Seneca was the top team at the 2023 CJ Classic wrestling tournament on Saturday.
The Indians won all five duals at the event. Seneca defeated Willard by forfeit in the title match. The Indians defeated Carl Junction 42-38 in the semifinals.
Carl Junction finished fourth in the final team standings, as the Bulldogs fell to Fort Zumwalt South 57-24 in the third-place match.
Bolivar beat Fayetteville 41-36 for fifth place and McDonald County topped Blue Springs 51-30 for seventh place.
Match by match results of the CJ Classic dual tournament can be found at the link below.
SENECA RESULTS
Seneca def. McDonald County 53-24
Seneca def. Bolivar 51-17
Seneca def. Willard 43-30
Seneca def. Carl Junction 42-38
Seneca def. Willard 1-0 (title match)
CARL JUNCTION RESULTS
Carl Junction def. Blue Springs 42-33
Carl Junction def. Fayetteville 66-15
Fort Zumwalt South def. Carl Junction 49-21
Seneca def. Carl Junction 42-38
Fort Zumwalt South def. Carl Junction 57-24 (3rd place)
CARL JUNCTION 47, BLUE VALLEY WEST 38 (THIRD-PLACE GAME)
After building an early lead, Carl Junction was tasked with staving off every Blue Valley West comeback attempt in the second half in order to capture a win in the third-place game of the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday.
The Bulldogs did just that, as the Jaguars eventually whittled the lead to single digits with four minutes left in regulation only for Carl Junction to come up time and again with a much-needed bucket down the stretch in a win over Blue Valley West on the final day of the tournament.
“It was just a really good team effort,” first-year coach Ryan Odaffer said. “Defensively, we were consistent the entire game. It was the most-complete game we have played as a team the entire season. With the new system, and them trying to figure out what we are doing offensively and defensively, I felt like they took a step towards figuring it out tonight. It was really nice to see us feel comfortable on both ends of the floor. The game slowed down for us and you could see it, and that was key to keeping that consistency.”
Carl Junction started the contest by scoring the first 10 points to build its initial advantage, with most of the tallies coming from the free-throw line.
After taking a four-point advantage into the second stanza, the Bulldogs spent the period stretching out the lead to double digits after closing the half on an 11-4 run for a 27-16 cushion.
Kylie Scott, an Oral Roberts signee, knocked down a corner 3-pointer and had a score on the break in the run, while Dezi Williams had four points—including a steal and layup on the break—and a bucket from Maddy Huffman.
The Bulldogs got the first two buckets out of the break—an inside score from Scott and an old-fashioned three-point play from Williams—to push the advantage to a game-high 16 points two minutes into the third quarter.
“When you have a young team and a lot of kids who haven’t spent a lot of time playing on varsity, it is nice to have a cushion,” Odaffer said. “Sometimes, you’re going to have a breakdown or two and teams are going to go on a run. It is nice to have that cushion so when teams do go on a run, you’re still up nine and not three.”
The Jaguars spent the rest of the third period and the start of the fourth trying to trim the deficit to single digits and cut it 11 several times.
Five points from Marisa Tomlen, including a 3-pointer, with four minutes left made the score 43-33.
Scott answered for the Bulldogs at the other end with a score on the drive before Tomlen connected from the perimeter again with a wing 3-pointer at the 3:25 mark to get within single digits, 45-36.
Once again, Scott had an answer for Carl Junction, getting the ball in the paint and scoring on the inside for an 11-point advantage with time dwindling.
“It is always nice to have a player like Kylie,” Odaffer said. “If you ever need a bucket, a big rebound or a big putback, she’s there. She is that girl for us. She stepped up tonight and carried our team through some of those lulls when we couldn’t get things going. She is going to have to do that for us all season.”
The Jaguars added one more bucket inside the final 30 seconds, but would get no closer before the sound of the final horn.
Scott had 22 to lead all scorers, 11 coming in each half, while Williams was right behind with 17 points, 10 in the first half.
Tomlen led BVW in scoring with 13 points, while Makenzie Galliart closed with eight in the loss.
After taking second place in the CJ Classic and third place in the Lady Eagle Classic, the Bulldogs will look to continue their tournament success with a spot in the Lady Mustangs Classic hosted by McDonald County at the start of next week.
