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Day: February 8, 2023

HOOPS ROUNDUP: CHC, Nevada girls win; CHC, Nevada and Seneca boys all victorious

Posted on by Lucas Davis

COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS 61, THOMAS JEFFERSON 31

Up by 11 at halftime, College Heights Christian’s girls extended their lead to 21 (42-21) by the end of the third period en route to a convincing win over the Cavaliers.

Libby Fanning led College Heights with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Maddy Colin added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Jayli Johnson had nine points, five assists and four steals, while Lauren Ukena contributed five assists, five steals and two points.

Lannah Grigg scored 14 points and Gabbi Hiebert added 10 to lead the Cavaliers (10-10). 

College Heights led 16-7 at the end of the first period, 26-15 at the break and 42-21 by the end of the third quarter. 

College Heights improved to 13-10.

Thomas Jefferson hosts Exeter on Thursday. 

College Heights hosts McAuley Catholic on Friday. 

 

NEVADA GIRLS 54, NEOSHO 29

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada’s girls basketball team used a dominant second quarter to take control of Tuesday’s non-conference clash with the Wildcats inside Wynn Gymnasium.

Up 13-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers outscored the Wildcats 16-5 in the game-changing second quarter to pull away for good.

Late in the second period, Clara Swearingen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Maddy Majors scored the final five points of the first half to give Nevada a comfortable 29-12 halftime advantage.

After winning the third period 20-7, Nevada held a commanding 49-19 lead entering the final frame.

Nevada improved to 18-4, while Neosho fell to 10-10.

A junior guard, Swearingen scored 21 points for the Tigers. A senior guard, Majors added 20 points. 

Senior forward Karlee Ellick led Neosho with 11 points and classmate Reagan McInturff had eight. 

Both teams return to conference action later this week, as Neosho hosts Ozark on Thursday and Nevada hosts McDonald County on Friday. 

The Tigers will look to secure a Big 8 West title on Friday.

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS BOYS 63, THOMAS JEFFERSON 57 (OVERTIME)

Four quarters of basketball wasn’t enough, as College Heights needed an overtime period to earn an Ozark 7 win over Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday.

Both teams found themselves tied at 55s at the end of regulation, sending the conference clash into overtime. The Cougars (18-5, 4-0 Ozark 7) outscored the Cavaliers 8-2 in overtime, taking advantage of four straight turnovers by TJ (15-6, 2-1 Ozark 7) and knocking down all six free throws to fuel the win.

“Our kids did a nice job of handling some early adversity to get back in the game,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said to SoMo Sports. “If you would have told me we would be down 12-0, but have the ball with less than 10 seconds to play in a tie game, I’d have taken that all day. In the end, we just had too many turnovers to beat a good team like College Heights.”

Caleb Quade and Curtis Davenport each had 23 points to lead College Heights in scoring. 

Jay Ball had 19 points and nine rebounds as well as six blocks to lead Thomas Jefferson. Kip Atteberry knocked down four 3-pointers on the way to 14 points, while Tyler Brouhard had 11 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and four blocks. 

College Heights hosts McAuley on Friday. 

Thomas Jefferson hosts Exeter on Thursday.

 

NEVADA BOYS 80, PLEASANT HILL 67

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada took the lead early en route to winning the non-conference matchup between district foes.

Nevada built a 25-9 lead by the end of the opening frame. 

The Tigers were up 38-28 at the break before pulling away for a 60-44 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Jack Cheaney scored 24 points to lead Nevada, while Brice Budd had 19 points and Drew Beachler added 15.

Nevada improved to 11-12 overall. 

The Tigers host McDonald County on Friday in a key Big 8 West clash.

 

SENECA BOYS 58, EAST NEWTON 56

Seneca’s Ethan Altic made the game-winning basket just before the final buzzer.

The Indians had to come from behind in this one, as the Patriots held a 33-19 lead at intermission.

Seneca (12-9) hosts Lamar (8-14) on Wednesday night. 

 

GOLDEN CITY BOYS 43, MCAULEY CATHOLIC 39

Golden City took control in the second quarter and held on for the win over McAuley Catholic on Tuesday in Ozark 7 action.

Golden City outscored McAuley 14-6 in the second quarter to take a 19-11 lead into the intermission. Golden City held on down the stretch to earn the win.

Noah Black had 10 points to lead McAuley (6-17, 1-3 Ozark 7) in scoring, while Michael Parrigon finished with eight. Bradley Wagner and Alex Bohachick each finished with six.

