NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho’s boys basketball team improved to 16-6 on the season with a hard-fought 65-60 win over Branson on Friday night in Central Ozark Conference action.
The 16 wins is the most for a Neosho boys squad since 2005.
K’dyn Waters poured in 30 points for the Wildcats, who are now 3-2 in the COC. Waters made 12 field goals, including one trey, to go with five free throws.
“K’dyn Waters just keeps having one of the best seasons Neosho has seen in a long time,” Wildcats coach Zane Culp said. “He’s just an unbelievable player. I’m so happy he’s on our team.”
Carter Fenske scored 14 points for Neosho, hitting four 3-pointers.
“Huge night by Carter Fenske,” Culp said. “He hit huge shots all night long. I’m very proud of him to bounce back after Tuesday.”
Also for the Wildcats, Carter Baslee scored seven points, Isaiah Green contributed six points and Brock Franklin and Kael Smith chipped in four points apiece.
“Carter Baslee came through in a huge first half,” Culp said. “He’s been so important to our team down the stretch.”
Ethan Jones scored 20 points for Branson (7-14, 0-5 COC), while Kade Goodwin added 15 and Kaden Scharbrough had 11.
The game was tight all the way.
Neosho led 20-18 at the end of the first quarter and the game was tied at 35 at halftime.
A close third period ended with the Wildcats clinging to a 48-46 lead.
Neosho outscored Branson 17-14 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Neosho hosts Webb City on Tuesday. It will be Senior Night for the Wildcats.
College Heights built a slim lead in the first quarter and held on to it through the final horn for an Ozark 7 win over McAuley on Friday.
College Heights (13-8, 5-2 Ozark 7), winners seven times in the last eight games, opened the game outscoring McAuley 11-6 in the first period and held a- six-point lead at the intermission. The Warriors cut the lead to four to start the fourth quarter and tied the game late, but a late-3-pointer from CHC’s Maddy Colin and a follow-up score by Jaylie Johnson put the Cougars up five on the way to the win.
“I have so much respect for what Coach (Mike) Howard has done with his team,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “They always play hard and defend well. We have played so many times over the last few years, and we know each other’s system quite well. That makes it really hard for our teams to execute. It’s not just a matter of knowing each other’s offenses.
“There were several momentum swings. We built a couple of seven or eight-point leads and then McAuley would make a run to close the gap. It was close the entire game. … It was that kind of back-and-forth game that could have gone either way.”
“I’m very proud of my team for the improvement they showed since the last time we played College Heights,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said to SoMo Sports. “Less than a week ago, we turned the ball over 30 times and gave up 26 offensive rebounds against them. Tonight, we only had 11 turnovers and only gave up 10 offensive rebounds. We trusted each other and played as a team. … If we can keep improving and growing as a team, it will definitely be beneficial going into districts.”
Addie Lawrence had 12 points to lead College Heights in scoring, while Johnson and Libby Fanning each finished with 10 points.
Kennedy DeRuy had a game-high 19 points, while Lily Black finished with 11 points in the loss. Avery Eminger finished with eight points for the Warriors.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS BOYS 63, MCAULEY 32
College Heights held a first-quarter advantage and ballooned the lead throughout the game en route to a Ozark 7 win over McAuley on Friday.
The Cougars (19-4, 5-0 Ozark 7) held a six-point lead after the first period before College Heights pushed the margin to 16 by the intermission. College Heights scored 15 in the third period and 12 in the fourth while holding McAuley (5-19, 0-5 Ozark 7) to 12 points total in the second half.
Miller Long led College Heights with 14 points, while Hagen Beck and Curtis Davenport each finished with nine points.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — With a spirited finish, the Carthage Tigers overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to earn a 57-52 come-from-behind win over Willard on Friday night in Central Ozark Conference play.
The hosts outscored the visitors 38-28 after the break, including 20-12 in the final eight minutes.
“Our kids answered the bell at halftime,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris told SoMo Sports. “The players and the coaches weren’t pleased with the product we put on the floor in the first half. I told the guys we appeared to be sleepwalking through most of it. I challenged them to fight with everything they had, play with extreme energy, and support your teammates whether you play 16 minutes or zero minutes. We ended up playing the same five guys the entire fourth quarter and just rode their momentum.”
