KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carthage suffered a 47-45 setback to Van Buren (Arkansas) on Wednesday at the 12 Courts of Christmas boys basketball tournament at Hy-Vee Arena.
The Tigers fell to 3-4 on the season.
The game was tied at 18 at the end of the first quarter.
Carthage took a 28-26 lead into halftime, and the Tigers held a 37-34 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
The Tigers were clinging to a 39-36 lead with just under six minutes to play, but Van Buren finished the game on an 11-6 run.
The Pointers scored the go-ahead hoop with 1.8 seconds left.
Clay Kinder and Max Templeman scored 10 points apiece to lead the Tigers, while Justin Ray added nine points. Britt Coy and Trent Yates contributed eight points apiece.
Conner Myers scored 15 points to lead the Pointers, while Jaxon Cazzell added 14.
The Tigers were originally scheduled to play Fort Osage at the event on Thursday, but that contest was canceled due to the weather forecast.
Carthage will compete at the US Bank Holiday Tournament in Rolla from Dec. 27-29.
Notes: In other games on Wednesday at the tourney, Golden City’s boys suffered a 47-42 loss to Albany and Golden City’s girls beat Albany 50-19.