Josh Reeves scored 19 points for Golden City (15-8).

McAuley is at College Heights on Friday.

BOYS HOOPS: Second-quarter swing leads Joplin past Neosho

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO, Mo. — Joplin’s strong second quarter erased a small deficit and built the game’s first real cushion at the same time, with the Eagles holding off Neosho in the second half on the way to a 76-69 win in Central Ozark Conference action on Tuesday.

Joplin’s All Wright knocks down a perimiter jumper in the Eagles’ COC win over Neosho on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.

Neosho (16-5, 3-1 COC) took a slim lead into the second quarter when Joplin’s defense settled in and led to a scoring surge from the offense that gave the Eagles (12-8, 3-2 COC) an 11-point lead into halftime. Joplin held off a Neosho push at the lead early in the third quarter and again held off the Wildcats down the stretch in the fourth to preserve the win.

“I thought in the first quarter they just kept getting layup after layup from the block,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said about the second quarter after the win. “I thought we guarded a lot better in the second quarter, and we started making shots. I thought All (Wright) was doing his thing and I thought Whit (Hafer) played really well. Same with (Terrance Gibson).”

“They’re a team that can shoot the heck out of the ball,” Schaake added about closing out the win. “They have unlimited range and (Isaiah) Green is really good. It was a physical game. We were getting to the rim as well and getting stops when we needed to at the end.”

GAME ACTION

After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw four ties before Neosho took a 20-18 lead into the second period, Joplin used a strong defensive effort to take control of the lead by the intermission. 

The Eagles, who scored the final two buckets of the first quarter, limited the Wildcats to one field goal five minutes of game action in the second period while going on a 16-2 scoring surge to take a 34-22 advantage with three minutes left in the first half.

Neosho’s Isaiah Green drives to the hoop for a bucket in the Wildcats’ loss to Joplin on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.

“We just told them what they were trying to run and you anticipate instead of reacting,” Schaake said. “Our kids listened extremely well and then the effort caught up.”

Wright fueled the run with seven points, including a 3-pointer, while Gibson had four points and Hafer added a corner 3-pointer to close the run. Also key, Joplin was a perfect six-for-six shooting from the free-throw line during that stretch.

Joplin ultimately took a 41-30 lead into the intermission after Wright buried a stepback 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Neosho used an early 10-2 run in the third quarter to trim the lead to five, 47-42, midway through but that would be as close to the lead as the Wildcats would get in the period. Isaiah Green fueled the run with all 10 points in the run.

“On the road, everything is momentum-based,” Schaake said. “Kids look up at the clock and the score and can panic. We actually ran some motion for a while and got some clean looks, and that’s when we pushed it back to eight.”

Wright knocked down a mid-range pullup jumper with five seconds left in the quarter to give Joplin a 57-49 advantage with eight minutes to play.

Again, Neosho made a run at the lead through the first half of the fourth quarter, cutting its deficit to three points with 4:43 left in regulation after Green sank a pair of charity shots to cap a 6-0 run and make the score 59-56. 

Neosho’s Kael Smith pulls up from mid-range during the Wildcats’ loss to Joplin on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.

Again, Joplin answered, and this time it put the game out of reach for Neosho. Leading by one possession, Hafer grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for a two-handed dunk before Gibson earned a steal for a dunk on the break the other way for back to back scores. After a free throw from Neosho, Wright drove the lane and drew contact for a three-point play to give the Eagles a 65-56 lead with 2:35 left to play and all of the momentum en route to the conference win.

“Anytime you can get your big men running the floor like that,” Schaake said with a smile. “The kids like that. They like to see a dunk here and there and then some and-1 buckets. That was a huge sequence that we went through.”

SCORING LEADERS

Wright finished with a team-high 32 points in the win, while Gibson closed with 17. Hafer added 11 and Fred Taylor was one away from double figures with nine points.

Green led all scorers with a team-high 37 points in the loss for Neosho, which included 11 field goals and was 14-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line. Carter Baslee finished in double figures with 16 points, while Kael Smith added eight.

UP NEXT

Joplin hosts Willard on Friday.

Neosho hosts Ozark on Friday.

HOOPS: Carl Junction, Carthage split conference doubleheader

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction Bulldogs, top-ranked in Class 5, improved to 21-1 overall and 5-0 in Central Ozark Conference play with their 71-48 win over their county and conference rival Carthage on Tuesday night.

