Oak Park, coached by former Jayhawks star, returns to Missouri state basketball semis

Oak Park didn’t mess around in returning to the Class 6 semifinals.

The Northmen, ranked No. 1 in the state and metro, romped Blue Springs South 68-50 on Friday night in the Missouri Class 6 quarterfinals.

Oak Park will make its second straight trip to the state semifinals, facing Nixa at 12 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Arena. The Northmen finished fourth last year and have been looking to push for the title with nearly the entire roster returning in 2024-25.

“Since this time last year, the guys have been focused on returning to this exact spot again,” said Oak Park head coach Sherron Collins, a former college basketball star at Kansas. “But it’s really tough now in the final four, and we’re just focused on Nixa.”

Oak Park (29-1) jumped out to a 21-10 cushion in the first quarter and didn’t look back. Caleb Estes fueled the surge with two first-quarter 3-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points.

Blue Springs South (22-8) rallied behind 14 combined points from Blayne Marshall and AC Rollins in the second period to close the halftime deficit to 33-27. Marshall led the Jaguars with 14 points, while Rollins added 12.

But the Northmen blew the game open as Corbin Allen scored 12 of his 14 points after the intermission, boosting the lead to 51-35 after the third quarter.

Blue Springs South (50)

Rollins 12, Marshall 14, Ellis 3, Gold 6, Fisher 1, Hymiller 6, Schroder 2, Callahan 0

Oak Park (68)

Tanner 10, Kori 8, Allen 14, Estes 23, Brown 9, Fields 2, Duff 2

3-pointers: Blue Springs South: Ellis; Oak Park: Estes 3, Brown

Other area boys quarterfinal scores

Class 6

Nixa 58, Rockhurst 49

Class 5

Summit Christian Academy 57, Pembroke Hill 55

Class 4

Benton 36, Center 32

This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Oak Park, coached by former Jayhawks star, returns to Missouri state basketball semis."