Joplin closed out the home portion of its regular season on high note, using an early second-half spurt to take a lead the Eagles wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 63-48 win over Ozark inside Kaminsky Gymnasium to cap off Senior Night.
After a first half littered with lead changes, the second half saw just two and it was Joplin (16-9, 7-2 COC) out in front of the Tigers (11-14, 4-4 COC) the final time the lead changed hands on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference and district action.
“That team is probably one of the hottest in our district and conference,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said after the win. “I think they have won seven of eight and beat Republic by 13. I don’t know if they’re going to be a seventh or eighth seed, but I don’t know if I want to run into them. They have two really good big guys and (Hudson Roberts) can flat score. We did a good job of making him earn it. I don’t know that we shot it very well, but we were opportunistic when we needed a bucket. I don’t know what we did at the free-throw line but it was a good way to expand the lead midway through the fourth.”
SENIOR NIGHT
Joplin basketball honored a pair of Eagles with Senior Night Ceremonies—Terrance Gibson and Grayden Cravens.
“I was very proud of Terrance’s last home game here,” Schaake said. “It’s the best way to go out. I have been here two years and Terrance has just been a really good kid. Throughout the school day, he is going to come and talk to you and goof around. But when he is locked in, he is one of the best ones I’ve seen. He has a load of potential and I hope he takes that to Independence (Community College).
“I am very proud of Grayden. This was his first year playing since eighth grade. He is my (teacher’s aid) and he is just an awesome kid. To go through the entire season and not get much run but you still show up and practice hard every day, there are not a lot of kids or people in general who would put that amount of time in if they didn’t see the reward. I am very proud of him.”
GAME ACTION
After a first half that saw a combined five ties and seven total lead changes, Ozark briefly regained the lead with the first bucket out of the break before Joplin scored the next seven points, with Gibson accounting for five of those points—including a pair of dunks—to give the Eagles a 30-24 lead.
“I think I have one of the best coaching staffs around,” Schaake said about the difference in play between the first and second halves of the win. “We do a really good job of making adjustments and the kids pick it up pretty quick, too, which is important. You can draw all day, but if they’re not getting it, it doesn’t matter.”
“It was weird,” Schaake added. “There were times where we didn’t rebound well. Then, we would put two or three stops together, get some tough rebounds and then push out and get something at the rim. That’s what we need to do when we are not shooting well.”
The early spurt gave Joplin a lead they wouldn’t relinquish throughout the period. The Tigers cut the lead to one possession four times before ultimately going into the fourth quarter down 37-33.
The Eagles built a six-point lead with 6:36 on the clock in the fourth quarter on an old-fashioned three-point play from All Wright after he drew contact on a drive and converted the charity to make the score 41-35.
Cooper Williams knocked down a baseline floating runner at the 4:20 mark to push the lead to seven and Gibson came up with an exclamation point after driving baseline for a two-handed dunk to give Joplin a 48-59 lead with 2:42 left in regulation. Collis Jones also added back-to-back buckets late, including a three-point play.
“Throughout the year, the kids have stepped up,” Schaake said. “At the beginning of the year, guys were just trying to figure out the varsity speed of the game, especially Cooper and Collis. … Guys have gradually stepped up. Everyone knows All is our guys, but he has done a better job of getting his teammates going. That builds confidence, and that is what you need at the end.”
Joplin went 13 of 15 from the free-throw line in the final four minutes of the game and 17-of-22 shooting from the stripe for the entire fourth quarter, which helped push the lead to double digits for the first time with 1:30 to play, 53-43, after a pair of charities by Wright, who had eight total in the quarter, that ultimately sealed the win.
“I think we lost four games by a total of 11 or so points in the first half of the season because we didn’t make free throws or get key rebounds,” Schaake said. “We’re starting to put it all together, and hopefully we can carry it into district play.”
SCORING LEADERS
Wright finished with a team-high 17 points, while Gibson was right behind with 10 in the win. Whit Hafer added 10 points to give Joplin three players in double figures. Hobbs Gooch and Jones each added six points in the win.
Jace Whatley finished with 13 points to lead Ozark, while Roberts had 12 and Garrett Ballard finished with 10 in the loss.
UP NEXT
Joplin closes the regular season with a matchup at Springfield Central on Friday before taking part in the Class 6 District 5 tournament on March 1 at Willard High School.
