CARTHAGE, Mo. — Nathan Morris noticed something about his Carthage Tigers in the moments leading up to Friday’s showdown with rival Webb City.
“I could tell before the game the boys were locked in and ready to go,” Morris said.
That pregame assessment turned out to be correct.
With a strong overall performance, and ignited by a strong start, Carthage rolled to a 70-48 win over Webb City in the semifinals of the 76th Carthage Invitational boys basketball tournament.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Morris said. “If they play that hard night in and night out, I like our chances against anybody. The level they played at for 32 minutes was phenomenal. I know these kids really well and they felt like this one was theirs to go get. I’m really happy for the kids in that locker room.”
Carthage (3-0) will meet Joplin (3-1) in the invite’s championship game at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Morris noted it’s special for his squad to be playing in their own tournament’s title game.
“There are two pictures in that locker room from back to back championships from 2010 and 2011,” Morris said. “We haven’t had a chance to play for a championship in our tournament for a long time, so it’s special for the team and special for our town.”
In 2011, Carthage edged Joplin 57-56 in the tourney title game.
As far as Friday’s finale, Carthage built a 36-18 halftime advantage with solid overall play on both ends of the court and never let up in the second half.
“These teams know each other so well and our kids took the scouting report to heart,” Morris said. “I was happy with our offense in the first half, but it was more about the defensive end. We contested every shot and they did not make a 3-pointer in the first half.
“There was an amazing atmosphere tonight,” Morris added. “It got a little crazy at times, but that’s going to happen when it’s Carthage vs. Webb City. It’s probably going to happen when it’s Carthage and Joplin.”
Four players scored in double figures for Carthage.
Senior guard Max Templeman led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds. Templeman made 6-of-15 field goal attempts and was a perfect 11-for-11 at the charity stripe.
Senior guard Britt Coy recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Justin Ray scored 11 and sophomore guard Trent Yates added 10. Senior forward Clay Kinder chipped in eight points.
The Tigers made 22-of-57 shot attempts and 20-of-25 free throws. Carthage out-rebounded Webb City 37-25.
Webb City was led by junior guard Barron Duda’s 12 points. Senior forward Alex Martin and senior guard Joe Adams contributed nine points apiece, with the 6-5 Martin also grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals made just 17-of-44 field goal attempts, including 3-of-18 from long range (17 percent).
After making four 3-pointers in the opening frame, Carthage took an 18-10 lead into the second quarter.
The Tigers extended their lead with hot shooting in the second period. Coy caught fire in the frame, hitting a 3-pointer, a mid-range jumper and then a runner in the lane to make it 30-16.
Overall, Carthage outscored Webb City 18-8 in the game-changing second quarter to take a commanding 36-18 halftime advantage.
In the first half, Carthage made 11-of-30 field goal attempts, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. On the other, Webb City made just 6-of-20 shots, including 0-for-8 from 3-point land. The Cardinals did not make a field goal in the final six minutes of the first half.
The Tigers extended their lead past 20 in the third quarter and led 57-35 entering the fourth quarter.
The final outcome was never in doubt in the fourth quarter.
Webb City (2-1) will take on Raymore-Peculiar (1-2) in the third-place game at 3 p.m.
RUSH 61, NEVADA 46
Nevada trailed 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and the Tigers were down 28-13 at halftime.
Junior guard Garrett Rudy scored 20 points in the first half for RUSH, a program featuring homeschool athletes from the Springfield area.
RUSH led 42-28 by the end of the third quarter. The Tigers cut their deficit to nine in the fourth quarter, but RUSH never gave up its lead.
Rudy scored 28 points to lead RUSH.
Senior guard Cade Beshore scored 11 points to lead Nevada, while senior forward Drew Beachler added 10.
Nevada (0-5) will take on Southside in the seventh-place game at noon on Saturday.
RUSH meets Leavenworth for fifth place at 1:30 on Saturday.
Leavenworth defeated Southside 59-46 on Friday.
RELATED STORY: BOYS HOOPS: Joplin advances to Carthage Invitational championship with win over Ray-Pec – SoMo Sports (somo-sports.com)
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
