Night two of the 2022 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions had just as much excitement as the first and set up a great championship Saturday.

Night two of the 2022 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions led to more memorable performances from the area and nation’s best. Things started with a bang in the consolation bracket with New Madrid County Central facing Parkview. Local Parkview played Sierra Canyon tough and built some expectations going into day two of the tourney.

The Vikings would not disappoint, with senior Xzavia McDaniel drilling a buzzer-beating three in overtime to lift Parkview. McDaniel played bigger than his stature all night and got plenty of help from teammate Elijah Whitley as well. Whitley is a product of Yanders Law and displayed bounce and upside that is sure to tantalize Drury fans as the Panther commit continues to improve year after year.

“If Parkview can take the consolation championship, they are going to open a lot of eyes around the Springfield area,” says Robert Yanders, founder of The Basketball Movement. “If they keep this up, there is a power shift coming.”

Speaking of the local powers… The next game in the consolation bracket featured Nixa and Springfield Catholic, a rematch from the Blue and Gold Tournament just a few weeks ago. Catholic got the best of Nixa in that tourney, but Nixa had their sights set on revenge on Friday.

Nixa stars Kael Combs and Kyle Ruffin got help this time from Jordyn Turner, who had 16 points in the win. Nixa was able to implement a balanced attack that the Irish could not overcome.

Once again, Zach Howell of Catholic (and Yanders Law) had an impressive showing with 18 points. Anything short of 30 has become a disappointing effort for Howell at JQH, which should tell you all you need to know about the top player in Southwest Missouri.

The next game featured Sierra Canyon vs. Whitney Young. While Sierra Canyon showed some kinks in the armor against Parkview, they had the look of their usual, elite selves throughout this contest.

UCLA commit Amari Bailey is a consensus top-five player in the country and showed why Friday night. Bailey had 20 points and ten boards, converting shots that no one else in this tournament could regularly replicate.

The final game of Friday night featured another overtime contest. But, this time, the winner got to advance to the championship game on Saturday.

On Thursday, Bruce Thorton of Milton proved himself and got multiple opportunities to show off again Friday. The Ohio State commit went for 19, looking especially good in overtime. His final heave did not go down, though, and Paul VI will advance. Dug McDaniel and Paul VI have big shoes to fill after the graduations of Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach. They will certainly get that chance facing Sierra Canyon in the championship Saturday night.