Day: December 3, 2022

Joplin built a nine-point cushion by the end of the first quarter and never relinquished the lead on the way to the Eagles’ first win over the season, 81-73, over Pittsburg on Friday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium. 

The Eagles were able to stretch the lead to 10 points twice in the first half and ballooned it to 17 points early in the second half only for Pittsburg to cut it down to one possession inside the final two minutes of regulation. Joplin didn’t waver, holding off the Dragons down the stretch to punch the ticket on its first victory.

“I think we got up 17 and then kind of relaxed,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “We had unforced turnover and (Pittsburg) did a good job of making shots and getting to the three-throw line. We are still going through growing pains with a young group, especially on how to close out games. It was a good bounce-back win for us. All (Wright) is really, really good but I thought our bigs, Whit Hafer and Terrance Gibson, really brought it on both ends.”

Joplin guard All Wright led all scorers with a game-high 39 points, including 25 in the second half and 11 in the fourth quarter. Forward Whit Hafer finished with nine points, while G Quin Renfro closed with eight.

Mason English led Pittsburg with 34 points, including 16 free throws. Jackson Turnbull finished with 14 points. 

Joplin built a nine-point lead by the end of the first quarter thanks in large part to the scoring of All Wright, who finished with 12 of the Eagles’ 22 points in the period. Wright had three scores on the drive, a mid-range jumper, a free throw and a pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer with a man draped all over him.

“I thought he was doing a better job tonight of getting his bigs more involved,” Schaake said of Wright’s performance. “Which we need to because we have some bigs that can do some things. All makes us go, and as the season goes on he is learning how to play point guard. That’s a whole new ballgame for him. But he is going to get better at that.”

Terrance Gibson added four points, Collis Jones added a bucket and Whit Hafer knocked down a 3-pointer to help fill out the quarter.

Pittsburg used a 9-0 run midway through the second period to trim the lead down to one, 24-23. Mason English fueled the run with seven points, including an old-fashioned three-point play before Joey Cronister scored on an inbounds play before Joplin’s Fred Taylor buried back to back 3-balls to push the Eagles’ lead back out, 30-23. 

“He came in the game for All, who picked up his third foul, and I think we pushed the lead to 10 with him in there,” Schaake said. “Fred has a lot of potential. He is a smooth player and is trying to get acclimated to the varsity speed. Those were big to send us into halftime with the lead.”

Quin Renfro added a putback score, with Trenton Gage getting in the scoring column before the half to give JHS a 34-27 lead at the break.

Pittsburg cut the lead to one possession out of the break with buckets from Jovani Salas and a  from Jackson Turnbull before Joplin answered with an 18-4 run to build a 52-35 advantage.

After two charities from Wright, Hafer slammed home a dunk to get the lead to seven. Wright added a score off the drive before knocking down a pullup 3-pointer from the wing off a ball screen. Wright added another triple on the next possession to extend Joplin’s lead to 46-33.

After a pair of free throws from English, Hafer added a jumper from the top of the key before scoring in the paint, with Wright ending the surge with a driving score. 

“It makes them honor that he’s out there,” Schaake said about Hafer showing his shooting range in the win. “They have to stretch out and guard him, and Whit’s shot looks good. He has worked on it and it just stretches his game out.”

Pittsburg added a 3-pointer by English before the break to cut the Dragons’ deficit to 56-45 with one quarter to play. 

Joplin and Pittsburg traded baskets until the Dragons cut the lead to 69-63 with 2:30 to play on a 3-pointer from Jayden Brown. Turnbull added a bucket inside on the next trip down the floor to trim the lead to four.

Wright made one of two from the stripe before Collis Jones scored on the break with 90 seconds left for a 72-65 advantage.

Turnbull cut the lead to three with just over a minute to play on an inside score, but Joplin added a free throw from Wright and a second-chance bucket from Renfro to again push the lead back to three possessions, 76-69, with 43.9 seconds left in regulation to put the game out of reach.

UP NEXT

Joplin will defend its title in the 76th annual Carthage Invitational from Dec. 8-10.

The Joplin girls basketball team rallied back in the second half to earn its first win of the season, 42-37, over Pittsburg on Friday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.

The Eagles (1-3) went into halftime trailing by six before using a 13-0 run in the third quarter to regain the lead for the first time since the start of the game heading into the final eight minutes. Joplin never relinquished the lead down the stretch on the way to clinching its first victory.

“I am just so happy for our girls,” first-year Joplin coach Brad Cox said after notching his first-career victory. “We talked to the girls over the week about the difference between just working hard and working hard while competing. Millions of people go and work hard every day, but it’s the ones who are wired to compete that have the most success. … I just challenged them this week to go out and compete. We were down at halftime, stormed back and got the win. It was great. I am so happy for them.”

Joplin held the lead early in the contest on a bucket from Brynn Driver, but Pittsburg rallied midway through the period and took a 10-7 advantage into the second quarter. 

The Eagles used a pair of free throws from Driver early in the second quarter to cut the lead to one before the Dragons used a pair of 3-pointers from Jacquiline Hall sandwiched around an inside bucket from Gabrielle White to finished the first half on an 8-3 run to go into the intermission with an 18-12 lead. 

After Pittsburg scored the first bucket of the second half, Joplin flipped the momentum with a 13-0 run to rally all the way back for a 25-20 lead by the 2:05 mark of the third quarter. 

“It all came from practice this week,” Cox said when asked what fueled the game-changing run. “We went to the 1-3-1 (after the success from last week with it) and were able to force more turnovers. We made some adjustments on (Jacquiline Hall), but credit to her because she is a heck of a player. It was our girls’ effort. We have to get better at rebounding, but that game turned because of our effort and willingness to compete.”

Bailey Ledford kicked the run off with a 3-pointer from the wing before a Dragons turnover led to Driver knocking down a shot from the perimeter with 5:40 left to cut the deficit to 20-18. Serafina Auberry tied the game up with five minutes left on an inside score before Driver gave Joplin the lead after stepping into a 3-ball from the wing for a 23-20 advantage before she added a second-chance mid-range jumper with 2:05 left to push the lead to 25-20.

Pittsburg’s Dessie Gorley ended the run with a mid-range jumper, cutting the Dragons’ deficit to three heading into the final eight minutes.

The Dragons tied the game out of the break on a 3-pointer from Hall, but a Ledford triple with 5:40 left pushed the JHS lead back up to two possessions, 31-26. Riley Kelly knocked down one of two from the charity stripe with 2:55 to push the lead six before Driver earned a steal for a layup on the break to give the Eagles a 36-28 advantage with 2:30 to play.

Pittsburg didn’t go away as Hall and Gorley hit back to back 3-pointers to cut the Joplin lead to one, 36-35, with 1:26 to play.

Joplin answered with Izzy Yust burying a wide-open 3-pointer from the wing with 56 seconds left for a 39-35 cushion.

“She had ice going through her veins,” Cox said about Yust’s 3-pointer. “I bring out Izzy and Brynn every game for captains, and that’s why. She stepped up without any hesitation and hit the shot. I just got chills thinking about it again. It was pretty awesome. It was a great first win for me at Joplin, and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”

Driver iced the win with a pair of free throws with 22.1 seconds left to push the lead to five.

SCORING LEADERS

Driver finished with 20 points to lead Joplin, while Ledford knocked down two 3-pointers on the way to eight points. Yust finished with seven.

Hall finished with 18 to lead Pittsburg, while Gorley added seven. Onna Jorge finished with eight.

UP NEXT

Joplin hosts the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic from Dec. 8-10.