Carl Junction scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points, never trailed, and the Bulldogs received a combined 51 points from the dynamic duo of senior Destiny Buerge and junior Kylie Scott.

Buerge scored 21 of her game-high 28 points in the second half and Scott scored the game’s first seven points on her way to 23 for the evening.

Senior guard Klohe Burk knocked down four 3-point shots for her 12 points and proved to be a legitimate third scoring option.

“Those two can score in bunches,” Carl Junction coach Brad Shorter said of Buerge and Scott. “They’re outstanding players. Kylie started off … just boom boom boom … and I called an early 30-second timeout, ‘Girls, Kylie scored the first seven points, and she hasn’t touched it (since). We keep settling for deep threes and we need to continue to pound it inside.’

“I was really frustrated with how long it took us to take what we were telling them as coaches and apply it to the game. We had good effort at times, we just need to continue to fight and keep working on getting better.”

Carthage punched away in the second and third quarters after finding a 20-8 deficit at the end of the first eight minutes.

The Tigers played the Bulldogs to a 10-9 advantage in the second and a 21-17 disadvantage in the third.

Carl Junction entered the fourth ahead 50-35 and extended the lead to 23 points on four different occasions, including what turned out to be the final score.

“Two big keys I thought tonight were our poor shooting and then (Kylie) Scott owned us inside,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “In the second half, they picked us up with more pressure. We didn’t attack the basket as well. Scott erases every attempt down there and then if we missed our floater, she’s going to get the rebound and run down to the other end.”

“I don’t think our kids realized how quick they were until gametime,” Shorter said. “You feel like you’ve got a chance to put them away and they just hang around, they’re always there. We had opportunities in the middle of the first half to stretch it a little bit and just didn’t do it. We settled for some shots that we could have got it inside, whether it’s with Kylie or Dezi or Destiny. We’ll go back to the drawing board and keep on working at it and see if we can get a little bit better for Thursday.”

Dezi Williams and Anna Burch rounded out Carl Junction’s scoring with six and two points, respectively, in the Bulldogs’ 16th straight win overall.

Carl Junction hosts Branson on Thursday.

Lauren Choate and Maggie Boyd combined for six of Carthage’s nine 3-point baskets Tuesday and the sophomore sharpshooters finished with 18 and 11 points, respectively.

Jaidyn Brunnert finished with seven points, Ashlyn Brust added five, Kianna Yates had three, and Zye Clark and Lexa Youngblood each contributed two points.

The Tigers (9-12 overall, 1-4 COC) wrap up the most brutal five-game portion of their schedule on Thursday at home against conference and district rival Nixa.

“Our girls are competitive,” Moore said. “We dug a hole to start off right away, but we rushed back and got it close again. Our girls don’t give up. We play hard. We fight. Carl Junction isn’t that much better than us. They just shot better than us tonight. Again, when we figure out why we can’t shoot the ball well enough and start scoring the ball at will like other teams do against us, we can be a very explosive ballclub. But we’re still waiting for that to happen, so I’m hoping that happens Thursday against Nixa.”

 

Carthage boys 82, Carl Junction 52

The Carthage Tigers found their shooting touch early on Tuesday against their county and conference rival, scoring 10 of the game’s first 12 points and never trailing during a 30-point victory in which the Tigers put up 41 points in each half with all nine of their made trifectas in the first half and then a series of layups, interior shots and free throws in the second half.

“We came out and executed really well early,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “I felt like Britt (Coy) and Max (Templeman) got us off to a hot start, and we forced CJ into something they don’t normally do. They had to come and switch out of their zone to man, and that’s something our kids relished. When they went to man, we were able to get some transition buckets and I thought in the second half we shared the ball in the halfcourt in our motion offense better than we have all year.”

Templeman scored a game-high 26 points with 18 of them in the first half, Clay Kinder finished with 15 points, Britt Coy added 14 points, and Justin Ray provided the Tigers with a fourth scorer in double-digits with 13 points.

Kruz Castor added six points, Ben Nicholas four points, and Dylan Pugh and Trent Yates two points each.

Carthage improved to 12-9 overall and 2-3 COC entering Friday’s home game against conference and district rival Nixa, a team currently 21-0 overall after Tuesday’s 62-58 win over Republic.

