BRANSON — Jay Osborne got to experience Tuesday what a Nixa huddle might look like without him beginning next year.
The outgoing 30-year Eagles coach liked what he saw and heard.
About midway through the third quarter at Branson Tuesday, Osborne called for time after the Pirates cut Nixa’s lead to six points. Spontaneously, assistant coaches Brock Blansit, Andrew Boyce and Todd Mercer took over the Eagles’ huddle.
What ensued was a sensational stretch. Nixa followed up with six straight stops defensively and seven straight offensive possessions with points en route to its 77-52 triumph.
“I didn’t say a word,” Osborne said of the Eagles’ huddle with 3:13 to go in the third quarter and Nixa clinging to a 45-39 lead. “Our assistant coaches got on the kids. They unloaded on some players and they should have.”
By the 6:10 mark of the fourth quarter, the Eagles were up 66-41 and the rout was on.
Osborne has enough trust in his assistants to give them free reign. Blansit has been alongside Osborne for 19 years and will take over as Nixa’s head coach next season. Boyce has been with the Eagles for 15 seasons. Mercer is in his second season at Nixa, after previously being a head coach at Harrisonville and Reeds Spring.
“I let them do whatever they want. They can say what they want whenever they want,” Osborne said. “They know as much about the game as I do. They’re always the second ones to say something and that’s the way it ought to be. But I didn’t have to say anything that time. Something needed to be said and they stepped forward to give us a little spark.
“That motivated the kids a little bit,” he added. “It was a nice spark for us.”
“That was really good for us,” guard Colin Ruffin agreed. “I think it turned us up. (Coach Blansit) is going to be a great head coach and have a lot of wins. Already, it’s like having two head coaches.”
Nixa got by Branson comfortably with practically only three players scoring. Ruffin fired in 27 points, Kael Combs scored 25 and Jaret Nelson netted 21.
For the third straight game, the Eagles were at their best when feeding the ball to Nelson. He had 10 points in the third quarter to trigger Nixa’s breakaway.
“We finally threw the ball to Nelson a few times and got him involved,” Osborne said. “When we get him involved in the offense and he starts scoring, it opens up shots. When he attracts attention, we’re a lot better basketball team.”
“We throw it in there to Jaret and once he gets doubled, he can kick it out,” Ruffin said.
The Eagles hit 11 3-pointers, with Ruffin making six treys, Combs four and Jordyn Turner one. The trio was repeatedly left so alone along the arc that they almost had too much time to square up to the basket.
“I was definitely surprised,” Ruffin said of how open he found himself. “Sometimes, I feel weird if I’m so wide open. But I definitely should knock that shot down. It’s a letdown when I do miss those.”
Nixa (19-3 overall and 5-0 in the COC) hasn’t lost to Branson (7-13 and 0-4) since 2013 and Osborne felt the Eagles were complacent until their late burst.
“It’s not a disrespect thing, but our kids were kind of just going through the motions,” Osborne said. “You just can’t do that at our level. You can’t overlook anybody or take anybody for granted. We’ll try not to do that our next outing.”
“We should have picked it up on defense,” Ruffin said. “Other than that, I think we were good. I think our defense was still good, but we can always pick it up.”
NIXA (77) — Ruffin 10 1-2 27, Turner 1 0-0 3, Combs 9 3-4 25, Nelson 9 3-4 21, Berry 0 1-2 1.
BRANSON (52) — Jones 9 0-0 19, Ascone 1 0-0 2, Scharbrough 6 2-2 17, Cooper 1 0-0 3, Pierce 1 0-0 3, Goodwin 3 0-0 6.
Nixa 20 17 24 16 - 77
Branson 12 12 17 11 - 52
3-point goals - Ruffin 6, Combs 4, Scharbrough 3, Turner, Jones, Cooper, Pierce.
