointers, just one short of the individual record of nine. Ruffin led all players with 30 points.

Kael Combs put in 19 for the Eagles, hitting four from long distance.

For the Mountaineers, Kai Brown scored ten of his team’s 24 points.

Nixa led 16-7 after one period, 39-13 at the half, and 69-20 after three quarters, with a turbo clock in the fourth quarter.

Eagles Coach Jay Osborne, the winningest coach in Blue and Gold history, is now 76-25 overall in the tournament.

The Marshfield Blue Jays pull off the first upset in the Blue Division, edging fifth seeded Skyline 50-44 at Hammons Center.

Marshfield held a narrow 27-26 advantage at the half, and led 39-34 after three quarters before pulling away in the game’s final two minutes.

Junior Zack Mings led the Blue Jays with 15 points, while teammate Peyton McBride added 12.

Lawson Beem hit five three pointers and scored 20 points to pace the Tigers.

Eighth seeded Fair Grove downed Ash Grove 68-61 in a Blue Division contest.

The Eagles held a 27-22 advantage at the half, and the Pirates stayed within striking distance, down by eight after three quarters.

Devin Carroll scored 24 points to lead the Eagles, with Brady Nicholson’s 18 tops for Ash Grove.

The Fightin’ Irish from Springfield Catholic, seeded fourth in the Blue Division, had no problems with Clever, winning 73-46.

Zach Howell led Catholic with a 30 point scoring performance, with Grant Pellham putting in 22 to pace Clever.

The Branson Pirates held off the Mountain Grove Panthers 61-51 to advance to the quarterfinals in the Blue Division.

The two teams were tied 10-10 after one quarter, and Branson carried a 25-24 lead into halftime.

The Pirates went ahead by three, 42-39 after three quarters, before pulling away down the stretch.

Ethan Jones scored 16 points to lead Branson, with Kade Goodwin adding 14.

Kaden Bruce’s 21 points led the Panthers.

Springfield Kickapoo, seeded second in the Blue Division, rolled to an 81-21 win over Houston, with a running clock in the final period.

The Chiefs held a 50-15 lead at the half, and 76-17 at the end of the third period.

Brayden Shorter led all scorers with 21 points for the Chiefs, while Hunter McKinnery and Tanner Lee led Houston with six points apiece.

The Hartville Eagles, seeded sixth in the Blue Division, pulled away in the third quarter to defeat Reeds Spring 53-33.

The Eagles held a slim 12-10 advantage after one quarter and 25-18 at the half before extending the margin to 21 points after three quarters, 44-23.

Jacob Ballard, Eric Wilson, and Logan Simpson each sored 12 points to lead the Eagles, with Ty Cooper, Tanner Hirschi, and Caden Wiest scoring nine points apiece for the Wolves.

The Willard Tigers closed out the Blue Division first round with a 71-50 win over the West Plains Zizzers.

The Tigers, seeded third, held a 38-28 lead at the intermission, then extended it to 17 points at the end of three quarters.

Haden Brown led the way for Willard with 18 points, and Sean Tinsley scored 17 to lead West Plains.

Gold Division:

The Central Bulldogs have pulled off the first upset of a seeded team in the tournament, downing eighth seeded Willow Springs 61-42 in the Gold Division.

The Bears led the Bulldogs 23-18 at the half, but Central stormed back to go up 38-34 after three quarters.

Central went ahead by as many as 13 points in the final eight minutes before winning by seven.

Sophomore Antonio Starks-Fewell led the Bulldogs with 16 points, while Keion Epps addede 14.

Scottie Osborn scored 23 to pace the Bears.

The Bolivar Liberators, seeded first in the Gold, had no problems with Aurora, winning 70-40 at The Q.

The Liberators jumped out to a 23-9 lead after one quarter and 36-15 at the half.

Aurora managed to keep the running clock from going into effect for much of the fourth quarter as they kept the difference just under 30 points.

Junior Kyle Pock led the way for the Liberators with 23 points, while Lukas Gabani added 15.

Jaesik Friggle’s 17 points led the way for the Houn’ Dawgs.

The host Greenwood Blue Jays extend their Blue and Gold winning streak to nine games with a 66-43 win over the Spokane Owls.

The Blue Jays led 20-11 after one period and extended the advantage to 40-21 at the half, and coasted in the second half of the contest.

Nicholas Burri scored 23 points to lead Darren Taylor’s squad, with sophomore Tanner Jones adding 19.

The Strafford Indians, seeded fourth in the Gold Division, took an early 10-0 lead over the Camdenton Lakers and never looked back, pulling away in the second half to win 60-36.

The Indians held a 29-22 lead at the half, but went ahead by 11, 41-30 after three quarters.

