Ash Grove's Morrison earns sportsmanship award

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By Michael L. Misfeldt `

Ash Grove senior basketballer Elijah Morrison was the recipient of the Logan Middleton Memorial Sportsmanship Award in last week’s Blue and Gold Tournament. Shown above is Morrison as he holds the award plaque with recipient names. (Photo submitted)

Ash Grove's Brady Nicholson drives around the Ozark defender during last week's Blue and Gold Tournament.

Ash Grove Pirates pick up win in annual Blue & Gold Tournament  Lady Pirates get rolling, win first three games of the season
With the holiday season happening last week, that meant a lot of basketball, as both the Ash Grove boys and girls were involved in tournaments. The boys played in the Blue & Gold tournament in Springfield, while the girls took part in the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic.

Boys
    The Pirates opened the tournament on Monday, Dec. 26, by knocking off Skyline, 67-40. Ash Grove led 13-6 after the first quarter and 24-17 at the half. The Pirates led 48-36 by the end of the third quarter before shutting down Skyline in the fourth quarter to coast to the 27-point victory.
    Brady Nicholson led Ash Grove with 27 points, Asher Rust added 18 points and Brock Mooneyham ended the game with 12 points.
    The Pirates would go against Bolivar in the second round on Tuesday, Dec. 27 but would lose, 69-46.
    Nicholson led Ash Grove with 20 points in that contest.
    In their final game of the tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 28, the Pirates lost to Ozark, 59-51.
    Ozark led 20-16 after the first quarter and 34-27 at the half. Ash Grove was able to chip away at the lead in the third quarter, outscoring Ozark 14-13 to trail, 47-41, heading into the final period of play.
    Nicholson again led Ash Grove with 17 points and Tyler Tummons and Mooneyham each ended the game with 13 points.
    "The Blue & Gold is a great opportunity to compete against the best of the best in SWMO (Southwest Missouri),” said head coach Grant Williamson. “Our guys played very well overall against some very good players and schools much larger than us. Although we always want to win, we feel like we are a better team after the tournament than before and are ready to take that experience with us down the second half of the season."
    The Pirates are now 8-3 on the season and were scheduled to host Billings last night and Marion C. Early on Friday night.

Girls
    The Lady Pirates headed to Walnut Grove over the holiday break and got their first win of the season as they competed in the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic.
    Ash Grove opened the tournament on Monday, Dec. 26, against Greenfield but lost, 52-25.
    Madison King led Ash Grove with 12 points.
    The Lady Pirates would get their first win of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 27, knocking off Niangua 51-28.
    After leading by just two points at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Pirates would break out in the second quarter, scoring 20 points, while holding Niangua to just six points to take a 30-14 halftime lead. Ash Grove would increase that lead to 38-25 by the end of the third quarter before adding another 13 points in the fourth quarter.
    King again led Ash Grove in scoring, this time with 14 points.
    Ash Grove would knock off Fair Play 32-21 on Wednesday, Dec. 28, before winning their third game of the tournament, 27-25 over the Skyline Junior Varsity on Friday, Dec. 30.
    "We had a good tournament,” said head coach Bryan Dean. “We came out of the tournament with three wins out of four games. Winning out the backside of the bracket was great for this team. The girls got better each game and enjoyed the wins. Now we need to get ready for conference play coming up."
    The Lady Pirates are now 3-6 on the season and will host Fair Grove this Thursday night.
 

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