CARTHAGE, Mo. — Webb City and Joplin recorded contrasting victories on the opening night of the 77th Carthage Invitational.
An early surge propelled Webb City to a convincing 84-51 win over Nevada before Joplin held on late to beat Leavenworth 57-48 in Thursday’s nightcap.
In Friday’s semifinals, Webb City (2-0) meets Raymore-Peculiar (1-1) at 7 p.m. and Joplin (1-2) takes on Carthage (1-0) at 8:30. The tourney hosts had a first-round bye.
WEBB CITY 84, NEVADA 51
Ignited by an active full-court press, the Cardinals took control early by forcing the Tigers into eight turnovers in the opening frame.
Getting plenty of hoops in transition, speedy and hot-shooting Webb City used a 17-2 run early in the game and an 11-2 surge to end the first period to take a comfortable 33-13 lead. Six different players scored in the first quarter for the Cardinals.
“Defensively, we were really good,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We were flying to the ball. Our rotations were solid and our pressure on the basketball was really good. I’m just really pleased with our guys, especially on the back side of our press. I thought we brought a lot of energy. The goal was to overwhelm them early. That’s probably one of the better quarters we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Junior guard Holton Keith and senior guard Barron Duda both knocked down 3-pointers to start the second quarter, extending Webb City’s cushion to 39-13.
“It’s hard to simulate Webb City’s speed in practice,” Nevada coach Shaun Gray said. “We knew they were going to come out and trap and put pressure on us. We need to do a better job of being able to adjust quicker during the game so those turnovers don’t snowball. But credit to Webb, they were able to feed off their defensive pressure.”
However, Nevada didn’t quit. In fact, the Tigers closed the first half on a 22-8 run to cut Webb City’s lead to 12 at halftime, 47-35.
“Nevada played much better in the second quarter,” Horn said. “They made us pay on some late closeouts and they got to the free throw line. We’re still playing into shape and I think fatigue set in. But you have to give Nevada credit because they executed and made plays.”
The Cardinals outscored the Tigers 18-14 in a back and forth third quarter, and Webb City held a 65-49 lead entering the final frame.
Horn’s Cardinals finished strong, winning the fourth quarter 19-2.
A trey from Duda and a breakaway layup from senior Omari Jackson made it 78-51 with five minutes left and Webb City’s lead was never in jeopardy late in the game.
“I think our pressure started to wear on them,” Horn said. “I think we had played 11 guys at that point. We can score in waves and we’re probably going to give up points in waves. But overall, I thought it was a really good team effort tonight.”
Duda scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Cardinals, while Keith had 22 points and six boards. Jackson also reached double figures with 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Junior point guard Eli Pace scored eight points and sophomore guard Gabe Johnson had seven points to go with nine assists.
Webb City made 36 of 56 field goal attempts (64 percent) and Nevada shot 39 percent (18 of 46). The key stat of the night was that Webb City scored 37 points off 23 Nevada turnovers.
Senior Brice Budd scored 13 points to lead Nevada (1-3), while junior Jack Cheaney and senior Riddick Shook added 11 points apiece for the Tigers, who often had several sophomores on the court.
Coach Gray noted he was proud of his team’s effort.
“We’re really proud of our guys,” Gray said. “They played hard regardless of the score. They’re trying to get better. Hopefully we’ll get better from this game as the season goes along.”
JOPLIN 57, LEAVENWORTH 48
Joplin never trailed, but it wasn’t easy, as Leavenworth stayed within striking distance the entire contest.
The Eagles held a 10-point lead in the third period and held off the Pioneers down the stretch.
“We never trailed, but we could never really extend our lead,” Joplin coach Nick Pfeifer said. “That’s a credit to Leavenworth. They seemed to hit a shot every time we seemed to get some momentum. That was a little frustrating, but I thought our kids did some OK things. We struggled to finish. We fouled at some inopportune times. But we competed hard and we had the bigger number at the end, so that’s the most important thing.”
Hoops in the paint from seniors Hobbs Gooch and Whit Hafer gave Joplin a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Buckets from Collis Jones, Carter Harbin, Brecken Green and Fred Taylor gave the Eagles a 22-12 cushion with three minutes remaining in the second period.
The Eagles held a 25-15 advantage after a 3-pointer from Green, but Leavenworth scored six straight points to end the first half, trimming Joplin’s lead to four, 25-21.
Joplin was clinging to a 38-32 lead late in the third period when Harbin made two free throws and Cooper Williams converted a steal into a layup. But Leavenworth’s MJ Morgan knocked down a trey, cutting Joplin’s cushion to 42-35 at the end of the third quarter.
The Eagles never relinquished their lead in the final eight minutes, as Jones recorded a pair of key hoops that gave JHS some needed breathing room.
A 6-3 junior, Jones scored 20 points to lead the Eagles, with 12 coming in the second half and eight in the key fourth quarter.
“He played well, even after a little bit of foul trouble in the first half,” Pfeifer said. “He’s got to be that guy for us. He does a nice job on the glass, and I thought he guarded really well tonight. He’s a good athlete and he can make plays.”
Green added nine points for the Eagles, who also received five points apiece from Taylor and Williams.
Morgan scored 18 points to lead Leavenworth and Nishan Thomas added 11.
Pfeifer, who is in his first season as Joplin’s head coach, is a Carthage High School graduate who played for the Tigers under Steve Ray.
“Carthage means so much to me and my family, so it is special coaching here,” Pfeifer said. “I have a lot of good memories in Carthage, and when you see so many people you know, those memories come back to you. It’s neat. It’s one of those things where it is a special moment in your life. It’s certainly not something I take for granted.”
Pfeifer will be coaching against his alma mater on Friday night.
“It’s going to be fun,” Pfeifer said. “Coach (Nathan) Morris does a good job over here and we know they’re really good. We’re definitely going to have to play good basketball. It will be a challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to it.”
NOTES: Raymore-Peculiar defeated Fort Smith Southside 60-33 in the tourney’s opener.
Nevada meets Fort Smith Southside at 4 on Friday in the consolation semifinals. Leavenworth takes on the Carthage junior varsity squad at 5:30.