Seth Soden scored 12 points to lead the Indians, with Aaron Poage’s 12 points leading the way for the Lakers.

The Logan Rogersville Wildcats advance with a 53-46 Gold Division win over the Crane Pirates.

The 7th seeded Wildcats trailed 11-9 after the first quarter, but bounced back to take a 25-21 lead at halftime and went up 36-29 after three quarters.

J.J. O’Neal led the Wildcats in scoring with 20 points, while Taylor Calzaretta’s 21 points led the Pirates.

Second seeded Ozark topped Lebanon 78-39 to advance to the quarterfinals in the Gold Division.

The two teams were tied 15-15 after the opening quarter, but Ozark opened up a 42-28 lead at the half and 66-36 after three periods.

Tyler Harmon scored 19 points to lead the Tigers, with Caleb Ray scoring 15 for the Yellow Jackets.

Sixth seeded Republic led Buffalo 26-2 after the first eight minutes of action and coasted to a 76-25 win over the Bison.

Jordan Douglas had 14 points to lead the Tigers, with Camron Portis scoring ten of Buffalo’s 25 points.

The Ava Bears wrapped up first round Gold Division play with a 58-39 win over Stockton at The Q.

The Bears led throughout, taking a 31-21 lead at halftime, then going up 46-32 after three quarters.

Senior Andrew Dalton put on a scoring performance for the Bears with 31 points.

Layne Colvin and Jay Baxter had 12 points each to pace the Tigers.

Blue Division (Hammons Student Center):

Here are the scores of opening round games, with seeds in parenthesis:

Final: (8) Fair Grove 68, Ash Grove 61

Final: (1) Nixa 86, Mt. Vernon 24 (Nixa sets Blue and Gold Tournament record with 19 3’s)

Final: Marshfield 50, (5) Skyline 44

Final: (4) Catholic 73, Clever 46

Final: Branson 61, Mountain Grove 51

Final: (2) Springfield Kickapoo 81, Houston 21

Final: (6) Hartville 53, Reeds Spring 33

Final: (3) Willard 71, West Plains 50

Gold Division (JQH Arena):

Final: Springfield Central 61, (8) Willow Springs 42

Final: (1) Bolivar 70, Aurora 40

Final: (5) Greenwood 66, Spokane 43

Final: (4) Strafford 60, Camdenton 36

Final: (7) Logan-Rogersville 53, Crane 46 (official scorebook has Crane for 46 instead of 44)

Final: (2) Ozark 78, Lebanon 39

FInal: (6) Republic 76, Buffalo 25

Final: (3) Ava 58, Stockton 39

Here’s the schedule of games for Tuesday’s quarterfinal round at the 76th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament:

Blue Division Quarterfinal Round (JQH Arena):

(1) Nixa vs. (8) Fair Grove 9:30 a.m.

(4) Catholic vs. Marshfield 11:00 a.m.

(7) Branson vs. (2) Springfield Kickapoo 12:30 p.m.

(6) Hartville vs. (3) Willard 2:00 p.m.

Gold Division Quarterfinal Round (JQH Arena):

(1) Bolivar vs. Springfield Central 5:00 p.m.

(4) Strafford vs. (5) Greenwood 6:30 p.m.

(2) Ozark vs. (7) Rogersville 8:00 p.m.

(3) Ava vs. (6) Republic 9:30 p.m.

Blue Division Consolation Bracket (Hammons Student Center):

Ash Grove vs. Mt. Vernon 9:30 a.m.

(5) Skyline vs. Clever 11:00 a.m.

Mountain Grove vs. Houston 12:30 p.m.

Reeds Spring vs. West Plains 2:00 p.m.

Gold Division Consolation Bracket (Hammons Student Center):

(8) Willow Springs vs. Aurora 5:00 p.m.

Spokane vs. Camdenton 6:30 p.m.

Crane vs. Lebanon 8:00 p.m.

Buffalo vs. Stockton 9:30 p.m.

The tournament continues with the semifinals on Wednesday and the final round on Thursday.

The Salvation Army in Springfield is hosting a Christmas Day Lunch for people who need a hot meal.

The group is prepared to host up to 530 people this year.

The meal takes place from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Saturday at the Salvation Army headquarters on Chestnut Expressway near Kansas Expressway in Springfield.

The meal includes turkey with all the trimmings, rolls from Lamberts and pies from Village Inn.

Firefighters from Nixa, Battlefield, Ozark and Republic battled flames Friday morning on a storage lot in the 800 block of west Enterprise Lane west of Highway 160 in Nixa.

Three vehicles caught fire shortly before 6 a.m.

