BRANSON — As self-assured as Hudson Roberts was about shooting with the game on the line Tuesday, he couldn't help but also admit to being astonished about turning a dream into reality.
Roberts lived out every hoopster's fantasy finish by swishing a 3-pointer with :01 remaining to lift Ozark to a 69-66 overtime triumph against Branson.
"I've practiced that shot daily my entire life. I can't believe I did it. It's surreal," the sweet-shooting sophomore southpaw said. "This was so special. High school ball is so much fun. You'll never forget these moments."
Roberts is proving himself a special player in his secondary sport, mind you, and could be on his way toward being an unforgettable player in Ozark lore.
With poise well beyond his 16 years, the Arkansas baseball commit was more than willing to fire away with the clock winding down. Having freed himself up to square up to the baset, he showed no hesitation upon receiving the ball. From there, he was his usual confident self regarding the ensuing result.
"In my mind, it's always going to go in," Roberts said. "If I get a good look from anywhere on the court, I'm confident it's going to go in — all the time."
Roberts' teammates share the same sentiment of his shooting.
"There's nobody on this team I'd rather have take that shot," guard Garrett Ballard said. "He's proven game after game that he's one of the best shooters in the state. He's lights out."
"Our kids have figured out we need to get Hudson the ball," coach Mark Schweitzer said. "That can be a hard thing to do when you're a junior or senior and you've got a sophomore who is playing his first year of varsity. You always dream about your time on varsity and what you want to do. You don't dream about running stuff to get a younger kid the ball. But our kids have bought in to each other and are giving Hudson looks when he needs looks.
"He has proven himself to be one of the best sophomores in the area," Schweitzer added. "He still doesn't get talked about enough, but that's because we haven't had a great W-L record so far. People might start paying a little more attention to him now."
Well before Roberts varsity debut this season saw him score 28 points, he had earned Ballard's respect as a bona-fide shooting star.
"It was last year, to be honest, playing with him on jayvee," Ballard said. "He lit it up all the time. You could tell he has all the confidence in the world."
Roberts' game-winner was needed after Ozark let a 63-56 lead slip away over the final 1:35 of overtime.
After Branson tied things up at 66 with :11 remaining, Schweitzer opted not to call a timeout in hopes his players could beat the Pirates in transition. Once the Tigers got the ball across the half-court line, Ballard made a nice running, one-handed catch and simultaneously rifled the ball in the paint to Cohen George. George passed it back to the perimeter to Ethan Sutherland, who promptly found Roberts 20 feet out on a wing.
"I got a good pass from Sutherland. He hit me right in my pocket," Roberts said. "I got a good look, got a good shot off and knew it was good when it left my hands."
Recalling the final sequence, Schweitzer noted how much better his team played under pressure than a month ago in a 53-51 loss at Columbia Hickman.
"We lost a similar game at Hickman in which I also didn't call a timeout and we choked," he said. "We didn't know what to do with the ball at that moment. Tonight, we had ball movement, teamwork and we knocked down the shot."
Ozark (9-12 overall and 2-2 in the COC) upped its winning streak to five games. That stretch has seen Roberts and Ballard both hit game-winning jumpers, Jace Whatley make a tying shot at the end of regulation in a game the Tigers won in overtime and Whatley sink a game-winning free throw with :03 left last Friday to beat Webb City by a point.
"The kids are believing in what we do and in each other," Schweitzer said. "Wins like this are a result."
Fresh from a 34-point effort against Webb City, Roberts endured a scoreless first half Tuesday. The Pirates threw junk defenses at Ozark, with their focus being Roberts.
All the while, Roberts was mindful not to let frustration overwhelm him. Ultimately, his poise was rewarded with a 17-point second-half.
"You have to keep your composure at this level. If you lose it, you're not going to play well," Roberts said. "I was more worried about the team getting good looks. I knew if we could do that, I would get my looks. I knew my shots and my time were going to come. I was waiting."
Ozark trailed much of the night, falling behind by 12 points in the first quarter and 10 in the third quarter.
"Props to them, they played really hard.They came out hotter than I expected," Ballard said. "Unfortunately, we've started out that way in a lot of games. We're kind of used to it and then coming back. It's not how we'd like to start a game. But we know how to fight back."
Ballard was a consistent source of offense during his season-high 19-point night. A Ballard 3 in the fourth quarter halted a streak in which Ozark had missed seven straight shots beyond the arc. The Tigers finished 9-of-25 shooting 3s.
Ozark also struggled shooting in the paint. The Tigers had 14 offensive rebounds, but only two putbacks.
Ozark also had to overcome a carrying violation with the score tied at 56 and :37 left in regulation. Carrying no doubt occurred. But considering the same call could be made on almost every possession of every game, it was quite a surprising whistle, particularly at that stage.
Justice seemingly won out, as the call didn't help decide the outcome and the hard-fought game went to overtime. Branson threw up an air ball on a 3-pointer in its attempt to win at the end of regulation.
Branson (5-15 and 0-5) has lost nine in a row and was fresh from beatdowns of 40-plus points at the hands of Republic and Neosho. The PIrates' upset bid was strengthened by Jayce Culver's six 3s and 20 points.
Schweitzer and Culver's father, Wes, were teammates at College of the Ozarks.
"I asked (Jayce) in warmups while he was knocking down 3 after 3, 'Can you outshoot your old man?' He said he passed him up a long time ago," Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer is thrilled to see his players shake off their hardships and naysayers and enjoy success.
"I'm proud of our kids for not listening to the social media posts about how they're not continuing the Ozark tradition," Schweitzer said. "They're picking up the torch. It took us a little while to learn, but we're marching on. My kids play hard for me. Anyone who is an outsider and watches our team play (for the first time) tells me that. We go to Kansas City and I get compliment after compliment about how hard our kids play. If they were to give up on me, it would be time for me not to coach anymore.
"People are going to keep counting us out. Let them do that," he added. "The key for us is to continue to compete and refuse to give in to negative energy."
Ozark 69, Branson 66 OT
OZARK (69) — Ballard 7 1-2 19, Roberts 5 5-6 17, George 3 2-2 8, Whatley 2 4-6 8, Sutherland 4 3-4 13, Scott 1 0-0 3, Garner 0 1-2 1.
BRANSON (66) — Toliver 7 2-4 16, Culver 8 0-0 22, Gill 5 6-8 16, Bough 1 0-2 2, Sutton 2 3-3 8, Hardy 1 0-0 2.
Ozark 11 16 16 13 13 - 69
Branson 19 9 17 11 11 - 66
3-point goals - Culver 6, Ballard 4, Roberts 2, Sutherland 2, Scott, Sutton