“It is a building block,” Odaffer said of the early-season success in tournament play. “We go to Mac on Monday and play Farmington, who have been running teams out of the gym, too. We have our hands full on Monday, so we will need to get some rest tomorrow and get ready for them.”
Carl Junction matches up with Farmington at 8 p.m. on Monday.
BLUE VALLEY NORTH 65 (KANSAS), RUSSELLVILLE (ARKANSAS) 47 (TITLE GAME)
Blue Valley North, the top-ranked team in Class 6A, built a slim lead over Russellville by the end of the first quarter and methodically pushed the game out of reach as the seconds ticked off the clock on the way to a win in the championship game of the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday.
The Mustangs held a 22-17 advantage after the first quarter and led by six at the intermission. Blue Valley North stretched the margin to 15 by the start of the final eight minutes and cruised to a win.
Tyara Davis led the way for Blue Valley North with a game-high 24 points, 14 coming in the second half, while Jaliya Davis was right behind with 23 points, with 12 coming in the first half. Ashley Alverson finished with eight points.
Brenna Burk had 16 to lead Russellville, while Shyisha Willis closed with 10 and Taleigh Ealy with eight.
ANDERSON, Mo. — McDonald County won the opening game of the Lady Mustang Classic on Saturday, as the hosts topped Providence Academy 60-49.
The Mustangs led 19-17 after the first period and they were up 36-28 at halftime.
McDonald County won the third quarter 14-9 to go up 50-37 heading into the fourth period.
The Mustangs were outscored 12-10 in the final frame, but never gave up their lead.
Sophomore guard Carlie Martin scored 18 points to lead the Mustangs, while classmate Jamie Washam added 13. Three others scored seven points apiece—Carlee Cooper, Dakota O’Brien and Roslynn Huston.
Karolina Kiraga scored 17 points to lead Providence Academy.
McDonald County meets Bentonville West at 7:30 on Tuesday.
There are three tourney games scheduled on Monday, as Webb City meets Springdale at 4:30, Bentonville West plays Providence at 6 and Carl Junction takes on Farmington at 7:30.
The tournament continues with three games on Tuesday and wraps up with four games on Wednesday, with the title game slated for 8 p.m.
Carthage limited Joplin on the offensive end in the first quarter to gain the advantage and establish the momentum en route to a win in the seventh-place game to open the final day of the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday.
The Tigers (2-4) took a 12-point lead into the second stanza and held the Eagles (1-4) to one field goal in the first eight minutes. Joplin made a run to trim the lead to 10 late in the second period before Carthage used a pair of makes from the perimeter to push the lead to 16 by the intermission. The Tigers continued to push the pace in the second half.
“I liked our defensive intensity right from the beginning,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “They run some pretty good sets on offense and our girls were reading the screen action, getting through and communicating. Communication is one of our three main pillars this year, so I was proud of how they came out with it right from the opening tip.”
After Carthage’s Trisha Kanas and Joplin’s Riley Kelly traded 3-pointers early, the Tigers took the momentum with a 12-0 run to close the opening stanza with a 15-3 advantage.
“I liked that we shot in rhythm today,” Moore said. “I think the past couple of games, we haven’t done that as much. Rhythm jumpers go down way more often. We wanted to go inside-out, so we got those early 3s because of penetration. …That was good for us because that’s how we practice. We need to see that for four quarters against the better teams we will see down the road.”
Maggie Boyd and Lauren Choate connected from beyond the arc before Ashlyn Brust drove baseline past a defender for a score at the 3:32 mark. Choate added a score in the paint to push the lead to double digits, 13-3, before Brust penetrated the lane for a layup to wrap the scoring in the first period.
Joplin found its footing offensively in the second period, using a 10-5 run to cut the lead to 10, 23-13, with 54.6 seconds to play. Alissa Owens had six points in the run, while Claire Jasper added a bucket inside before Aiyana Kroll knocked down two at the stripe to wrap the run.
The Tigers refused to allow the Eagles to trim the margin to single digits before the intermission, using back-to-back 3-pointers from Jaidyn Brunnert and Choate to go into the half with a 29-13 advantage.
“Those are a couple of juniors stepping up to hit the shots to calm the tension,” Moore said. “It gets tense when the other team makes a run. So, I was proud of those two for stepping up and comfortably pushing the lead back out for us.”
