NIXA, Mo. -- The Willard Tigers turned a tense, close game into a comfortable margin of victory as the Tigers continued their nice run to the finals of the Nixa Invitational with a 55-42 win over Mt. Vernon.
The game was close for three quarters until the strong play of Willard's Sky Frazier and Damon Wester helped the Tigers distance themselves from the Mountaineers. The first quarter was hotly contested, as Mt. Vernon held a slim 10-9 lead over the Tigers. Willard kept the game close in the second quarter, as they outscored Mt. Vernon 11-10 to knot the score at 20-20 at the half.
Willard's Chris Kendrix, who was coming off a 34 point performance Thursday night against the Hogan Prep Rams, hit some key baskets in the third quarter (with MSU assistant coach Steve Woodbery looking on) to give Willard a 34-32 advantage over Mt. Vernon after three quarters of play.
Willard's offense took off in the fourth quarter, however, as Damon Wester and Chris Kendrix both hit some deep threes that gave the Tigers some momentum. Willard used an impressive 21-10 fourth quarter run to put the game on ice and defeat Mt. Vernon 55-42, as they advanced to the finals of the 85th Nixa Invitational and earned a date with the powerhouse Nixa Eagles.
Willard's Sky Frazier, who recently committed to play basketball at the College of the Ozarks for coach Steve Shepherd, led the Tigers with an impressive 20 points. Most of Frazier's points came in the paint, as he played an impressive inside game.
Damon Wester added 15 points for the Tigers, and Chris Kendrix added 13 after scoring 34 points on Thursday night. For Mt. Vernon, Shane Williams scored 8 points and Zane Phillips added 14.
Mt. Vernon will face Billings in the third place game at 5 p.m, while Willard faces Nixa in the finals at 6:30.
