WEBB CITY, Mo. — After seeing a double-digit lead slip away in the fourth quarter the night prior, Joplin boys basketball made it a point to finish off the win against Rogers (Arkansas) in the 4-States Challenge hosted by Webb City High School inside the Cardinal Dome on Saturday.
The Eagles entered the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead and pushed the advantage to 20 points down the stretch en route to the 68-48 win.
“Last night, at times, we just didn’t have focus on the game and the (situation),” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “We didn’t look at the clock last night, we just kept trying to throw stuff up. I thought tonight we learned, and it was a good bounce-back win.”
With the win, Joplin improved to 5-2. The Eagles travel to Springfield to take on Parkview on Tuesday.
GAME ACTION
After going into the second quarter tied up at 12s, Joplin took the first momentum of the game 90 seconds into the quarter with a 9-0 run, holding the Mounties scoreless for more than four minutes of game action.
“After last night, I didn’t know what our legs would be like,” Schaake said of the defensive effort in the second period. “I am proud of our kids for fighting through fatigue and soreness. We have the potential to be a really good team on both ends of the floor with size and guard play. So, we tell our guys to stay in front and trust that help is going to be behind you. If you do that good things will happen.”
Junior F Whit Hafer started things with two free throws before junior G All Wright knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Eagles a 19-16 lead with 5:50 on the clock. After another Hafer charity make, Wright stole the ball near the top of the key and dribbled coast to coast for a dunk. Senior F Terrance Gibson added three free throws and junior F Hobbs Gooch scored in transition to close the run with the Eagles leading 25-16 with 2:45 to play. Ultimately, Joplin went into the locker room on top, 27-23.
Joplin scored the first three baskets out of the intermission to push the lead to double digits for the first time. Wright had the first two baskets, the second a dunk, with Hafer adding a bucket inside to make the score 33-23 with 6:30 left to play in the period.
“We needed it,” Schaake said about getting the early double-digit cushion in the second half. “It seems like every game has been a four or six-point ball game. It was good to put a team away. It’s good for the growth of our team. We are a young team, but this is what we need to be going through as far as getting us ready for February.”
Wright knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing near the midway mark to push the lead to 13, 42-29, with Joplin taking that same cushion into the final eight minutes of action.
“The ball was moving better and we were getting driving lanes out of it,” Schaake said of the Eagles’ third quarter. “I thought our big kids were sealing well and going up strong in the paint. That’s what we need. It opens up our guards.”
The Eagles scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 3-ball from Wright, to push the lead to 18 points. Wright slammed it home in transition with 4:40 left in regulation and Gooch added a layup on the break for the game’s first 20-point cushion with 2:43 left.
SCORING LEADERS
Wright, who surpassed 1,000 career points last week against Rush in the opening round of the Carthage Invitational, led all scorers with 36 points, hitting at least one 3-pointer in every quarter (two in the first) to finish with five total on the night. Gibson finished with 13 points, including seven makes at the charity stripe. Hafer closed with seven points.
Alonzo Porchia led the Mounties with 12 points, while Soren Hoyard and Aidan Chronister each finished with nine.