Carthage stretched its lead to more than 20 points late in the third quarter when Alexis Jenny came up with an 8-0 run on her own to give the Tigers a 42-19 lead inside the final minute. She had a 3-pointer from the top of the key, banked in a trey from the wing and added another make from the floor.
“I am impressed by her maturity over the last week or two,” Moore said of his sophomore. “It’s a big step going from freshman basketball to varsity, coming in as a sub. … Today against Joplin, she got open and her teammates found her in rhythm, and she is a great rhythm shooter. We just need to keep maturing and growing in her confidence.”
Carthage held the 20-point pace for the final eight minutes of play.
The Tigers had eight players register points in the win, with Jenny leading the way with 11 points. Choate, Brust and Kanas each finished with nine points in the win.
Alissa Owens had 12 to lead the way for Joplin in the scoring department. Ava Wolf had five, while Bailey Owens finished with four in the loss.
Branson found itself trailing by the end of the first quarter only for the Pirates to rally and build a lead of their own on the way to a win in the fifth-place game of the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday.
Down three after the first period, the Pirates doubled up the Pioneers 14-7 in the second quarter to take a two-possession lead into the intermission. Branson outscored Leavenworth 17-9 in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead the Pioneers wouldn’t rally back from.
Rylie Hagston led Branson with 14 points, while Ellison Mehrhoff finished with 11. Macie Rogers and Taylor Foster each scored nine points in the win.
Leavenworth was led in scoring by Eva Clements’ 12 points, with Kylee West adding 10 points in the loss. Makiya Baker scored eight points.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — For the first time since 2011, the host Tigers are the champions of their own Carthage Invitational boys basketball tournament.
Carthage torched the nets early and never trailed on the way to a 70-59 victory over rival Webb City on Saturday night in the 77th edition of the annual tournament.
The hot-shooting Tigers built a 12-point cushion by the end of the first quarter and the hosts were up by 20 entering the final frame.
The visiting Cardinals trimmed their deficit to single digits late in the game, but the Tigers never surrendered the lead. As a result, Carthage was the team celebrating with a tourney championship when the night concluded.
“I’m really proud of that group of kids,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “It’s fun to come to work. We enjoy practice every single day. These kids have been great. Now they get to reap the benefits of what they’ve put in. We hadn’t won this tournament in 11 or 12 years. It wasn’t perfect tonight, but I’m just really proud of all of those kids in the locker room.”
Carthage came out on fire in the opening frame. The Tigers made five 3-pointers in the first quarter, three from senior Justin Ray and one apiece from junior Trent Yates and sophomore Landon Ray, to take a 21-9 lead.
Webb City stayed within striking distance after senior Barron Duda hit his second trey of the contest, but Justin Ray’s 14th point of the first half gave the hosts a 28-14 advantage.
Carthage’s Kruz Castor scores in the lane against Webb City on Saturday night during the championship game of the Carthage Invitational. Photo by Tyler Wade.
Carthage’s Taylor Stevens-Diggs scored three straight hoops off the bench and the Cardinals received buckets from Joel Hendrix, Joseph DeGraffenreid and Holton Keith late in the second quarter before the Tigers took a 34-21 lead into the break.
Simply put, while the Tigers shot well from the perimeter early in the contest, the Cardinals did not.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We didn’t shoot well and we didn’t finish plays around the basket. We had good looks. And Carthage has the best player in the area in Justin Ray. He’s as good as anybody in the COC.”
Carthage outscored Webb City 21-14 in the third quarter to take a commanding 55-35 advantage.
Webb City didn’t go down quietly. In fact, the Cardinals outscored the Tigers 24-15 in the fourth quarter.
The visitors trimmed their deficit all the way down to nine at 65-56 with 1:55 left after a hoop from Keith.
But Webb City simply had too many empty possessions in the fourth quarter, and Carthage converted more than enough free throws late in the game to secure the win.
“Those three guards for Webb City are great,” Morris said. “We had a great game plan and tried to limit them. We tried to take away Barron Duda as much as we could. Credit to our kids for locking into the scouting report and for executing tonight.”
Webb City’s Eli Pace looks score against the defense of Carthage’s Justin Ray. Photo by Tyler Wade.
Justin Ray poured in 25 points and was named the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.
