Third-seeded Ozark broke open a tie game with a big run to start the second quarter and held off a late surge from sixth-seeded Carthage to earn a 64-51 win in the Class 6 District 5 opening round on Monday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
“I have never been able to fault the effort of this group and that rang true again tonight,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “I do feel like our pace and tempo wasn’t top notch in the first half as it was in the fourth quarter, but there were some bang-bang plays and bang-bang calls that didn’t go our way and you could see it reeling away from our kids. But, credit to them for keeping on fighting all the way through the adversity to make it a game late.”
SEASON’S END
Carthage closes the season with an 18-8 record and graduates seniors Joel Pugh, Caden Kabance, Sylas Browning and Logan Carmickle.
“Those four seniors mean more to Carthage basketball than they will ever know,” Morris said. “Joel is the true basketball junky out of that group. Logan is a great baseball player and Caden and Sylas are both three-sport athletes. Their work ethic, moral character and integrity is why this team is where it is. We preach in our program that regardless of wins and losses, we want good human beings. There are not four better examples of that than those kids. I hope those juniors and sophomores take notice of why our program is where it is and it’s because of those seniors.”
GAME ACTION
The game entered the second period with both teams tied at 13 but a 16-4 run by Ozark to open the quarter swung the momentum pendulum, giving OHS a 29-17 lead with less than three minutes to play. Colton Ballard and Ethan Whatley knocked down back to back 3-pointers off Carthage turnovers to open the quarter, with Jace Whatley accounting for six points in the run.
“We made a couple of mistakes that were 100 percent on us as unforced turnovers that led to them taking 10 more field goals in the first half that we even attempted,” Morris said. “That has been our Achilles heel over the last month and when you do that against a team like Ozark, they are going to make you pay. They made a ton of really tough mid-range, contest jumpers in the first half.”
Ozark took a 33-22 lead into the intermission and held on to the double-digit cushion through the third quarter, entering the fourth on top 46-34.
Ozark extended the lead to 60-41 with less than four minutes to play before Carthage used a 10-0 spurt to trim the lead to single digits, 60-51, with 1:15 to play. Pugh knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to fuel the run with Max Templeman and Browning contributing buckets.
“We told them at halftime that this could be their final 16 minutes of your sophomore, junior or senior year,” Morris said of the late push by his Tigers. “We asked them how they wanted it to end. I think they showed the community, the town and this crowd what they are made of. There is a reason this group was 18-8 on the season with the best finish Carthage basketball has had in over 10 years.”
That would be as close to the lead as Carthage would get, as Ozark knocked down its free throws in the final minute of play to seal the win.
SCORING LEADERS
Ethan Whatley had 20 points to lead Ozark, while Tyler Harmon closed with 17 points. Jace Whatley added 11 and Ballard had 10.
Pugh finished with 20 points to lead Carthage, while Templeman finished in double figures with 11 points.
UP NEXT
Ozark takes on second-seeded Kickapoo in a 7:30 p.m. matchup on Wednesday in the district semifinals inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