The lot is near Hydro Tech Marine Performance, but the cars were not close to a building.

No one was hurt, and investigators are trying to find out what caused the fire.

The Springfield Police Department is investigating a deadly officer-involved shooting that happened Thursday afternoon.

Just before 3:30 p.m., officers were sent to 240 east Norton Road to check on a man armed with a gun and trying to break into an apartment.

Another 911 caller stated they heard shots being fired.

When police arrived, they tried to contact the man, who was still armed, on the sidewalk in front of an apartment.

But officers say the man refused to comply with commands.

One of the officers deployed less lethal bean bag rounds at the guy, but that was unsuccessful.

Police say when the suspect pointed a gun at officers, they fired at him, striking him multiple times.

The officers then took the man into custody and performed life saving measures.

The suspect was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Police have identified the suspect as Richard R. McCormick, 62, Springfield.

The three officers involved in the shooting incident were not injured, and they’ve been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

The case will be presented to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Police in Branson are investigating human skeletal remains found off Fall Creek Road.

Officers say someone found the remains around noon on Wednesday and called 911.

Authorities say when they arrived, they located several remains in a heavily wooded area.

The Taney County coroner is coordinating with a forensic odonatologist and medical personnel to identify the remains and find a cause of death.

A one month old baby is safe after being held hostage in a domestic dispute.

Nixa Police rescued the baby from a house on Barracuda Street where a male subject had barricaded himself.

Police gave the baby to E-M-S on the scene for a medical check.

The man was taken into custody.

Barracuda and Walleye Streets were closed to traffic.

Springfield Public Schools has announced starting January 4, wearing masks will now be optional for all students.

This announcement comes following the Missouri Attorney General issuing threats to take legal action on public schools and health departments that continue to enforce mandatory masking.

Mask wearing will still be enforced while aboard public transportation such as school buses, due to a federal mandate.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has joined a lawsuit over mask and vaccine mandates for kids in head start programs.

Here’s the news release from Schmitt’s office explaining the suit:

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has joined a multi-state lawsuit against the Biden Administration for imposing a mask and vaccine mandate on Head Start students and volunteers, respectively.

“Head Start Programs provide much needed resources for underserved communities, single moms, and other parents who may be struggling to provide care. Forcing children to wear masks all day is counterintuitive, as children have a very low risk of contracting, spreading, or becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. Further, forcing those children to wear masks all day could hinder crucial development,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “Additionally, requiring volunteers, teachers, and contractors to be vaccinated by the end of January will certainly lead to job loss and program cancellation, harming those underserved communities who rely on the Head Start Program. We’ve heard from parents across the state about how these mask mandates are harming their children. The Biden Administration does not have the authority to issue these onerous mask and vaccine mandates, and as we have with all of his illegal edicts, we will fight them vigorously in court.”

Head Start provides much needed resources to primarily underserved children and their families. The program provides early childhood education and resources, including diapers, to families. Under the mandate, teachers, contractors, and volunteers in Head Start Programs are required to be fully vaccinated by January 31, which will lead to job loss and loss of programming, harming underserved communities.

The states allege that the Head Start Mandate is not only beyond the Executive Branch’s authority, contrary to law, and arbitrary and capricious; but it also violates the Administrative Procedure Act’s Notice-and-Comment Requirement, the Congressional Review Act, the Nondelegation Doctrine, the Tenth Amendment, the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine, the Spending Clause, and the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 1999.

Joining Attorneys General Schmitt and Landry in in the lawsuit are the attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, and West Virginia.

The full petition can be found here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/head-start-complaint.pdf?sfvrsn=1ab46d94_2

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has been a national leader in fighting mask mandates in schools. Earlier this month, the Attorney General’s Office opened up an email inbox for parents to voice their concerns and share information about school districts continuing to enforce mask mandates and quarantine orders in light of the recent Cole County ruling. Since opening that email inbox, the Attorney General’s Office received over 7,500 emails and has sent out 52 cease and desist letters to schools, resulting in policy changes or planned policy changes in a number of schools across the state.

Further, Attorney General Schmitt has also been a national leader in challenging the Biden Administration’s unlawful federal vaccine mandates. Just yesterday, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office obtained a preliminary injunction halting the vaccine mandate on federal contractors. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office also recently obtained an injunction against the Biden Administration’s health care worker vaccine mandate. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office also joined a motion for emergency stay in the United States Supreme Court to halt the vaccine mandate on private employers.

A man from Springfield has life threatening injuries following a shooting late Tuesday night in the 900 block of west Madison.

Police say the victim was driven to the hospital in a car with three other men.

Investigators are trying to figure out who fired the shot.

The victim was in stable condition at last report.