By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

SEYMOUR, MO – Two days after upsetting top-seeded and state-ranked Seymour, Bakersfield pulled off another upset in the Seymour Bank Winter Classic title game with a 72-54 victory over No. 2 Marshfield.

All five Bakersfield starters finished in double figures against Marshfield, led by Eli Cotter’s 18 points.

For Bakersfield head coach Cainen McGinnis, the victory represents a significant improvement this season, particularly after Seymour throttled the Lions just under a month ago by 25 points in the Walnut Grove tournament semifinals.

“We’re still just kind of trying to figure things out,” McGinnis said. “At Christmas break, we went to the Walnut Grove tournament, kind of went through some adversity and we just got back to the drawing board in practice and just got better – and we were pretty hungry, especially after that Seymour game.”

The Lions jumped out early thanks, in part, to nine 3-pointers in the first half.

After opening up a 19-11 lead in the first quarter, Bakersfield surged to an 18-point lead at the half.

Eli Cotter, Ty Cotter, Alex Heim and Hayden Sanders all found success beyond the arc, with Sanders connected on four 3-pointers in the half.

The versatile and effective scoring rotation has definitely been a blessing for the Lions this season and showcased during the title matchup.

“That’s been the case for us,” McGinnis said. “We have guys step up every single game, and that’s what’s fun about this group. Guys buy into their role, and things just happen.”

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

While Ty Cotter’s early third-quarter layup stretched the Bakersfield lead to 20 at 39-19, Marshfield’s offense also found some rhythm in the second half.

Silas Schad, Evan Coutchie and Hunter Fryman led a balanced comeback attempt in the third quarter, combining for 20 of the Blue Jays’ 21 points in the period.

Coutchie led Marshfield with 18 points.

While the sophomore guard’s 3-pointer with 20 seconds left capped an 11-4 Marshfield run, cut the Bakersfield lead to 12 and gave the Blue Jays momentum heading into the fourth quarter, the Lions still had a trump card left to play.

Seth Montague.

With his team starting to sputter on offense, the junior forward rose to the challenge.

In the fourth quarter, alone, Montague converted a trio of put-backs and a conventional 3-point play to repeatedly stem Marshfield’s rally attempts.

“You know, I’ve just got to be a grown man in the paint I guess,” Montague said. “Not every ball is going to go your way when you’re rebounding, but you’ve just got to keep trying and going after it, because everybody’s going to want it.”

McGinnis was pleased with Montague’s effort, particularly after only playing four minutes in the previous round against Seymour.

“(Montague) did not have a great game for us at all (in the semifinal),” McGinnis said. “I think he showed a lot of maturity as far as responding today and stepping up when it really mattered. We talk about it every single day – have a next-play mentality – and this young man right here had a next-play mentality. He was fantastic for us today.”

With a resume now featuring victories over state-ranked Seymour and Class 5 Marshfield, the future looks promising for the 13-4 Lions.

“(The win) means everything,” Ty Cotter said. “We’ve been underrated our whole time in our district and everything – I thought we needed to be seeded higher than a four seed. We feel like we need to be ranked now, but we don’t know yet – we’ll see what happens.”

Up next for Bakersfield is a Jan. 20 matchup at Dora. Marshfield (8-8) travels to Springfield Catholic that same evening.

SEYMOUR TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP: Bakersfield – 72, Marshfield – 54

Bakersfield  19  18  15  20  |  72
Marshfield  11  08  21  14  |  54

Bakersfield scoring:  Eli Cotter – 18, Ty Cotter – 16, Hayden Sanders – 15, Seth Montague – 12, Alex Helm – 10, Tyler Hodgson – 2, Isaac Luna – 1

Marshfield scoring: Evan Coutchie – 18, Hunter Fryman – 16, Silas Schad – 9, Cannon Thornhill – 8, Trenton Rosenthal – 2, Boyd Messick – 1

Third place final: Springfield Catholic – 73, Seymour – 65
Fifth place final:  Fair Grove – 69, Lighthouse Christian – 45
Seventh place final: Aurora – 92, Dora – 47