NIXA, Mo. -- The second consolation round game at the 85th Nixa Invitational Friday night was a thriller in every sense of the word, as the Harrisonville Wildcats from suburban Kansas City outlasted Columbia Hickman in overtime 67-59.
Luke Cooper scored an incredible 29 points, second only to Willard sophomore Chris Kendrix’s 34 point performance against Hogan Prep so far in this tournament. The first quarter was all Harrisonville, as the Wildcats jumped out to a commanding 18-4 first quarter lead on the strength of six three pointers. Hickman did not give up, however, and outscored Harrisonville 12-4 in the second quarter to close the Wildcats’ halftime lead to 22-16.
Harrisonville regained the upper hand in the third quarter and appeared headed for the win, as HHS outscored the Hickman Kewpies 16-10 to take a 38-26 lead into the fourth quarter. Hickman made a great run on Harrisonville in the fourth quarter, however, as they applied strong defensive pressure and outscored Harrisonville 26-14 to tie the game at 52 at the end of regulation.
Harrisonville would regain the momentum in overtime, as Luke Cooper hit several critical free throws late in overtime to seal the incredible win for the Harrisonville Wildcats.
Luke Cooper led all scorers with 29 points, making five three pointers and hitting 12-14 free throws. Dallas Stackhouse added 11 points, and along with Cooper was the only other Wildcat to score in double figures.
For the Hickman Kewpies, Da'Quan Dixon scored 18 points and Jimmy Whitt added 12. Harrisonville advanced to play Hogan Prep in the consolation final Saturday at 3:30 p.m., while Hickman will play in the seventh place game at 2:00 p.m. versus St. Joseph Lafayette.
