OFC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Bears, Donettes lead field

The weather did whatever it could to disrupt things in the region and other parts of the country, but it couldn’t put a dent in the Ozark Foothills Conference’s plans.

The newest edition of the conference basketball tournament will go on as planned as of Wednesday as both seven boys and the same number of girls programs will once again vie for bragging rights in Southeast Missouri.

The tournament is set to begin Saturday morning at Greenville and six first-round games — three in each competition — will be battled out. The championship games will be played at the Libla Family Sports Complex Friday, Feb. 10.

The top seeds are the host Bears (16-1) on the boys side and Doniphan (17-1, 6-0) on the girls side. Both squads are also state-ranked, as Greenville No. 7 in Class 2 while the Donettes are seventh in Class 4.

Greenville lost in last year’s final to East Carter while the Donettes are the two-time defending champions, having beaten East Carter last year at this time and Neelyville to capture the first of the two crowns.

“There are several good teams on the girls side and we have already had a couple of really good battles with two of them,” Doniphan head coach Adam Epps said of his team’s wins over Neelyville and East Carter. “Our team is playing well and starting to finally get everyone healthy. We have six or seven players who could lead us in scoring on any given night. We have been shooting the ball better from all three levels and guarding better as a unit.

“Our goal is to be playing at Libla on Friday night and playing with confidence. It's going to be a fun tournament.”

Greenville is only 4-0 so far in conference action, with the weather wreaking havoc as of late, but the Bears are gunning for a title that could be another springboard toward a historic season.

“I think there is a lot of parity in this year’s tournament,” Greenville head coach Nathan Walk said. “It’s our turn to host which will give our fans a great opportunity to see several good matchups throughout the week.”

BOYS

Doniphan (13-6, 4-1): Doniphan’s only loss was to the Bears on their own home court, so Dons head coach Daniel Cagle would love to even things up with his squad that has made a mastery of winning close games.

“Overall, we've had a solid season but not playing as good right now as we were around Christmas time,” Cagle said. “We have been struggling to make shots lately and not scoring it well. I feel like the OFC is really competitive and there is a number of teams that have a chance to win it. It should be a very entertaining tournament for sure. Greenville will go in as the favorites and they are really good.”

Neelyville (12-8, 4-1): The Tigers have not been able to take on Doniphan yet, but head coach Brad Burdin has his club trending in a positive direction.

“On any given night I think each team has a chance to do well,” Burdin said. “So far I feel our team is making strides in the right direction, and hopefully we can just keep getting better. My hope for the season is to compete in every game of the OFC and if things line up right, hopefully, we can play on championship night.”

Twin Rivers (10-10, 2-3): Could the Royals be trending in the right direction after Friday’s win against East Carter? Head coach Seth McBroom hopes so.

“The conference has been very competitive this year and like everyone else, we are excited for the start of the tournament,” McBroom said. “Greenville has proven to be the favorite and they’re having a good year, but the conference has had many competitive games throughout the season and you just never know in tournament action,

“Our team has been in many tough ballgames this year. Hopefully, that has us prepared to make a run in a tough tournament.”

East Carter (10-8, 2-3): The Redbirds fell to Twin Rivers last week which pushed them to No. 5 with Greenville’s game wiped out Monday.

“Greenville is the obvious favorite and will be hard to beat — they are playing good basketball right now and everyone is looking up at them,” East Carter head coach Jordan Penn said. “We aren't far behind the rest of the teams, but just didn't do enough against Neelyville and Twin Rivers last week to win big conference games.

“We are still learning how to play complete games. Our hope is to find ourselves in this tournament in order to have some confidence heading into the district tournament. We play Twin Rivers again and we'd like to play well in that one and just try to get a few more games in the tournament to figure out what kind of team we are, down the stretch.”

Clearwater (7-12, 1-5): Zac Moore’s squad has dropped eight of its last nine contests after a strong start to the season. Their lone OFC win was against Naylor.

