Bears Fall to Tolton Catholic in Quarterfinals

After a semi-finals win against the Lamar Tigers, the Willow Springs Bears ended their season in the Quarterfinals against Father Tolton Catholic. 

On Tuesday, the Bears managed to keep the Tigers' score low while exerting a team effort to build up a healthy lead early on. Owen Duddridge scored the first points, then he passed to Scottie Osborn for a basket. By halftime the score was 37-15, Bears. The Tigers made a bit of comeback in the second half, but Willow Springs still won handily with a final score of 66-42. 

With the win, Willow was headed to the Class 4 Quarterfinals in Lebanon. 

Duddridge drew first blood with one of his signature 3-pointers, but Tolton answered immediately and kept up the momentum. Willow Springs hung in the game during the first quarter with a score of 19-9, Tolton, but the private school had a marked advantage in height and pulled away into a sizable lead in the second quarter. At the half, the score was 43 to 19, Tolton. 

With eight players on the roster over 6'3", Father Tolton was playing basketball where the Bears simply could not reach. The Bears continued to play hard, but Tolton had done their research and knew to stay close to Scottie Osborn when he got under the basket. Osborn's moves were countered all around by his tall opponents, but he did not get a significant number of chances on the free throw line for fouls. 

The Bears ended their season with a 26-65 loss in Lebanon. 

This year's team won Willow's first (male) SCA title in over 10 years, then went on to claim the first District Championship in 14 years, then won the semi-final and made it to the Elite Eight where they faced a private school height you don't see in southwest Missouri. 

With a season record of 22 and 6, the Bears came home as winners no matter what Saturday's scoreboard said.