Day: December 15, 2023

LEE’S SUMMIT BOYS 46, JOPLIN 40

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Joplin fell into a double-digit hole by halftime and was unable to overcome it in a loss to Lee’s Summit on Thursday.

The Eagles (1-5) led by one after the first eight minutes before the Tigers (4-2) outscored joplin 17-4 in the second period to go into the locker room on top 23-11.

Joplin cut the deficit to 31-27 by the start of the fourth, but Lee’s Summit staved off the Eagles’ comeback bid down the stretch to preserve the win.

“Another instance in which we did enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win the game,” first-yearJoplin coach Nick Pfeifer said. “A slow start and some costly turnovers down the stretch really hurt us. I am encouraged by the effort and the way we competed as a team, but we are still looking for guys to produce consistently on the offensive end.”

Whit Hafer led Joplin with 15 points, including four 3-pointers, while Collis Jones and Brecken Green each scored six in the loss. Trenton Gage and Cooper Williams each scored four.

Gatlin Brody had 14 and Jaylen Lockhart finished with 10 to lead Lee’s Summit in scoring.

Joplin hosts Kickapoo on Dec. 22.

 

LEE’S SUMMIT GIRLS 51, JOPLIN 26

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Lee’s Summit outscored Joplin 31-9 in the first half to build an insurmountable lead on the way to a win on Thursday.

The Eagles (1-6) won the third quarter 11-10 and lost the fourth quarter 10-6.

Adriana Benassi led the way for Lee’s Summit (7-1) with 18 points, while Avery Rausch and Ryann Arnold each scored nine in the win.

Alissa Owens and Ashley Phillips each scored seven points to lead Joplin, with Brylee Strickland closing the game with six in the loss.

Joplin takes part in the Waynesville Route 66 Shootout over the weekend.

 

NEVADA BOYS DROP A PAIR AT BUTLER TOURNEY

BUTLER, Mo. — After suffering losses on Tuesday and Thursday at the Butler Tournament, the Nevada boys basketball team will meet University Academy for seventh place at the event at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

On Thursday night, Butler defeated Nevada 53-48.

Butler led 24-20 at halftime and the Bears were up 40-34 at the end of the third quarter. 

Nevada won the fourth quarter 14-13, but it wasn’t enough.

Jack Cheaney scored 22 points to lead the Tigers (3-5), while Brice Budd added 11 and Gabe Smith had six.

Carter Trumbore scored 24 points for Butler (6-2).

St. Michael the Archangel beat Nevada 61-41 on Tuesday. 

The Tigers trailed 41-33 at the end of the third quarter, but were outscored 20-8 in the final frame.

Cheaney scored 14 points for the Tigers, while Budd added nine and Uche Mba had eight.

NEVADA, Mo. — A pair of second half spurts led Carthage to a 46-39 win over Nevada in a non-conference girls basketball clash on Thursday night inside Wynn Gymnasium.

In a clash between Tigers, the visitors had a 14-0 run in the third quarter and a 9-0 surge in the fourth quarter.

“It was a great team effort tonight,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “It takes all five players on the court to guard their best player and we did an amazing job of that, despite her still scoring 29 points. I’m really proud of how our girls executed the game plan offensively and defensively tonight. If we continue to play defense this well and our shooting picks up a notch, we will be a fun team to watch!”

Nevada led 6-5 at the end of the low-scoring opening period.

Carthage tied the game at 14 after a bucket from Lexa Youngblood and two free throws from Lauren Choate.

Senior guard Clara Swearingen scored all 12 of Nevada’s second-quarter points and the hosts held an 18-16 halftime advantage.

A Pittsburg State signee, Swearingen scored 15 points in the first half.

Carthage put together a game-changing 14-0 run in the third quarter to take a 30-21 lead. 

Swearingen’s trey cut her team’s deficit to six entering the fourth quarter, 30-24.

Next, the visitors scored nine unanswered points in the fourth period for a 39-26 advantage with four minutes to play, and Carthage would not relinquish its lead down the stretch.

Choate led Carthage with 18 points, while Jaidyn Brunnert added 12 points, Youngblood had eight and Maggie Boyd contributed five. 

“Lauren Choate shot the ball well and continues to put the pressure on other teams with her ability to shoot the deep three and take defenders off the dribble,” Moore said. “Maggie Boyd played awesome on both ends of the court for us. It’s a lot to ask of a player to guard their best player and run our offense as the point guard. She did that for the entire game and that was the difference tonight. Jaidyn Brunnert also flashed an inside and outside threat for us tonight as she scored a career-high 12 points. She gave us great energy on both ends of the court as well.”

Nevada’s Swearingen poured in a game-high 29 points, hitting seven 3-pointers. Lakyn Applegate added eight points for Nevada.

Carthage improved to 3-4 and Nevada fell to 4-4.

Nevada hosts Girard, Kansas, on Friday.

Carthage hosts Raymore-Peculiar next Thursday.