SPRINGFIELD — Jace Whatley received a surprise Tuesday when Ozark coach Mark Schweitzer showed him the Blue & Gold Tournament program featuring the Tigers senior power forward.
“Right out there in front of everyone, that’s exciting,” Whatley said upon seeing he is a cover boy alongside Sparta’s Jake Lafferty, Nixa’s Josh Peters and other SWMO stars.
Whatley has responded well to being in front of Blue & Gold crowds over three seasons as a starter and continued that trend with an 11-point effort in Ozark’s 75-32 Blue Division first-round victory versus Clever.
Whatley made his first four field-goal attempts to trigger the Tigers’ rout.
“I love (the Blue & Gold). You're in the middle of the spotlight. I love the attention. You can't ask for anything more,” said Whatley, who had a game-winning tip-in against Rogersville at the Blue & Gold two years ago. “I've had some off games, but feel I've played pretty consistent throughout (nine career Blue & Gold games). I might play better than others in this tournament because some people fold under pressure. They're not used to it. This is just like any other court for me.”
“They picked him on the cover, so he must be doing something right,” Schweitzer said. “He likes the big stage.”
Whatley had a strong hunch he was in for a productive game against Clever.
“They have no size. They didn't have anyone who could guard me,” he said. “I knew that from the beginning of the game and went right at them.”
It was one of Whatley’s most encouraging performances during his comeback from a torn MCL in his right knee during football season.
“Each game he's getting stronger and stronger with that leg and is getting back to how he's capable of playing,” Schweitzer said.
“I may start going without (a protective brace) coming up soon,” Whatley said.
Ozark (3-6) hardly looked like a team that struggled mightily to score early on in games during a three-game losing streak. The Tigers’ offensive numbers Tuesday were nothing short of outstanding.
Ozark made its first five field goals while taking an 11-3 lead. The Tigers proceeded to shoot 69 percent from the field (18-of-26) in the first half.
Turns out they were just getting warmed up. Ozark started the second half by making its first seven field goals. At that juncture, the Tigers were shooting at a 76-percent clip (25-of-33). They finished shooting 65 percent (34-of-52).
“Wow!” Whatley exclaimed when told of the Tigers’ shooting. “It was contagious.”
Hudson Roberts scored a team-high 15 points, while going 7-of-8 from the field and Kylan Pickren contributed 12 points.
The 43-point margin of victory is the Tigers’ largest since an 89-35 Ozark whipping of Springfield Central in 2018.
Ozark’s offense was often set up by the Tigers’ defense. They forced 19 Clever turnovers, with many of the giveaways leading to breakaway layups.
“The ball goes in whenever your defense is generating easy ones,” Schweitzer said. “When you hit those layups, it seems the outside shots fall, too, because the confidence is there.”
“That was a really good game for us,” Roberts said. “Even if it was against a little lesser opponent, it showed the talent we have and it shows us what we can do. I think it's going to propel us. We're in high spirits now.”
Ozark played so well in an up-tempo Schweitzer is open-minded about the Tigers possibly playing at such a pace again.
“That's how I would like to play with every team we have,” Schweitzer said. “The personnel on this team is a little different than teams I've had in the past, so we haven't pressed as much. But I'll definitely look at it. This was a great game to see if we could do it. We were able to press effectively. We'll keep working on it. It depends on who we're playing. As long as we don't give up layups on the back end, it fits me.”
“We like to play like that,” Roberts said. “We’re definitely playing better when we're playing fast and getting up in people's stuff and pressuring them.”
Ozark advances to meet Branson in a second-round game at 12:30 p.m.
“We righted a lot of things,” Schweitzer said. “Now let's see what we can do against a big school like Branson.”