“We played really good against East Carter, Naylor, Twin Rivers, and Doniphan and lost badly to Neelyville and Greenville,” Moore said. “I feel that we play well in spurts against the OFC but need to put a complete game together. I know we can compete and make our way to the second round.”

Naylor (5-13, 0-4): Head coach Ed Moore has a young team he is in charge of navigating through the OFC waters and now it’s just about putting together a strong showing.

“The boys are playing pretty good,” Moore said. “I will see how they play after missing all these days.”

GIRLS

East Carter (14-5, 3-1): A big win against Neelyville helped the Lady Redbirds to the No. 2 seed and they are favored to meet up with the Lady Tigers in the semifinals with a chance at claiming the crown that dogged them the last two years.

“This tournament is always competitive and comes at a good time during the season and I think it helps teams prepare for the end of the season and districts,” East Carter head coach Angela Rodgers said. “We went through a rough patch after Christmas and had to adjust with a lineup-changing injury, but I think we've come out of that and started to find a better groove.”

Neelyville (13-5, 3-2): Becky Hale’s troop couldn’t get a game in against Twin Rivers as Monday’s schedule was disrupted by the fluffy stuff.

“I feel like the tournament is anybody’s to win,” Hale said. “We have made our presence known in every game this year, but we need to put four solid quarters together to get the outcome we want.”

Twin Rivers (8-11, 3-2): The Lady Royals have battled injuries and illness all year and that has led to some ups and downs, but a tournament could be just the ticket for finding the team’s mojo.

“It’s probably one of the toughest tournaments in the state,” Twin Rivers head coach David Crockett said. “We haven’t been playing as well lately as we can. Hopefully, we can use this tournament to get some things figured out for the district tournament.”

Naylor (7-11, 2-3): The shorthanded Lady Eagles are battling hard with a short bench and a lot of determination. Head coach Logan Foster sees the top three teams as tough outs for anybody.

“It’s been a frustrating year for us,” Foster said. “Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, but having said that, we want to give ourselves an opportunity to win the first game and make the semifinals.

“For us to do that I have to have some kids raise their level of play.”

Greenville (5-13, 1-5): Head coach Chris Hahn sees the field as top-heavy on the girls side — citing the top three squads as neck-in-neck.

“I think the semifinal and final rounds will be very entertaining with those three teams possibly competing,” Hahn said. “We're still searching for some consistency on and off the floor. We will be a lower seed and we're just looking for things to build upon for districts. I just want to see my girls show up and compete.”

Clearwater (1-13, 0-5): The Lady Tigers rebooted the program this year after sitting out 2021-22 and it’s been a slow burn for the squad and head coach Lexi Morris.

“The girls have come a long way this season,” Morris said. “The girls are picking up on the fundamentals. We are looking to get game experience from the tournament to help build our team for future years.

“I am really excited to watch these girls improve their skills.”

Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament

Saturday

First round

Girls: 3) Neelyville vs. 6) Greenville, 9 a.m.; 2) East Carter vs. 7) Clearwater, 10:15 a.m.; 4) Twin Rivers vs. 5) Naylor, 11:30 a.m. Boys: 4) Twin Rivers vs. 5) East Carter, 12:45 p.m; 2) Doniphan vs. 7) Naylor, 3:15 p.m.; 3) Neelyville vs. 6) Clearwater, 5:45 p.m

Monday

Semifinals

Girls: 1) Doniphan vs. Twin Rivers-Naylor winner, 6 p.m.; Neelyville-Greenville winner vs. East Carter-Clearwater winner, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Semifinals

Boys: 1) Greenville vs. Twin Rivers-East Carter winner, 6 p.m.; Neelyville-Clearwater winner vs. Doniphan-Naylor winner, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 9

Third place

Girls: 6 p.m.; Boys: 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 10

Championship

Girls: 7 p.m.; Boys: 8:30 p.m.