WEBB CITY, Mo. — With the score deadlocked and with just over two minutes remaining in a win-or-go-home situation, Nevada senior guard Logan Applegate delivered a game-changing play.
Like a defensive back with his eyes on the quarterback, Applegate anticipated where the ball would be thrown and his gut instinct was correct.
Applegate’s late-game steal and breakaway dunk sparked second-seeded Nevada to a hard-fought 52-49 win over top-seeded Webb City in the championship game of the Class 5 District 12 tournament on Friday night inside a packed Cardinal Dome.
It’s Nevada’s first district championship since 1998.
“This means everything,” Applegate said. “I’m so happy. I love this team so much. We’ve had some really good teams, but we’ve been stuck in a tough district. It feels good to finally win one.”
Nevada had come close to capturing a district crown before, but this year, the Tigers finally got over the hump.
“It makes it that much sweeter,” Nevada coach Shaun Gray said. “These guys have been a part of some really good teams. We weren’t able to break through before. So this is a program win. It’s been 23 years. Our entire community is excited about this. And the Nevada faithful showed up tonight. Both sides had this place absolutely rocking.”
The score was tied at 44 when Applegate jumped in the passing lane, stole the ball and streaked down the court en route to a two-handed dunk.
The momentum-swinging play ignited the Tigers, and the visitors would never relinquish their lead.
“I saw him looking and he threw it without even looking and I just read it,” said Applegate, who finished with a game-high 29 points. “I’m up high on defense and I noticed they were starting to get lazy with some passes. I knew it was coming.”
“Logan Applegate, you can’t say enough about the type of player he is,” Gray said. “For him to come up with that steal when the game was tied…that was the absolute tipping point of the game.”
With the win, Nevada (21-5) will host Logan-Rogersville (20-5) in the sectional round of the state tournament at 6 on Tuesday night. The Big 8 Conference foes did not meet during the regular season.
Webb City (18-9) was looking to capture its third straight district championship and fifth in six years. It wasn’t meant to be.
“Logan Applegate played well, their team played well and executed well,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “The big difference was they were able to get to the free throw line and make their free throws. We got to the line late and had our chances to take the lead, but we just didn’t follow through and make shots.”
Playing their final game for the Cardinals were seniors Mekhi Garrard, Trenton Hayes, Nickhai Howard and Luke Brumit.
“I’ve been here five years and I’ve seen them grow,” Horn said. “I’m proud of the work they’ve put in. Some of those guys are classic examples of guys sticking it out and working hard for your turn. Hayes and Brumit really brought it. Nickhai proved he was one of the better players in the area. Garrard is just a tremendous athlete and a great defender. They were a good class. They’ve been in this game for four years, so that says a lot about them.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Hayes led Webb City with 18 points. He made seven field goals, including four 3-pointers.
“He’s a great shooter, a hard-worker and an intelligent kid,” Horn said of Hayes. “We’ve coached him hard all year, and he rose up and played big in a big game. He kept us in the game.”
Junior guard Cohl Vaden added nine points, while Garrard, Brumit and junior Kaden Turner chipped in six points apiece. Howard rounded out Webb City’s scoring with four points.
Howard had 10 rebounds, while Turner had eight boards.
Webb City made 19-of-55 field goal attempts (35 percent). The Cardinals went 5-of-10 at the charity stripe.
Leading the Tigers with 29, Applegate made 7-of-14 field goal attempts, including two treys, and went 13-for-16 at the foul line.
Senior forward Ben Hines added 14 points for Nevada, while Logan McNeley had eight rebounds and three steals.
The Tigers shot 44 percent from the field (14-of-32) and connected on 21-of-33 free throw attempts.
Webb City committed 24 fouls to Nevada’s 15. Applegate and Hines finished the game with four fouls, while Webb City’s Garrard, Turner and Vaden all fouled out.
“We had to do a better job of keeping our hands off,” Horn said of the fouls. “We were fouling. If you give them free points, they’re going to make you pay.”
GAME RECAP
The Cardinals and Tigers split two regular season meetings, and the rubber match was a thriller.
Webb City led 11-5 after a pair of 3-pointers from Hayes, but Nevada’s Case Sanderson hit a trey of his own. Turner’s hoop gave Webb City a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“Webb City came out early and played like you expect a team on their home floor to play,” Gray said. “We were ice cold from the perimeter, but our guys showed grit and stayed together. That’s what it takes to win a district championship.”
The hosts took a seven-point lead early in the second quarter after baskets from Brumit and Hayes, but Nevada put together a game-changing 17-2 run.
Applegate scored 13 of the 17 points during the surge, with Hines putting in the other four.
With his team down eight, Hayes scored on a drive down the lane just before the end of first half, trimming his team’s halftime deficit to 27-21.
Webb City had three key performers pick up two fouls apiece in the first half.
A back-and-forth third period ended with Nevada clinging to a 39-36 lead.
The Cardinals missed four free throws early in the final frame, but Howard hit one at the line to tie the game at 44.
The hosts had several chances to take the lead, but shots simply wouldn’t fall.
Applegate’s key steal and dunk came with 2:19 remaining.
Webb City missed a trey on the other end and then fouled. Hines made 1-of-2 for a 47-44 cushion.
Once again, the Cardinals misfired from the field and then fouled.
Sanderson’s foul shot pushed the Tigers’ lead to four with a minute left to play.
After both teams had empty possessions, Brumit scored in the paint to cut Webb City’s deficit to two with 26.5 seconds remaining.
Applegate drew a foul and sank both free throws before Garrard drilled a 3-pointer with eight seconds left that cut Nevada’s lead to 50-49.
After a timeout, the Cardinals were unable to force a turnover and had to foul. Applegate came up big again, making both attempts for a three-point advantage with 7.5 seconds showing on the clock.
Howard’s last-second 3-pointer was off the mark.
In the second half, the Tigers didn’t allow the Cardinals to speed up the game.
To Gray, that was the goal.
“Webb City doesn’t lose very often when the score is in the mid-60s or 70s,” Gray said. “We have a lot of success when we hold our opponent in the 40s. It’s no secret that’s what we wanted to do.”
“These guys showed a lot of heart when the going got tough and waters were choppy,” Gray said. “We didn’t falter. We stayed together. There were times when Webb City was beating us up on the glass where it would have been easy to tuck our tails and run. We just kept coming.”
Once the final buzzer sounded, the celebration began for the Tigers.
“It’s Webb City at Webb City,” Applegate said. “We knew it was going to be packed. We were ready for it. It was the most fun game all year. It was so loud. We fed off that.”
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
