DIAMOND, Mo. — In a thriller between close rivals, second-seeded Thomas Jefferson upended seventh-seeded McAuley Catholic 45-40 on Monday night in the opening round of the Gem City Classic boys basketball tournament.
The game was deadlocked at 40 when Thomas Jefferson senior guard Kip Atteberry hit a corner trey after an inbounds play with 1:30 to play to give the Cavaliers the lead for good.
After a defensive stop, Thomas Jefferson’s Tony Touma hit two clutch free throws with 25 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Tyler Brouhard scored 17 points with three treys to go along with four assists and three blocked shots to lead Thomas Jefferson, while Jay Ball added 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.
Atteberry added six points on a pair of 3-pointers for the Cavaliers, who improved to 3-0.
Michael Parrigon and Kable Reichardt scored nine points apiece for McAuley (0-2), while Bradley Wagner contributed eight points.
The Cavaliers led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, but the game was tied at 20 at intermission. Thomas Jefferson led by two, 34-32, entering the fourth period.
Thomas Jefferson will meet sixth-seeded Galena in the tourney semifinals at 7:30 on Wednesday night.
McAuley plays third-seeded Diamond in the consolation semifinals at 7:30 on Wednesday night at the middle school. Galena topped Diamond 59-56.
In other first round games, top-seeded El Dorado Springs nipped Carthage’s junior varsity squad 44-43 and fourth-seeded Mount Vernon topped fifth-seeded Sarcoxie 40-30.
The girls tournament begins on Tuesday night, with third-seeded College Heights taking on sixth-seeded McAuley at 8:30 p.m.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Turnovers and points off turnovers determined Monday’s quarterfinal game between host Carl Junction and Neosho in the 46th annual Freeman Sports Medicine CJ Classic.
Neosho led 9-8 after one quarter and 22-21 at halftime, then Carl Junction outscored Neosho 32-17 in the second half, highlighted by multiple baskets after Wildcat turnovers, on the way to the Bulldogs earning a 53-39 win in their season opener.
Carl Junction’s Anna Burch defends the inbound pass late in the Bulldogs’ win over Neosho on Monday in the season opener and first round of the CJ Classic. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.
Carl Junction plays Springdale, Arkansas (3-0), in the semifinals Tuesday night, while Neosho (1-3) takes on Mount Vernon (0-2) in the consolation bracket in the first game on Tuesday.
Springdale defeated Mount Vernon 54-37 on Monday.
“(Neosho) outrebounded us and that was a factor we talked aboutgoin in—not allowing them,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said. “Fortunately, we were able to get some points off turnovers, which was huge. We looked pretty rusty and need to get some things worked out. At the same time, it’s the first game of the year, so a good win for us to start out with and Neosho is much improved.”
“Turnovers killed us tonight,” Neosho coach Daniel Durst said. “We’re still learning how to finish games. We get in those tight spots, and we still revert back to panic mode. We’re just working to get that out of our systems.”
Carl Junction received a game-high 24 points from outstanding senior and prolific scorer Destiny Buerge, who picked up her fourth personal foul with 3 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the third quarter and Carl Junction holding on to a 29-28 lead.
Neosho failed to take advantage with Buerge on the bench, and Carl Junction closed out the third with six unanswered to head into the fourth ahead 35-28.
Buerge returned in the fourth and she netted four straight points to start the quarter and give Carl Junction the first double-digit lead of the night at 39-28.
Neosho’s Beclynn Garrett drives the lane during the Wildcats’ opening-round loss to Carl Junction in the CJ Classic on Monday. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.
The Wildcats cut it down to 41-37 with a 9-2 spurt of their own, but the Bulldogs scored 12 of the game’s last 14 points to close out their Central Ozark Conference rival they will play again in February.
“It was a good one for us,” Shorter said. “Our schedule is packed full of tough opponents. It’s going to be a tough season, but hopefully it prepares us for the end of the year.”
Dezi Williams and Kylie Scott had eight points each, DeShaye Buerge five, and Klohe Burk and Anna Burch four each.
“It’s tough to practice for a month and play against each other the entire time,” Shorter said. “We’re nursing a few injuries here and there, and hopefully we’re going to be at full strength here before too long. Our kids saw some of the mistakes they were making, whether it was our floor organization or our defensive pressure or obviously the rebounding, but I think that we will improve and continue to get better.”
