MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Mount Vernon’s girls basketball team improved to 8-7 with a 53-27 win over Monett on Thursday.
The Mountaineers, who led 12-0, doubled up the Cubs in the first half, 16-8.
A 15-6 third period put the game away for the Mountaineers.
Cameryn Cassity scored 10 points to lead Mount Vernon, while Jolie Prescott added nine, Cheyenne Bieber had eight and Raegan Boswell and Kadence Krempges contributed seven points apiece.
Aryanna Seelye scored 12 points for the Cubs.
EAST NEWTON 49, SOUTHWEST 11
The Patriots led 18-2 at the end of the first quarter and 34-5 at halftime en route to victory.
Josie Guinn scored 17 points to lead the Patriots, while Kaytlyn Cook added 12 points.
East Newton is at Aurora on Monday.
LAMAR 39, CASSVILLE 35
Lamar improved to 2-1 in conference play.
Marcy Miller scored 16 points to lead the Tigers, while Ashlyn Stettler added 11 points.
CARTHAGE, Mo. —The Carthage High School wrestling team earned a 48-21 win over Bolivar on Thursday night.
Tigers coach Kenny Brown noted both teams had multiple wrestlers out due to illness.
Carthage improved to 4-2 on the season and will host Neosho next Tuesday for the Black and Blue Brawl.
Against the Liberators, the Tigers won by forfeit at 106, 113 and 120 pounds.
Carthage’s Bradyn Tate won by fall over Maddux NeSmith at 126.
Both teams were open at 132.
Carthage’s Eli Sneed (138) and Grey Petticrew (145) both won by fall, while Braxdon Tate dropped a 5-2 decision to Riley Beckman at 152.
At 160, Carthage’s Davion King won by fall in 38 seconds.
Bolivar’s Trey Brewer earned a 13-6 decision over Gabe Lambeth at 170 before Carthage won by forfeit at 182.
Bolivar’s Blake Goodman won by fall over Landyn Collins at 195, while the Liberators won by forfeit at 220.
At 285, Bolivar’s Cael McCullah defeated Jesua Coquij 8-1.
NEOSHO TOPS MAC COUNTY
NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats defeated the McDonald County Mustangs 45-18 in a wrestling dual on Thursday.
Recording wins by fall for Neosho were Fisher Butler (120), Hayden Crane (132), Nate Copeland (138), Bostyn Patterson (145), Collyn Kivett (160), Eli Zar (170) and DeLeon Ulysses (195).
Earnings wins by fall for the Mustangs were Levi Smith (152) and Samuel Murphy (220).
Only three matches went the distance.
Neosho’s Gabe Mabery earned a 7-3 decision over Alex Bogart at 182, while McDonald County’s Blaine Ortiz defeated Johnny Chrisco 5-2 at 126 and Mac County’s Jayce Hitt defeated Nico Olivares 5-2 in the heavyweight match.
Short-handed Thomas Jefferson boys basketball saw a nine-point lead evaporate early in the fourth quarter before battling through the adversity down the stretch for a 63-54 win to open Ozark 7 Conference play on Thursday.
The Cavaliers faced a heavy dose of the press defense early while building a 30-25 lead by halftime. Thomas Jefferson pushed the lead to nine to start the fourth before finding themselves all tied up with Wheaton two minutes in. TJ showed resolve, never giving up the lead before pulling back out in front on the way to the win.
Thomas Jefferson’s Drew Goodhope drives to the hoop for a bucket in the Cavaliers’ win over Wheaton in Ozark 7 play on Thursday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
“We preach family and we preach team all the time,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “We talk about when one guy goes down, somebody else is going to get an opportunity and have to step up. That is what families do. When someone at home is hurt or sick, other family members step up. That’s what we preach out here and the kids are really doing a good job of it. We have several starters out and we asked other kids to step up into roles they are not accustomed to. They just put the family on their back, fought and did what they could to get the win tonight.”
Playing with just eight players tonight because of injuries and illness, the Cavaliers improved to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
“Our conference is really tough this year,” Myers said. “For a small-school conference, we have a lot of really good teams. It is pretty deep. Anytime you can come out and get a conference win, you always savor it. We are excited with the direction the team is going even with all of the bumps and bruises and things we are dealing with.”
STAT LEADERS
Junior forward Jay Ball was the catalyst for Thomas Jefferson in the win, scoring a game-high 32 points with 16 coming in each half. He pulled down a game-high 21 rebounds and swatted three blocks to finish with a double-double. Drew Goodhope finished with 16 points, nine in the first half, while Jake Jarrett added nine points, eight assists and five rebounds in the win.
Kelton Park finished 29, 18 coming in the second half, to lead Wheaton. Blake Morgan had nine and Johnson finished with six.
