WEBB CITY, Mo. — Everyone got into the act as the Webb City Cardinals cruised to a 93-69 victory over the Parsons Vikings on Saturday night in the finale of the 4-States Challenge inside the Cardinal Dome.
Fourteen different players scored for the Cardinals, who improved to 5-1 on the season with a lopsided non-conference win.
Webb City took control of this one early. The Cardinals raced out to a 41-19 halftime lead and extended their lead to 30 early in the second half. With that, Webb City coach Jason Horn got all of his reserves plenty of playing time in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we did a good job of coming out aggressive early,” Horn said. “I thought we did a good job sharing the ball, and defensively, we were able to get them sped up a little bit. We got some runouts and overwhelmed their guards a bit. Anytime you can get off to a good start and get in a good flow, shots are going to fall a little better.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Cardinals, as Kaden Turner and Barron Duda led the way with 15 points apiece. Dupree Jackson and Trey Roets added 10 points apiece, while Dante Washington and Holton Keith each added eight.
Horn noted it was nice to get everyone on the roster plenty of minutes.
“We’re still trying to figure out our rotations,” Horn said. “We’ve got a good idea of who our top seven are. We’re looking to see who’s going to slide into that eighth spot. We tried to get a lot of guys in tonight to see what they can do. We’re still early in the season and we haven’t practiced a ton together as a group, so this was a good opportunity to see some different guys in different spots on the floor for us.”
The Cardinals made 37 of 68 field-goal attempts (54 percent). Webb City forced Parsons into 28 turnovers, many of which led directly to layups.
The Vikings (0-7), who shot 42 percent (25 of 59), were led by Jesse Jones’ 17 points.
Webb City was able to pull away early in the game by converting turnovers into hoops in transition. The Cardinals used a 12-0 run to take a 17-4 lead into the second quarter.
Turner scored 10 of Webb City’s first 12 points of the second period to extend his team’s lead to 29-8.
Hoops from Cohl Vaden and Jackson pushed Webb City’s lead past 20 at 33-11. By the break, the Cardinals held a comfortable 41-19 advantage.
The hosts began the third quarter on an 11-3 run and Jackson’s steal and layup pushed the Webb City lead to 52-22.
The Cardinals were up 63-38 by the end of the third quarter and the team’s starting lineup took the final frame off.
“I thought we got a little lackadaisical on defense in the second half, but overall, I thought we played well,” Horn said. “Everybody scored. At times we were too unselfish. But these guys don’t worry about who leads us in scoring. They’re an unselfish group.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City is at Rogers Heritage on Tuesday night.
After Christmas, Webb City will take on Holland Hall at the 12 Courts of Christmas event at 4 p.m. on Dec. 29 at Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City.
“It’s going to be a real neat event,” Horn said.
4-STATES CHALLENGE
Saturday’s results
Galena (Kan.) 54, College Heights 45
East Newton 55, Mount Vernon 32.
Heritage (Ark.) 57, Nevada 51 OT
Carthage 51, Rogers (Ark.) 44
Joplin 59, Sunrise Christian (Kan.) 36
Webb City 93, Parsons (Kan.) 69
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
