CARTHAGE, Mo. — Joplin entered the fourth quarter trailing by four, but once the Eagles regained the lead, they never relinquished it on the way to a 60-54 win over Carthage in the 76th annual Carthage Invitational championship game on Saturday.
“We didn’t have a very good start to the first quarter, but I think we held them to 10 points,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “Then we got into some foul trouble and they went after those guys. We stayed within one at the half, and I thought whoever had the lead after the third was going to win. We were down, but our dudes battled and we got stops.
“I thought the matchups were tough on both sides. They can shoot and we’re a big team, so I just told our guys to get to the paint and make free throws as well. It was a grind-it-out game, which we needed. … They’re a really good team. (Max) Templeman is a shifty, quick guard who is smart and can get into your body. He gets them going. (Justin) Ray is constantly moving, and he has expanded his game—he has the mid-range and he is getting to the bucket. (Clay) Kinder is always a matchup problem. If he knows he can take a big, he is really smart about it. They’re just a well-coached team and they move the ball extremely well.”
With the win, the Eagles, who improved to 4-1, are the first back-to-back Carthage Invitational champions since Heritage (Arkansas) in 2013 and ‘14.
“Confidence,” Schaake said when asked what this early-season tournament title win does for his team. “I think it shows them what they can do. Ray-Pec is a quality team and Carthage is going to be one of the better teams in our league. It shows that we have a whole new level we can get to as well. I think confidence is pushing us in the right direction.”
The defeat is the first of the year for Carthage, which falls to 3-1.
“I thought our kids played hard,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “When Max (Templeman) hit that shot to send us into the fourth quarter with a four-point lead, I thought we were in a good spot despite the fact that we didn’t rebound well enough throughout the entire game. They were more physical than us at the rim, and we aren’t going to win many basketball games when we shoot 3-of-15 or 16 from the 3-point line and these guys know that. We’re pretty good at attacking the rim, but we’re going to have to bury some outside shots.
“I hate this for our seniors, who had a chance to win this tournament. Our group was upset, but they weren’t down because they realize that we still have a high ceiling for our team this season. We are going to keep getting better.”
DOWN THE STRETCH
After a free throw from the Tigers early in the fourth, Joplin rallied to regain the lead, 42-41, with six straight points coming in the form of two buckets from junior G All Wright and dunk on the break by senior F Terrance Gibson off a turnover by Carthage.
The Tigers jumped back out in front on a drive by senior G Max Templeman the next trip down the court, but it would be the last time Carthage held the lead in the waning minutes.
Joplin used a basket from junior F Whit Hafer and a 3-pointer off a ball screen at the top of the key by Wright for a 47-43 advantage with 5:30 to play.
Joplin pushed the lead to five thanks to a three-point play on a putback score from Gibson with 4:15 to push the lead to make the score 49-45.
The Eagles and Tigers traded scores evenly through the remainder of the contest without Carthage able to trim the lead to one possession for a chance to tie the game.
HOW THEY GOT THERE
Carthage opened the game with the momentum after kicking things off with an 8-2 run through the first three and a half minutes of action, fueled by six points from senior F Clay Kinder on a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays.
Joplin responded by closing the first period on an 11-2 surge to take a 13-10 lead into the second quarter. Junior F Hobbs Gooch scored in the paint early in the run and closed it out with a driving score. Sophomore G Collis Jones grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback and Wright hit a pair of runners to fill out the run.
The lead changed hands five times in the final 2:15 of the second period. Joplin led 16-10 early in the period on a Jones’ 3-pointer before the Tigers rallied to tie it on a 3-pointer from Kinder at the wind with 3:15 to play. Carthage went in front on the next trip down the court on a free throw from Templeman. Wright and Templeman traded two makes at the stripe before trading driving scores to close out the first half with the Tigers on top 27-26.
“You can just point out how important every detail is,” Morris said when asked what he hopes his team takes from this loss moving forward. “A rebound here, missed free throw there, a missed assignment on defense or you didn’t execute a set on the offensive end—they matter in games that are that tight.”
Joplin took the lead back out of the break with the first two buckets of the second half on a mid-range jumper from Hafer and a transition layup by Gibson for a 30-27 advantage.
Carthage countered by scoring 11 of the last 15 points of the third quarter to take a 40-36 lead into the final eight minutes. Senior G Britt Coy started the run with an offensive rebound for a putback score before junior G Justin Ray buried a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Tigers a 34-32 lead with 2:50 to play. Kinder added a baseline drive before the half closed with Gibson getting a pair of scores in the paint for Joplin, with Ray and Templeman countering with inside hoops of their own to keep the Carthage lead at four entering the fourth quarter.
“We talked about it in the locker room after the game, but you have to care if you’re going to be good at anything,” Schaake said when asked about his team closing out games in the fourth quarter this season. “We’re young in areas and we have pieces who are getting better and better. I don’t think we are anywhere near where we are going to be defensively. We still have to get better with communication on certain things. … But (the way they are closing out games) shows me that they care enough to want to buckle down and fight, which is what you need from a young group.”
SCORING LEADERS
Wright led all scorers with 23 points, 12 coming in the first half. Gibson closed with 16 points, while Quin Refro had six and Jones five. Hafer and Gooch each added four.
Kinder and Templeman each finished with 17 points to lead the Tigers in scoring. Coy added 11 to give Carthage three players in double figures. Ray finished with seven and Trent Yates scored two.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP – All Wright, Joplin
Max Templeman, Carthage
Justin Ray, Carthage
Ashton Jermain, Raymore-Peculiar
Joseph Graves, Rush
Barron Duda, Webb City
Alex Martin, Webb City
Quin Renfro, Joplin
Jeremiah Lewis, Leavenworth
Elijah Watts, Raymore-Peculiar
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts Lee’s Summit on Friday.
Carthage is at Springfield Central on Tuesday.
