Day: December 20, 2020

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Taking the court for the second time in less than 24 hours didn’t seem to bother the Webb City Cardinals.

Led by its stellar guard play, Webb City rode a quick start to a convincing 84-54 victory over Pittsburg on Saturday afternoon in the 4-States Challenge inside the Cardinal Dome.

It was the team’s second win in as many days, as Webb City earned a victory at Bentonville West on Friday night. 

“I thought we played with a lot of energy,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “Playing today after playing last night was a concern. We’re not in great game shape yet. I know we were sore this morning. We tried to get their bodies prepared as much as we could. With the way things are going in the world, you have to be ready to play on a moment’s notice. We told our guys today was a good opportunity for them to play a good opponent in a back-to-back situation almost like a tournament setting. They handled it well.” 

The Cardinals hiked their record to 4-1. 

Senior guard Nickhai Howard led the Cardinals with 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Howard scored 17 in the first half. 

Junior guard Cohl Vaden contributed 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and senior guard Mekhi Garrard added 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

“Guard play has been our strength,” Horn said. “We generally have four guys on the floor who can handle the ball, sometimes five. All the guys are a threat to shoot the ball and they do a good job of sharing the ball. Anytime you have good guard play and have guys who are willing to make the extra pass, you’re going to have a lot of success.”

Also for the Cardinals, Max Higginbotham scored nine points, while Luke Brumit and Kaden Turner had eight points apiece. Trey Roets scored five and Trenton Hayes added four. Brumit pulled down eight rebounds. 

The Cardinals hit 29-of-69 field goal attempts, including 8-of-22 from 3-point range. 

Pittsburg senior guard Javon Grant poured in 33 points. Grant made 10-of-23 shots from the field and 9-of-13 free throws.

The Purple Dragons (0-3) made 17-of-46 field goal attempts (37 percent), including 4-of-16 from long distance. 

Webb City out-rebounded Pittsburg 40-30. The Dragons had 27 turnovers to the Cardinals’ 15. 

Webb City never trailed in the game. 

Back-to-back midrange jumpers from Howard and a trey from Turner gave Webb City a 17-6 advantage with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

Pittsburg’s Grant hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, cutting Webb City’s lead to 19-10 at the end of the first frame.

Higginbotham’s two corner treys pushed Webb City’s lead to 32-14 with 4:24 left in the first half. 

Garrard’s layup and Howard’s putback extended the Cardinals’ advantage to 20 at 36-16. Howard’s long buzzer-beating trey made it 44-23 at the break. The Cardinals outscored the Dragons 25-13 in the second period.  

Webb City put together a 10-0 surge late in the third period to take a comfy 64-35 lead. 

During the spurt, Turner scored in the paint, Garrard drilled a corner 3-pointer, Higginbotham converted an old-fashioned 3-point play before Vaden scored in the lane. 

The final outcome was never in doubt in the fourth quarter, as Webb City pushed its lead past 30, resulting in a running clock.  

“They were looking forward to this game,” Horn said of his squad. “Anytime you get a chance to play a local school there’s just a little more incentive added to it.”

Webb City will host Crane at 7 on Tuesday. 

 

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Carthage found itself in an early hole and never recovered in a 67-53 loss to a talented Thayer squad on Saturday night at the 4-States Challenge at Webb City High School’s Cardinal Dome.

The undefeated Bobcats (4-0) scored the first eight points of the game and tallied 23 points in the opening quarter en route to victory. 

“I told our guys that is an extremely well-coached, experienced and really skilled basketball team,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said of the Bobcats. “That didn’t feel like a 14-point game. It didn’t feel like we were ever in the game. They did a great job of controlling the game from the jump.”

A returning all-state performer, Jordan Andrews poured in 30 points to lead Thayer. Andrews made 10 field goals, including three 3-pointers, and 7-of-8 free throws. Gaige Pitts added 12 points for the Bobcats and Jayce Haven scored 10. 

Thayer returned its entire lineup from last year’s team that won 22 games and captured a district championship. 

Sophomore guard Max Templeman scored 15 points to lead Carthage (3-3). Templeman made three 3-pointers. 

Junior guard Joel Pugh and senior forward Patrick Carlton scored 14 points apiece for Carthage, while freshman Justin Ray had six points and senior Silas Templeman added four.  

The Tigers trailed 15-5 early, but rallied late in the opening frame. Five straight points from Max Templeman—two free throws and a trey—cut Carthage’s deficit to 19-16.

But in a game-changing swing, Thayer scored four quick points in the final seconds, as Landry Pitts made a layup, the Tigers turned the ball over on the inbounds play and Lane Grims scored on a buzzer-beating hoop for a 23-16 lead.

Thayer outscored Carthage 19-14 in the second period to take a 42-30 halftime lead. 

The third quarter was even, 13-13, but Carthage trailed 55-43 entering the fourth quarter. 

The Tigers were unable to make a serious run at the lead in the final frame, as the two teams simply traded buckets the rest of the way. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Tigers.

Morris noted his team is still trying to come together.

“We have to find a way to be locked in for 32 minutes,” Morris said. “It’s hard to do it against a team like that. They play an amazing matchup zone. We tried to play our game, but the zone really affected us. We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight.” 

Morris added playing a team of Thayer’s caliber at this stage of the season will only benefit his squad going forward.

“That is a very similar team to what we’ll see in a Republic or an Ozark…just the way they play, and how smart they play,” he said. 

Carthage returns to action on Dec. 28 against St. Pius X at the Rolla Tournament.