NEOSHO BOYS 48, PEA RIDGE 28
PEA RIDGE, Ark. — Neosho took a 10-point lead into the intermission and dominated host Pea Ridge 15-2 in the third quarter to cruise to victory in the Battle At The Ridge basketball tournament semifinals on Friday.
The Wildcats (3-0) outscored Pea Ridge 10-5 in the opening quarter and 12-7 in the second to take a 22-12 lead into the break. A 15-2 third quarter by Neosho put the game out of reach with the lead ballooning to 23 to start the fourth.
“We played great defense tonight,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “Holding a team to two points in a quarter like we did in the third is hard to do and we did it tonight. … We are excited for the opportunity to play in the championship game tomorrow.”
Neosho takes on Arkadelphia in the title game at 3:30 p.m.
K’dyn Waters led Neosho with 15 points, nine coming in the first half. Jared Siler added nine points, while Isaiah Green finished with eight. Brock Franklin scored six.
“We’re really proud of Jared Siler,” Culp added. “He had a breakout game with nine points while playing great defense. He really stepped it up while others weren’t scoring.”
SARCOXIE BOYS 58, MCAULEY 47
A scoring drought in the second half was too much to overcome for McAuley’s boys.
The Bears outscored the Warriors 34-15 in the second half.
The momentum swung after the break, as Sarcoxie won the third period 16-2.
“I thought this was the closest game we have had to playing four quarters all year,” McAuley coach Tony Witt told SoMo Sports. “We simply could not buy a basket in the third quarter. We got some really good looks, but they didn’t go down. Give coach (Courtney) Roth and Sarcoxie credit, they took advantage of our mistakes and got better after each quarter.”
Three players scored in double figures for the Warriors (1-5), as Jeffery Horinek and Noah Black had 12 points apiece and Jacob Bracich added 10.
Terio Asterio scored 14 points for Sarcoxie (1-4), while Garrett Smith added 13 and Jaron Malotte chipped in 10.
McAuley travels to Exeter on Tuesday night, while Sarcoxie hosts Everton on Monday.
