Joplin trailed after the first and second quarters before a hustle play by a senior to close the third period gave the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish down the stretch of the fourth quarter in a 74-63 win over the Tigers in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday.
“Willard is playing really well right now,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “It was a battle of matchups. We are a bigger team and they are a small, quick team. It’s hard for our guys to get there and contest. They were making a lot of 3s, but I thought we adjusted enough and got enough stops. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting to the paint to open up the outside.”
After trailing the first two quarters of the game, Joplin went into the fourth quarter with the lead after senior Terrance Gibson scored inside and drew contact with four seconds left in the third period to make the score 46-45 in favor of Willard. Gibson missed the and-1 charity but grabbed his own rebound and took the ball to the rack for a bucket at the horn, sending the Eagles into the final eight minutes on top 47-46.
“He is a high-energy kid,” Schaake said of Gibson’s play at the end of the third quarter to spark Joplin. “When he is active like that on the boards and attacking, we are a different team. Energy plays like that can swing the momentum … and basketball is all about momentum swings. Kids want to look up and see the results if they’re working hard.”
Trailing late in the third quarter turned out to be the last time Joplin was behind in the contest, as the Eagles extended the early in the fourth before holding off the Tigers down the stretch.
Freshman Fred Taylor knocked down a second-chance baseline floater to open the fourth quarter before Gibson scored and drew contact after rolling to the hoop off the assist from junior All Wright, with Gibson knocking down the and-1 attempt to push the lead to 52-46 with 6:16 to play.
After a bucket from Willard’s Braden Bagley, Taylor buried a 3-ball at the 5:15 mark to give Joplin a 55-48 advantage.
Willard cut the lead to 55-51 with 3:40 left in regulation before Wright knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to double digits, 61-51, with less than three minutes to play.
Junior Quin Renfro knocked down a 3-pointer of his own shortly after to push the Joplin lead to 13 points with two minutes to play.
“All is a closer and one of the best players in the state,” Schaake said. “You can always rely on him to make big shots late. I thought Quin and (Whit) Hafer were big at the end for us, too. You need guys like that to finish off wins.”
Joplin finished 9-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles hold onto the lead and preserve the conference win.
Wright finished with a team-high 19 points to lead Joplin, while Renfro dropped 18 points on his birthday to finish second in scoring. Gibson finished with 12 points and Taylor added 10 to give Joplin four players in double figures.
Drew Quinlan led Willard with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Cooper Wilken made five 3s on the way to 16 points, while Russell Roweton finished with 12.
Joplin hosts Webb City on Tuesday.
