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Five players scored in double figures and five players had 5 or more rebounds to lead a balanced Waynesville attack as Ozark’s Tigers fell 82-68 in the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 5 Sectional at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Waynesville improved to 22-6 on the season, advancing to the Class 5 quarterfinals in Rolla Saturday. Ozark’s 12-game winning streak was snapped, and the Tigers finished the season with a record of 19-8.

Waynesville led 31-30 at intermission, and scored 51 second-half points to put the game away. The winners made 26-of-50 field goals in the game, including 6-of-14 treys, and Waynesville hit 24-of-39 free throws as a team. Ozark made 5-of-10 free throws in the game, 9-of-23 treys, and 27-of-55 field goals in the contest.

Domonique Long led Waynesville to victory, scoring 21 points with 13 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal. Long made 7-of-10 field goals in the game, including 3-of-3 treys.

L. J. Fort added 17 points to the winning attack, picking up a key charging foul and two steals just when it seemed Ozark was about to make a run in the fourth quarter. Fort also had 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in the contest.

Chris Rebusck finished with 15 points for Waynesville, pulling down 7 rebounds with a steal and a block in the game.

Marel Respress scored 4 points, all during the final period, and he had 3 rebounds and a steal for Waynesville in the game.

T. R. Raines finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and an assist for Waynesville.

B. J. Ray scored 13 points for the winners.

Seth Arnold led Ozark scoring with 23 points, hitting 8-of-10 field goals, including 6-of-8 treys in the game, and he made the only free throw he tried before fouling out.

Jordan Nuckolls added 19 points for Ozark before fouling out on a charging call in the fourth quarter. Nuckolls also had 5 rebounds, a steal and an assist in the contest.

Matt Jordan directed the Ozark attack at point guard and led his team in rebounding with 10. Matt Jordan finished with 6 points, 6 steals and 5 assists in the game.

Ryan Holmes also scored 6 points for Ozark with 4 rebounds.

Will Austin scored 6 points for Ozark with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in the game.

Thomas Ligon finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists for Ozark.

Austin Holtzclaw had 2 assists, a steal and a rebound for Ozark.

Consecutive treys (by Long and Rebusck) gave Waynesville an early 12-6 lead, and helped them to a 20-19 lead after one period.

A Seth Arnold trey put Ozark up 25-24 with 4:34 in the second period. When Nuckolls converted a basket and free throw with 56.2 seconds to play in the first half, it was the last lead of the game for Ozark.

Waynesville built a 9 point lead in the third period, and led 53-45 entering the fourth quarter.

Nuckolls hit the first two baskets of the final period, cutting the lead to 53-49 with 7:23 to play.

But Waynesville responded with an 8-2 run, taking a 61-51 lead with 5:17 to play. Five different players scored during the run.

A Nuckolls basket with 3:31 to play cut the Waynesville lead to 66-60, but that was as close as Ozark would get. Fort sparked an 11-4 run with 2 steals and a dunk to break the game open in the final minutes.

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Photo's by Stacy Atkison.

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