CARTHAGE, Mo. — Longtime rivals Carthage and Webb City will meet in the semifinals of the 76th Carthage Invitational boys basketball tournament.
In Thursday’s opening round, Carthage started fast and held on late for a 45-37 win over Fort Smith-Southside from Arkansas, while Webb City got it done in crunch time to earn a 57-52 overtime victory over Leavenworth (Kan.) in the night’s finale.
The Tigers (2-0) and Cardinals (2-0) will meet at 8:30 on Friday night, with the winner earning a spot in Saturday’s title game.
CARTHAGE 45, SOUTHSIDE 37
Clinging to a two-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, the Tigers finished strong.
The hosts scored the game’s final six points and came up with a number of key defensive stops to secure a hard-fought win.
“We are far from a finished product,” Tigers coach Nathan Morris said. “Our guys know that. We’ve got some guys still working to get into basketball shape. We’ve got some guys banged up and we had a starter that’s been sick. We’re working through those things. I knew the team that played sound basketball for more of the game was going to win. We kept our cool and kept our heads late in the game. It would be nice to win that game by 15, but I’m OK with us having to grind some wins out right now.”
Carthage got off to a blistering start. The Tigers hit six treys in the first quarter against Southside’s zone defense en route to taking a 20-12 lead.
Justin Ray hit three 3-pointers in the opening frame, while Max Templeman hit two and Clay Kinder knocked down one of his own against the Mavericks, who struggled with early turnovers.
“It was great to get that from Justin,” Morris said. “We also asked him to defend their best player for 32 minutes. But we’re ready for Justin to take the next step and be that guy with Max.”
After scoring 20 points in the first quarter, Carthage tallied just six in the second period.
Southside pulled within four, but back to back hoops from Ray gave the Tigers a 26-18 halftime advantage.
The Mavericks stayed within striking distance throughout the third quarter, as a pair of hoops from Gibran Sullivan trimmed Carthage’s lead to four.
Kinder buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Tigers a 35-28 cushion at the end of the third period.
Southside pulled within two in the fourth period, but Carthage never surrendered its lead down the stretch.
After a Southside turnover, Kinder and Templeman hit two free throws apiece to make it 41-37 with 35 seconds left.
Sophomore guard Trent Yates hit two foul shots with 17 seconds remaining for the final margin.
The Pioneers didn’t score in the final 2:20.
“We have a tough, gritty group,” Morris said. “These guys have bought into doing the dirty work. Britt Coy is an undersized post player, but he fights for every rebound. Clay knows how to use his body, and I’ll take our three guards.”
A senior guard, Templeman led Carthage with 18 points. A junior guard, Ray added 13 points and Kinder, a senior forward, added 10.
Yazed Faforo scored 12 points for Southside.
WEBB CITY 57, LEAVENWORTH 52 (OT)
The game was deadlocked at 52 when Webb City sophomore guard Eli Pace hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 30 seconds remaining.
The clutch shot ended up the game-winner.
“That was a huge 3,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “It came off a set play. We didn’t force the first one and then we got a good ball reversal. Eli stepped up and made a big play.”
Following Pace’s trey, the Pioneers had an empty possession and were forced to foul. Webb City’s Barron Duda converted both attempts at the foul line for the final margin.
Webb City appeared in control in the second half, as the Cardinals held a 17-point advantage at 46-29.
But Leavenworth sped up the game and put together a 21-4 spurt to tie the game at 50, forcing overtime in the process.
“We got sloppy in the second half,” Horn said. “We got careless with the ball. We were trying to split traps with the dribble instead of passing through those traps. We got out of control and they were able to capitalize on our mistakes.”
A fast-paced and back and forth first quarter ended with Webb City up 14-12.
The Cardinals started the second quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 27-14 advantage. Five different players—Cole Cavitt, Pace, Alex Martin, Duda and Holton Keith—scored during the surge.
On the other end, the Pioneers struggled against Webb City’s active zone defense. A late trey from Joe Adams gave Webb City a 30-19 halftime lead.
“We were moving the ball well and we were playing inside-out,” Horn said of the first half. “We were doing a good job of driving and kicking it out. We got the ball inside to Martin. Good things happen when the ball goes inside to him. We got away from what was working in the second half. At times, we were good defensively. But at other times we had some breakdowns and lost focus.”
The Cardinals put together a 10-0 run in the third quarter and led 46-29.
But the Pioneers turned things around, forced the Cardinals into numerous turnovers and eventually tied the game with 2:15 to play.
Both teams had their chances late in regulation, but both squads had empty possessions.
Webb City’s Martin and Leavenworth’s Eddie McLaughlin traded hoops early in the extra possession for a 52-all score.
The Pioneers turned the ball over before Pace knocked down the huge trey.
In the end, the Cardinals won the overtime period 7-2 to survive and advance.
Three players scored 13 points apiece for the Cardinals—Duda, Keith and Martin. The 6-5 Martin also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Jeremiah Lewis scored a game-high 21 points for Leavenworth and McLaughlin added 12.
RAYMORE-PECULIAR 54, NEVADA 33
The Panthers led 21-3 and never relinquished their lead.
The Tigers nearly matched the Panthers point for point in both the second and third quarters, but Ray-Pec finished strong with a 16-8 fourth quarter.
Ashton Jermain scored 16 points for Raymore-Peculiar.
Jack Cheaney led Nevada with 10 points. Two others, Cade Beshore and Brice Budd, added eight points apiece for the Tigers.
WEBB CITY VS. LEAVENWORTH FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
