At the heart of Ozark’s stirring comeback Wednesday was Ryan Engel’s own comeback.
Engel made a dramatic impact on Ozark’s 57-55 Class 6 District 5 first-round loss to Nixa. He came off the Tigers’ bench to score 12 points in the second half.
After Ozark fell behind by 18 points, Engel ignited the Tigers’ rally with nine points in the final few minutes of the third quarter.
“Ryan had a huge third quarter,” coach Mark Schweitzer said. “He was a huge spark.”
Engel’s response to post-season pressure was to attack it with aggression.
His fierce focus and intensity were evident at the both ends of the court. His defense on Nixa’s Kael Combs was as tight as anyone has applied all season on Combs, who was 6-of-19 from the field.
Engel drew an offensive foul on Combs when Combs was whistled for a push-off.
“He played awesome. His defense was great,” Schweitzer said.
The only thing that stopped Engel was his fourth foul. He went to Ozark’s bench and stayed there until the final minute.
Upon returning, Engel made his third 3-pointer with :04 remaining. With the Tigers out of timeouts, the Eagles didn’t need to in-bound the ball as the final seconds ticked away.
“I got him a breather when he got his fourth foul and we kept the comeback alive, so I stayed with the hot hand,” Schweitzer said. “He came in at the end and hit that 3, I was like, 'You should have put him in earlier.’”
Over the past month, Engel’s playing time was reduced as he and forward Jake Garner were replaced in Ozark’s starting lineup by Garrett Ballard and Cohen George.
The switcheroo factored prominently in the Tigers winning eight of their final 10 regular-season games. They became monsters on the offensive boards, resulting in repeated second-chance opportunities.
“It was kind of tough having to deal with what (Engel) and Garner had to,” Schweitzer said. “We made the lineup change to go bigger. It’s not necessarily any one person's fault when you make a change. I was shaking things up when Cohen and Ballard came in and Engel and Garner came out. But that's a hard thing for a kid to take.
“I'm very proud and happy for Ryan to show perseverance (by) powering through,” he added. “What might not have been positive results for him individually, he's powered through it and played one of his best games. We needed it. We don't come back if not for him.”
Engel will likely return to Ozark’s starting lineup as a senior next season. The Tigers very well could rise to prominence, with George, Garner, forward Jace Whatley and guards Hudson Roberts and Phin Scott also due back.
Nobody in the COC will have as strong a nucleus of experienced players to rely on at the outset, although there will be a looming question who will be at point guard.
Ozark will have to replace Ballard and point guard Ethan Sutherland. The latter also shined in the clutch Wednesday, doing what he does best by shaking off struggles and playing like a champ down the stretch.
This was Ozark’s first losing season in Schweitzer’s 10 years as head coach, but this group earned his respect.
“This whole second half (of the season) has been great. We played Ozark basketball,” he said. “We’re a top four seed the way we've been playing and we did more than prove that (against Nixa). My kids are an inspiration. I'm extremely proud of them.”