Willard led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and the visiting Tigers were up 24-19 at halftime.
Carthage put up 18 points in the third period, but still trailed 40-37. The hosts scored 20 points in the fourth quarter.
“The entire second half wasn’t all pretty, we got down 12 early in the third but battled back to tie it before they hit a buzzer 3 (40-37) to end it,” Morris noted. “We rebounded, fought in the post, defended in the full court and shared the ball better than we have all season for a stretch to begin the fourth quarter. We held them at 37 points for half or maybe even a little over halfway into the fourth quarter. Every COC game is a physical battle and extremely important.”
Carthage is now 17-5 overall and 3-3 in the COC.
Joel Pugh scored 13 points to lead Carthage, while Justin Ray had 12 and Max Templeman added 11. Clay Kinder added nine points for the hosts, while Tyler Willis contributed eight.
Willard fell to 14-9 and 2-4 in the COC. Brett Hall scored 10 points for Willard.
Carthage hosts Branson on Tuesday. It will be Senior Night.
“We have one home game left and we’d love to see the bleachers full for this group that is currently 17-5,” Morris said.
Joplin snapped a two-game skid after taking the lead late and holding on for a 49-45 Central Ozark Conference win over Republic on Friday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Joplin’s Always Wright knocks down a 3-pointer in the Eagles’ win over Republic on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Joplin (15-7, 3-3 COC) trailed by as many as nine points in the second quarter before battling back to take a brief lead midway through the third quarter. The Eagles and Tigers (14-9, 4-2 COC) battled it out over the final 12 minutes of the second half, with Joplin taking the lead with a little more than three minutes to play and going on to earn the conference win. Joplin limited Republic to five points in the fourth quarter.
“They are a hard team to guard,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “The first half, their big was tearing us up at the elbow. We did a good job of playing defense but they would get the rebound and put it back, so that was deflating. But, our boys kept chipping away. … We found a way in the end to attack at the right moment and got some key stops.”
GAME ACTION
Republic took a one-point lead into the second period and scored the first six points, two baskets coming from Avery Moody, to build a 22-15 lead before a bucket in the paint from Joplin’s Whit Hafer to cut the deficit to five midway through the period.
Ahlante Askew and Moody scored on consecutive trips to give the Tigers a 28-19 lead with two minutes left to play.
Joplin’s All Wright drives to the hoop for a bucket during the Eagles’ Central Ozark Conference win over Republic on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The Eagles closed the first half on a mid-range jumper from All Wright and a pull-up 3-pointer from the wing by Always Wright to send Joplin into the intermission trailing 28-24. By the four-minute mark of the third period, Joplin held its first lead of the second half thanks to a 12-2 run. Always Wright knocked a 3-pointer and added a transition layup before All Wright pulled up on the baseline for a jumper to tie the game at 33-33. Terrance Gibson converted inside and drew contact for a three-point play to put the Eagles on top 36-35. All Wright drove the paint for a basket to close the run.
“We just have to adjust quicker to the game,” Schaake said. “I was happy to close the first half with a little momentum before going on a little run early in the third quarter. It was a battle back and forth.”
Republic closed the third period with two charities and a 3-pointer from the wing by Devon McMillin to take a 40-38 lead into the final eight minutes of action.
Always Wright pulled up for a 3-ball from the top of the key before earning a steal and knocking down one of two free throws at the other end to tie the game back up at 42s with less than five minutes to play.
All Wright gave Joplin a 44-43 lead with a buck at the 3:20 mark. Always Wright pushed the lead to three, 46-43, after driving to the right before finding Gibson on the left block with a no-look pass for an inside score with two minutes left.
LT Atherton pushed the lead to four with a make at the foul line with 48 seconds left before McMillin scored inside on an inbounds play under the Republic basket with 30 seconds left to trim the Tigers’ deficit to 47-45.
Always Wright iced the game at the stripe on the next possession, making both charities with 13.9 seconds to push the lead to 49-45.
Joplin’s Quin Renfro battles inside for a basket during the Eagles’ COC win over Republic. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
“I wrote ‘care’ on the board,” Schaake said. “If you want anything in life you have to care first. They showed me how much they cared and how much they wanted to win at the end of that game.”
