WEBB CITY, Mo. — Taking the court for the second time in less than 24 hours didn’t seem to bother the Webb City Cardinals.
Led by its stellar guard play, Webb City rode a quick start to a convincing 84-54 victory over Pittsburg on Saturday afternoon in the 4-States Challenge inside the Cardinal Dome.
It was the team’s second win in as many days, as Webb City earned a victory at Bentonville West on Friday night.
“I thought we played with a lot of energy,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “Playing today after playing last night was a concern. We’re not in great game shape yet. I know we were sore this morning. We tried to get their bodies prepared as much as we could. With the way things are going in the world, you have to be ready to play on a moment’s notice. We told our guys today was a good opportunity for them to play a good opponent in a back-to-back situation almost like a tournament setting. They handled it well.”
The Cardinals hiked their record to 4-1.
Senior guard Nickhai Howard led the Cardinals with 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Howard scored 17 in the first half.
Junior guard Cohl Vaden contributed 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and senior guard Mekhi Garrard added 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
“Guard play has been our strength,” Horn said. “We generally have four guys on the floor who can handle the ball, sometimes five. All the guys are a threat to shoot the ball and they do a good job of sharing the ball. Anytime you have good guard play and have guys who are willing to make the extra pass, you’re going to have a lot of success.”
Also for the Cardinals, Max Higginbotham scored nine points, while Luke Brumit and Kaden Turner had eight points apiece. Trey Roets scored five and Trenton Hayes added four. Brumit pulled down eight rebounds.
The Cardinals hit 29-of-69 field goal attempts, including 8-of-22 from 3-point range.
Pittsburg senior guard Javon Grant poured in 33 points. Grant made 10-of-23 shots from the field and 9-of-13 free throws.
The Purple Dragons (0-3) made 17-of-46 field goal attempts (37 percent), including 4-of-16 from long distance.
Webb City out-rebounded Pittsburg 40-30. The Dragons had 27 turnovers to the Cardinals’ 15.
Webb City never trailed in the game.
Back-to-back midrange jumpers from Howard and a trey from Turner gave Webb City a 17-6 advantage with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Pittsburg’s Grant hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, cutting Webb City’s lead to 19-10 at the end of the first frame.
Higginbotham’s two corner treys pushed Webb City’s lead to 32-14 with 4:24 left in the first half.
Garrard’s layup and Howard’s putback extended the Cardinals’ advantage to 20 at 36-16. Howard’s long buzzer-beating trey made it 44-23 at the break. The Cardinals outscored the Dragons 25-13 in the second period.
Webb City put together a 10-0 surge late in the third period to take a comfy 64-35 lead.
During the spurt, Turner scored in the paint, Garrard drilled a corner 3-pointer, Higginbotham converted an old-fashioned 3-point play before Vaden scored in the lane.
The final outcome was never in doubt in the fourth quarter, as Webb City pushed its lead past 30, resulting in a running clock.
“They were looking forward to this game,” Horn said of his squad. “Anytime you get a chance to play a local school there’s just a little more incentive added to it.”
Webb City will host Crane at 7 on Tuesday.