Neosho’s inside-outside tandem of senior post Karlee Ellick and sophomore guard Beclynn Garrett combined for 19 of the Wildcats’ 22 first-half points and they gave the Bulldogs plenty of fits the first 16 minutes of play.
Garrett scored 10 and Ellick had nine with five of her points helping the Wildcats to their leads after each quarter.
After halftime, Garrett and Ellick both fell off their pace from the first half; Garrett and Ellick both led Neosho with 13 points.
“For the most part, we stepped up and played good defense,” Durst said. “One of the big emphases after the last couple games was sitting down and playing solid defense. I was proud of that. I thought we took better care of the ball at times, but in those pivotal moments, that’s when we started losing our heads.”
CJ CLASSIC
Monday’s scores
Springdale 54, Mount Vernon 37
Carl Junction 53, Neosho 39
Nevada 54, McDonald County 27
Parkview 64, Seneca 47
Tuesday’s schedule
4—Mount Vernon vs. Neosho
5:30—McDonald County vs. Seneca
7—Carl Junction vs. Springdale
8:30—Parkview vs. Nevada
Carl Junction’s Dezi Williams lets go of a 3-point attempt during the Bulldogs’ win over Neosho in the opening round of the CJ Classic on Monday. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Following an impressive 18-8 campaign a year ago, Carthage is returning several key pieces to the lineup to give the Tigers high expectations entering the 2022-23 season.
The Tigers graduated four seniors a year ago—forwards Caden Kabance, Sylas Browning and Logan Carmickle and guard Joel Pugh—but return four upperclassmen with plenty of varsity experience.
“This group is hungry to build upon an 18-win season that marked the most in over a decade,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said to SoMo Sports. “We return some key pieces but understand that Joel Pugh and the other three seniors were solid rocks that held up this team at times. We bring back some exciting players that can be high-volume scorers at times.”
Carthage returns a trio of seniors—5-foot-9 PG Max Templeman, 6-foot G Britt Coy and 6-foot-3 F Clay Kinder—as well as junior 6-foot-2 G Justin Ray. Templeman averaged 15.8 points, 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game last year as a second-team all Central Ozark Conference selection. Ray averaged eight points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals as a sophomore, while Kinder put up 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game last season. Coy scored 3.7 points per game last season.
“We have to replace more pieces than we did a year ago, but we return two three-year starters in Max Templeman and Justin Ray who will stabilize us,” Morris said. “Clay Kinder and Britt Coy have a good deal of experience as well and play with a toughness that we need.”
Joining the varsity rotation this year will be sophomores Trent Yates (G) and Kruz Castor (F) as well as senior G Ben Nicholas, senior F Hudson Moore and junior G Jack Ryder.
The turnaround the Tigers witnessed last season didn’t come by chance. It came with utilizing their strengths as a team, and Carthage, which averaged 59 points per game last season, will continue with what brought them success last year on the offensive side of the ball—an uptempo pace of play. Defensively, the Tigers’ bigs will be pushing the floor as well.
“We will get up and down the court at a fast clip and have some aggressive defenders led by Britt Coy and Clay Kinder,” Morris said. “If we are shooting the ball well, we will be hard to beat as we have four starters that all can score in double figures.”
Of course, the concerns from last season also return for the Tigers. Carthage dealt with being undersized a year a year ago and will be dealing with it again this season. However, Coach Morris feels his team can combat their main concern with a strong effort on the defensive end in the half court as well as an emphasis on rebounding game in and game out. Last season, the Tigers limited teams to 51 points per game on that end of the floor.
“We will be very undersized and will need to be willing to fight in the post and for rebounds,” Morris said. “I think it will take some time for all five guys to understand the importance of everyone willing to rebound.
“If we can bother teams in the half court defensively and disrupt their flow, we will have a fighting chance every night,” Morris said. “We also need a handful of underclassmen to take the challenge and help out our varsity crew.”
Carthage opens the season in front of the home crowd with a matchup versus Monett on Nov. 29 before the Tigers host the 76th annual Carthage Invitational on Dec. 8.