Thomas Jefferson’s Jay Ball absorbs contact inside for a basket and eventual three-point play during the Cavaliers’ conference win over Wheaton. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
GAME ACTION
Wheaton went to the full-court trap early, which caused trouble for the Cavaliers with several players stepping into bigger roles. The Bulldogs built an early 9-3 lead three minutes into the game thanks to three 3-pointers from Morgan.
Thomas Jefferson showed progress in handling the press through the remainder of the quarter, using a 10-2 run highlighted by two three-point plays from Ball and a pair of baskets on the break by Goodhope to build a 14-11 lead. The Cavaliers led 16-15 heading into the second quarter.
Thomas Jefferson made it a point to focus on Ball in the offense in the second period, with the 6-foot-6 forward scoring four of his team’s six field goals in the quarter on the way to a 30-25 lead at the intermission.
“We went from 15 to eight guys in a matter of a week,” Myers said. “Kids had to step up and do things. It took us a little while to settle into the game plan but once they got their feet wet, I thought our kids did a fantastic job of getting it inside. Jay is always a big part of our offense. Everything has to go through him to be successful. I really thought our kids did a much better job in the second quarter of really pounding the ball inside to him.”
The Cavaliers pushed the lead double digits for the first time in the later stages of the third quarter. Leading 38-32 coming off a bucket from Park—who scored all 11 points for the Bulldogs in the quarter—Ball and Jarrett each grabbed an offensive rebound for a bucket on consecutive trips to give Thomas Jefferson a 42-32 lead at the 2:10 mark.
TJ took a nine-point cushion into the final eight minutes, but Wheaton started the fourth quarter on fire from the perimeter as Zane Johnson, Fernando Gonzalez and Park all knocked down 3-pointers for a 9-0 run to tie the game at 45s with 6:04 left in regulation.
The Cavaliers responded with an inside score from Ball followed by Luke Miller grabbing his own miss for a bucket. Goodhope added a 3-pointer from the corner with four minutes left to give Thomas Jefferson a 52-47 advantage.
Thomas Jefferson’s Elias Rincker pulls up for a jumper in the Cavs win over Wheaton on Thursday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Up three, the Cavs scored six straight points backed by two paint scores from Ball to push the lead back to nine with less than a minute to play.
“I will be honest with you, I have been doing this a long time and I don’t know that I have ever been more proud of a team than I was tonight,” Myers said. “With all of the moving pieces that we had and the short notice (of players being unavailable)—I had to give a kid a varsity jersey today that didn’t even have one—I am just ecstatic for the kids and excited to see them come out here and do what they did to get a win. It says a lot about them. Hopefully, we can keep building on that and stack a few more of these together down the road.”
UP NEXT
Thomas Jefferson takes part in the Tony Dubray Classic on Jan. 17.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — A strong second half propelled Ozark to a 59-40 win over Webb City on Thursday night in a Central Ozark Conference girls basketball clash inside the Cardinal Dome.
The Cardinals overcame an early nine-point deficit and held a five-point lead in the third period. But the Tigers rattled off 11 straight points to end the third quarter to take a lead they would never relinquish. Ozark outscored Webb City 34-11 after halftime.
“We got off to a slow start but were able to battle back with a strong second quarter of play, both offensively and defensively,” Cardinals coach Lance Robbins said. “Ozark was able to come out in the third quarter and take back the momentum from us and we didn’t recover. Their length in the zone caused us problems in the second half.”
Webb City fell to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the COC. The Cardinals saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Senior Kenzie Robbins led Webb City with 14 points, while junior Kate Brownfield added 11 points and freshman Sami Mancini had nine points and 13 rebounds.
Brownfield made three 3-pointers, while Robbins hit two treys.
The Cardinals made 13-of-34 field goal attempts (38 percent), including 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. Webb City made just 9-of-21 free throw attempts.
Winners of six straight games, Ozark improved to 8-4 overall and 2-0 in conference action.
Riley Boggs scored 14 points to lead the Tigers, while Lyla Watson added 11 points. Ozark made 18-of-43 field goal attempts, with 8-of-17 from 3-point range.
The Tigers led 10-1 early in the game, but the Cardinals used a 10-3 run to pull within two.
Ozark’s Boggs hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 16-11 advantage, but Webb City’s Robbins nailed a buzzer-beater from halfcourt, trimming the hosts’ lead to two at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals scored the final six points of the first half, as Mancini converted a putback inside, Ripley Shanks made one free throw and Brownfield buried a 3-pointer from the right wing off a feed from Izzy Lopez. Those points gave the hosts a 29-25 lead at intermission.
Brownfield scored 11 points in the first half.
A trey from Robbins gave Webb City a four-point lead, but Ozark ended the third quarter on an 11-0 surge for a 43-36 advantage entering the final frame.
The Tigers outscored the Cardinals 16-4 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Webb City is scheduled to compete at next week’s Lady Cat Classic at Rogersville. The Cardinals open the tourney against Licking on Monday.