“For years, Nixa has been the top dog or one of the top two dogs in the conference,” Morris said. “We really have played them well all four years that I’ve been here. Our kids have bought into (Nixa) is a phenomenal basketball program, but we’ve got some pretty good kids as well. It should be a good crowd Friday with Homecoming and they’re coming off a high-intensity game (Tuesday) with Republic for the No. 1 team in the conference, so I think our kids will be ready to face them on Friday.”

Carl Junction dropped to 7-15 overall and 0-5 COC, and the Bulldogs return home Friday to welcome conference opponent Branson.

 

WRESTLING: Carthage tops Seneca in final dual of season

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage High School wrestling team earned a 38-33 dual victory over Seneca on Tuesday night.

Earning wins by fall for the Tigers were Tanner Putt (106 pounds), Aydan Nye (126), Bradyn Tate (132), Grey Petticrew (150) and Trey Nye (157).

Carthage’s Davion King recorded a tech fall, 15-0, at 165, while Gabe Lambeth earned a 7-1 win over Lincoln Renfro at 175.

Seneca’s Hunter Hanes defeated Alberto Sales 11-9 at 113, while Keatin Burleson topped Grady Huntley 11-7 at 120.

Seneca’s Brady Roark won by forfeit at 128 and teammate Andrew Manley won by fall at 144.

The Indians also won by forfeit at 190 and 215, with Jace Renfro and Nash Crane picking up the wins.

At 285, Seneca’s Nick Stephens edged David Recinos 3-2 in overtime.

Carthage finished the dual season with an 8-3 record. The Tigers will next compete at the Class 4 District 3 tournament on Feb. 17-18 in Ozark.

Seneca will host the Class 2 District 3 tournament on Feb. 17-18.

BOYS HOOPS: Webb City suffers home loss to hot-shooting Willard

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — A steady barrage of 3-pointers propelled Willard to an 81-70 win over Webb City on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference boys basketball action inside the Cardinal Dome.

The visiting Tigers made 13 field goals from beyond the arc, including seven in the game-changing third period that saw the visitors pull away.

“We were awful defensively,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We gave up way too many wide open looks from 3 to their better shooters. We couldn’t keep them out of the lane. We just weren’t very good defensively tonight. You tip your hat to Willard. They did a good job of finding the open man and they moved the ball quickly. We didn’t move the ball quick enough on offense. We had some sticky hands and held the ball too long. You’re easy to defend when you do that.” 

Receiving votes in the Class 5 poll, Webb City slipped to 15-6 overall and 2-3 in the COC. 

Webb City made 29-of-51 field goal attempts (57 percent), but went just 8-for-25 (32 percent) from 3-point land.

Junior guard Barron Duda scored 23 points and made four treys to lead the Cardinals. Sophomore guard Eli Pace added 14 points, while senior forward Alex Martin and sophomore guard Holton Keith added 10 points apiece.

The Cardinals had 20 turnovers to the Tigers’ 10.

Willard improved to 9-12 and 2-2 in the conference.

The Tigers made 28-of-54 field goal attempts (52 percent), including 13-of-32 from long distance (41 percent). 

Junior guard Drew Quinlan scored 20 points and knocked down six 3-pointers to lead Willard, while junior guard Russell Roweton added 17 points. Two others reached double figures for the Tigers, as senior Riley Wolf scored 14 points and sophomore Braxton Boyer had 11.

Neither team was able to gain much separation in the first half. 

Playing at home for the first time since Jan. 13, Webb City held a 20-18 lead at the end of the back and forth first quarter. 

The Cardinals were up 24-18 early in the second quarter, but the game was deadlocked at 31 with just over two minutes to play in the first half. 

Willard closed the half on a 7-4 run, and the visitors held a 38-35 advantage at the break. 

The Tigers got going in a big way in the third period. Led by the seven made treys, Willard outscored Webb City 26-15 in the third period to take a 64-50 lead.

“They made six 3-pointers in the first half and then made seven in the third quarter,” Horn noted. “You have to guard somebody. We didn’t guard anybody. They had wide open looks.”

The Tigers never relinquished their lead in the final frame. The Cardinals trimmed their deficit to 10 with a minute to play, but the Tigers’ cushion was never in serious jeopardy.

Webb City hosts Class 6 No. 8 Republic (19-2, 3-1 COC) on Friday. Republic suffered a 62-58 loss to Nixa on Tuesday.

“They have as good a team as we’ll play all year,” Horn said of Republic. “It will be tough, so we just have to get back to work at practice and try to get better.” 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

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