NEOSHO, Mo. — Rogers Heritage coach Tom Olsen wasn’t real happy with his team’s effort in its loss Tuesday in the 55th annual Neosho Holiday Tournament.
But the War Eagles made their coach smile Wednesday.
Senior guard Brandon Brzozkiewicz canned a long 3-pointer to give his team the lead for good with just under 4 minutes left, then made four consecutive free throws in the final 26.4 seconds to seal Heritage’s 59-55 win over Webb City, Mo.
Heritage (5-8) will take on Farmington in the fifth-place game at noon today.
Olsen said his team came through in the clutch against Webb City, unlike a few times earlier this season.
“I was not pleased with our performance yesterday, but I was really proud of our guys today,” Olsen said. “For them to hang in there, they’ve been in situations where other teams have got out on us and we kinda went away. I thought they showed a lot of heart, a lot of maturity.”
Brzozkiewicz poured in a game-high 23 points for the War Eagles, but his long 3-pointer from the right wing gave his team a 53-50 lead with just less than 4 minutes to play.
Webb City (5-5) missed five consecutive field-goal attempts in the waning minutes and Heritage canned six consecutive free-throw attempts in the final 48 seconds, including four by Brzozkiewicz to put the game away.
Olsen was especially happy with his team’s poise down the stretch, despite struggling with turnovers at different points in the game.
“We got to the last timeout with about three minutes left. ... I told them I need you to play the best three minutes you can right here and they did,” Olsen said. “Mac Olinger kinda had a rough day at times, but he came in and played strong and got some big boards. We got the ball to Brandon at the end and he did a good job controlling things and hitting free throws.”
Nick Jordan added 13 points for the War Eagles, including 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. Heritage hit 14 of 18 free throws for the game.
Heritage’s size advantage was evident early, but Webb City’s three-guard offense and quickness forced the War Eagles in flurries of turnovers.
The Cardinals led 25-22 at halftime and 45-43 heading into the fourth quarter.
Farmington 54, Kansas City (Mo.) Ruskin 52
The Cardinals lost the lead in the fourth quarter of a game they had controlled much of the way, but bounced back to hold off Kansas City (Mo.) Ruskin.
Senior Blake Abrecht hit two free throws with 24.8 seconds left and Farmington forced a turnover with 4.4 seconds to hold on for the win.
Farmington (12-2) led by as many as 15 early in the second half, but Ruskin (6-4) used its quickness to rally.
Malcolm Hamilton, who finished with 14 points, keyed a 10-0 run that turned a 48-41 deficit into a 51-48 Ruskin lead with less than 2 minutes left.
Evan Yochum helped Farmington bounce back with a pair of driving layups sandwiched around a Ruskin free throw for a 52-52 tie with 1:03 left.
Yochum led Farmington with 14 points, while Kendall Buchanan added 14.
Bentonville 55, Morrilton 52
Sophomore Mytaah Crawford scored eight points in a key an 11-2 spurt that lifted Bentonville to the win.
Morrilton (4-7) scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to snap a 40-40 deadlock, but Crawford canned a 3-pointer from the corner then seconds later converted a layup off a steal to put the Tigers (5-7) back in front for good.
Trevor Payne’s driving layup pulled Morrilton to within 45-44, but Tyler Sanderlin hit a 3-pointer and Crawford added a high-arcing 3 for a 51-44 lead with five minutes to play.
Bentonville, which blew a 15-point lead in a loss to McDonald County on Tuesday, struggled a bit at the foul line late Wednesday.
The Tigers made just 4-of-8 in the final 2 minutes, but their solid defense was enough to hold on for the win.
Sanderlin led a balanced Bentonville attack with 14, while Crawford scored 13 and Tyler Haggard added 10. Adam Rasheed, a 6-4 senior, led all scorers with 20 for Morrilton.
Bentonville will finish play in the tournament today at 1:30 against Monett, Mo., at Neosho Middle School.