In a game featuring a number of standout guards, Joplin’s forward tandem of Terrance Gibson and Whit Hafer stole the show.
Joplin’s frontcourt duo combined for 50 points as the Eagles rolled to a convincing 81-64 victory over the rival Webb City Cardinals on Tuesday night in a Central Ozark Conference clash inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
“This win is huge for us,” Eagles coach Bronson Schaake said. “When I got here I understood pretty quickly the rivalry between Joplin and Webb. I knew it would be a dogfight tonight.”
The game was deadlocked at 19 at the end of the first quarter before the Eagles outscored the Cardinals 22-9 in the game-changing second period to take the lead for good.
“We made some defensive adjustments in the second quarter,” Schaake said. “Our guys did a great job. We were able to get out and get some easy buckets and we were able to pull away.”
Joplin’s starting forwards definitely played a crucial role in Tuesday’s win.
A 6-foot-5 senior, Gibson poured in a game-high 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go along with six boards and three steals.
A 6-7 junior, Hafer added 23 points by making 8-of-15 field goal attempts, including five made 3-pointers. Hafer also had a team-high seven rebounds.
“When those two are playing like that, it’s definitely hard to stop them,” Schaake said. “They both have size. And people probably don’t realize Whit can shoot like that. He’s getting more and more confident. And those outside shots opened things up inside for Terrance.”
Joplin scored at least 17 points in every quarter.
“We weren’t very good defensively the whole game,” Cardinals coach Jason Horn said. “We allowed too many straight-line drives and we didn’t do a good job of rebounding the basketball. They pretty much man-handled us.”
Schaake noted that Tuesday’s performance is evidence his Eagles have made big strides since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
“This is a good conference win and I think we’re going in the right direction,” Schaake said. “We’ve been playing a lot better basketball the last two or three weeks. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Three players scored in double figures for the Eagles, who improved to 14-8 overall and 5-2 in the COC.
In addition to Gibson and Hafer, standout junior guard All Wright contributed 13 points and five assists. Clearly the focus of Webb City’s defense, Wright made 6-of-8 shots from the floor. Junior guard Quin Renfro added eight points for Joplin.
The Eagles shot 54 percent (33-of-61) and out-rebounded the Cardinals 28-17. Joplin also won the turnover battle, as Webb City had 18 turnovers to the hosts’ 12.
With a fourth straight setback, Webb City slipped to 15-8 and 2-5 in the always-tough COC.
The Cardinals made 59 percent of their field goal attempts (26-of-44), but they went just 4-for-12 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Holton Keith led Webb City with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Senior forward Alex Martin scored 15 points and junior guard Barron Duda added 10 to give the Cardinals three players in double figures.
Sophomore guard Eli Pace contributed nine points, three steals and three assists.
GAME RECAP
Webb City raced out to a 12-5 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Duda and Keith before Joplin responded with seven straight points to tie it up.
Hafer buried a trio of 3-pointers in the opening frame and the game was tied after the first eight minutes.
The Eagles started the second quarter on an 11-2 burst. Hoops from Renfro and Hafer and a pair of buckets inside by Gibson finished off the spurt and the hosts were up 30-21.
“When they’re focusing on All like that, other guys have to step up and lift up their teammates,” Schaake noted. “They were able to do that.”
Joplin took its first double digit advantage at 36-26 after a hoop from Wright.
Webb City was plagued by empty possessions throughout the second quarter and the visitors had 12 turnovers in the first half.
“We missed some assignments defensively,” Horn said. “We were trying to do something to slow All (Wright) down, but we got a little confused in our rotations and they got some open looks. Offensively, we had too many unforced turnovers in the first half. We were being loose with the basketball and a good team will beat you if you do that.”
In the third period, Hafer’s fifth trifecta gave the hosts their biggest lead at 54-36 with 3:40 to go.
Webb City responded with a 9-0 run before the Eagles got a trey from sophomore Collis Jones and a hoop in transition from Hobbs Gooch for a 59-45 lead heading into the final frame.
Overall, Joplin out-pointed Webb City 18-17 in the third quarter and 22-19 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
The main highlight of the fourth quarter for the Eagles was a pair of dunks by Gibson.
Webb City trimmed its deficit to 10 with just over two minutes to play before the Eagles reeled off the final seven points of the night for the final margin.
“I think we got a little fatigued late in the game and Webb City has some good guards,” Schaake said. “But we were able to withstand that run and stretch it back out at the end.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City is at undefeated Class 6 No. 2 Nixa on Friday night.
Joplin is at Kickapoo on Wednesday night and at Branson on Friday.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