SCORING LEADERS
Always Wright knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 17 points, 11 coming in the second half. All Wright finished with 14, while Gibson closed with nine points.
McMillin had 15 points to lead Republic, while Moody closed with 14, 11 coming in the first half. James Rexroat finished with nine points.
In an intense clash between state-ranked foes, Nixa rode a strong finish to a 50-40 victory over Webb City on Friday night in a Central Ozark Conference boys basketball clash inside the Cardinal Dome.
The game was tied at the end of the third period before Class 6 No. 4 Nixa outscored Class 5 No. 8 Webb City 23-13 in the fourth quarter.
Webb City junior guard Dante Washington puts up a runner in the lane against Nixa on Friday night inside the Cardinal Dome. Photo by Israel Perez.
Foul trouble, missed free throws, empty possessions and a lack of defensive rebounding plagued the Cardinals late in the game.
“I think Nixa’s offensive rebounding was the biggest issue,” Cardinals coach Jason Horn said. “That caused us to get in foul trouble and they got some putbacks. We have to do a better job of rebounding the ball. If we could have held them to a one and done scenario, then we would have had a chance to get the lead or even get a little distance between us. But I can’t fault my guys. They’re going to give effort.”
The Cardinals had two starters foul out, Cohl Vaden and Trey Roets.
Also, Webb City made just 2-of-8 free-throw attempts in the game, including four straight misses in the final frame.
“It’s been up and down all year,” Horn said of free-throw shooting. “You’ve got to make your free throws. It could have kept it a one-possession game. But it’s hard to replicate this type of environment in practice…with a full gym and a lot on the line. All of those things are correctable. We’ve just got to get a little tougher on the boards.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Webb City fell to 15-7 and 3-2 in the COC with the loss.
Senior forward Kaden Turner led Webb City with 11 points, while junior guard Dante Washington had 10 points and three assists. Barron Duda added six points on two treys off the bench. Roets had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Cardinals made 17-of-42 field-goal attempts (41 percent).
Nixa hiked its record to 20-3 and 6-0 in the COC. The Eagles have now won 21 straight COC games.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” Nixa coach Jay Osborne said. “We had three starters who didn’t play in the first half…team policy…next man up. They played hard and made good decisions. Any time you get a road win in this conference you’ve got to be happy about it.”
Jaret Nelson scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Eagles, while Keith Piepmeier added 10 points. Nixa shot 36 percent for the game (17-of-47) and out-rebounded the hosts 38-21.
As Osborne noted, the Eagles played without two starters the entire night, Jordyn Turner and Kael Combs. A third starter, Colin Ruffin, did not play in the first half before scoring 10 points after the break.
GAME RECAP
Webb City senior guard Cohl Vaden shoots in the lane against Nixa’s Jackson Bell and Jaret Nelson. Photo by Israel Perez.
With a large homecoming crowd looking on, Webb City took a 10-4 lead, but Nixa used a 16-4 run to take a 20-14 advantage.
Webb City’s Vaden and Nixa’s Piepmeier traded 3-pointers late in the first half, and the Eagles held a 23-17 halftime advantage.
The Cardinals outscored the Eagles 10-4 in the low-scoring third period. Washington had six points in the frame, while Turner dunked off an alley oop and Isaiah Brisco contributed a hoop.
With that, the score was deadlocked at 27 at the end of the third quarter.
Webb City’s last lead came at 30-29 when Duda buried a trey from the right wing.
But the Eagles used a 10-0 run to take control.
Vaden, the team’s floor general, fouled out with 5:42 to play.
“We’re not going to win a lot of games if he’s not out there,” Horn commented.
Roets also fouled out late in the game, and the hosts simply had too many empty possessions down the stretch.
“I thought we did a good job in our zone late in the game and I thought we rebounded really well in the second half,” Osborne said. “Horn does a good job with them. They run a ton of sets, which is why we zoned so much. The zone takes them out of their sets. It’s a good win over a good team.”
Horn noted he was proud his team was able to compete with a team the caliber of Nixa.
“They’re the best team in Southwest Missouri and they’re the best team we’ve played,” Horn noted. “This will certainly prepare us for our district. I thought our kids did a good job of sticking to the plan we put in place. We held them to 50 points. They scored 80 the last couple games. We just have to be better offensively.”