Stevens-Diggs scored 16 points and Kruz Castor added 14. Landon Ray scored nine and Yates added six.
The Tigers made 14 of 25 free throws in the game, with 12 makes coming in the second half.
“We’re a team that’s going to shoot a lot of 3s, but I challenged them to get downhill and get to the foul line,” Morris said. “When we got fouled, for the most part we were able to bury our free throws.”
Duda led Webb City with 19 points and Keith added 17. Pace had 10 points and Omari Jackson scored nine.
“It was our fourth game of the week and I think fatigue started to set in, especially with the way we play,” Horn said. “We’ve got some guys who still have limited practices and they’re playing their way into shape. And there may have been some nerves at the start of the game. We had some guys who were playing in a championship game for the first time. But I have to give our guys credit. They kept playing hard. We played through the misses. We’ll get better and more organized.”
Webb City’s Omari Jackson puts up a shot in the lane against Justin Ray.
Morris noted capturing a tourney championship should give his squad a nice confidence boost.
“This can only be good for us leading into a week where we play two of the better teams in the state of Missouri,” Morris said. “We’ve got Springfield Central and Sparta coming up and it should be a good challenge for us.”
Carthage (3-0) hosts Springfield Central on Tuesday and Webb City (3-1) is at Rogers Heritage on Tuesday.
The Cardinals and Tigers will meet again in COC play on Jan. 30 inside Webb City’s Cardinal Dome.
RAYMORE-PECULIAR 48, JOPLIN 41
Joplin’s late comeback attempt fell short in the tournament’s third-place game.
Raymore-Peculiar used a 12-0 run in the first quarter to take control.
The Panthers, who hit five treys in the opening frame, took a 22-10 lead into the second quarter.
By the break, Ray-Pec held a 28-20 advantage.
Joplin kept coming, limiting the Panthers to five points in the third period.
The Eagles made things interesting late in the game.
After a hoop from Collis Jones and a corner 3-pointer from Brecken Green, the Eagles only trailed by three with 50 seconds left.
But Ray-Pec’s Ashton Jermain made four key free throws late in the game to seal the win for the Panthers.
Jermain scored 19 points to lead the Panthers and Brendan Perry added 16.
Fred Taylor led Joplin with 12 points, while Hobbs Gooch and Jones added six points apiece. Tristan Gage scored five for JHS and Carter Harbin had four.
“For three quarters, we were really good defensively,” Joplin coach Nick Pfeifer said. “After a poor first quarter, we had to fight our way back and play from behind the rest of the way. I was proud of the way that we competed, got ourselves back into it, and even had some chances to take the lead late. However, we know that playing incomplete games and only scoring 41 points makes it very difficult. We must be able to take the lessons learned from the tournament and continue to improve.”
NEVADA 52, LEAVENWORTH 43 (OT)
The Nevada Tigers ended the invite on a high note by beating Leavenworth in overtime in the fifth-place game.
The game was deadlocked at 41 at the end of regulation before Nevada outscored Leavenworth 11-2 in the extra session.
“I’m really proud of the grit our guys showed in the second half of this game,” Nevada coach Shaun Gray said. “Shots were not falling and the ball was not bouncing our way, but we stayed the course and continued to grind. Several players stepped up big for us. Our defense was the difference tonight.”
Nevada led 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, but the game was tied at 26 at halftime after a back and forth second period.
The Pioneers held a 36-31 advantage at the end of the third quarter, but a 3-pointer from Nevada’s Riddick Shook tied the game at 41 late in the contest.
A last-second trey by Nevada was off the mark and the game went into overtime.
Brice Budd and Kellen Braden both hit 3-pointers early in the extra session to give Nevada the lead for good.
Budd scored 14 points to lead Nevada (3-3), while Jack Cheaney added 11 points. Gabe Smith scored nine points, while Braden and Shook each scored eight.
“This win is something we can build on, and we are very pleased with our improvements this week,” Gray said. “Anytime you can go 2-1 in Carthage it’s something we’ll take. We’re looking forward to a good tournament next week at Butler.”
In the tourney’s seventh-place game, Fort Smith Southside defeated the Carthage junior varsity 73-49.
The Carthage Tigers pose with the championship plaque after winning the 77th Carthage Invitational on Saturday. Justin Ray (0) was the MVP. Photo by Tyler Wade.
