CARTHAGE, Mo. — Joplin junior guard Quin Renfro made the shot of a lifetime to deliver the Eagles a 50-48 overtime victory on Tuesday night in their Central Ozark Conference opener against their conference and district rival Carthage.
Carthage senior Clay Kinder gave Carthage a 48-47 lead with 3.3 seconds remaining in overtime with a free throw.
Renfro then received teammate Whit Hafer’s inbounds pass, took a pair of dribbles, and launched a running jump shot many feet before he would even reach halfcourt.
Renfro hit nothing but the bottom of the net and pandemonium ensued as Joplin players and fans mobbed Renfro and celebrated the definition of a hard-fought victory and one incredible basketball shot that has already gone down in history.
“It’s kind of one of those things where I wished both teams would win because we both played extremely hard and we battled each other,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “Just two good teams going at it.
“All the time I’ve played and coached, I don’t think I’ve ever had one like that, but I guess it happened tonight.”
For one team Tuesday, it was the thrill of victory.
For the other, it was the agony of defeat.
“You hate that for your kids,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “They did what you asked them there and a kid hits a one-in-a-thousand shot, a once-in-a-lifetime shot. I thought our kids did exactly what they needed. We’ve lost some close games, but I hate this one for our kids, not so much for us (coaches) but our kids.”
Joplin and Carthage battled all night, with a tie score at the end of each of the four quarters in regulation — 10-all after one, 18-all at the half, 29-all after three, and 42-all headed into another four minutes of basketball.
Both teams even outdid themselves from their previous meeting earlier this season, a 60-54 win for Joplin in the championship game Dec. 10 of the 76th annual Carthage Invitational.
“Our legs were shot, theirs were shot as well,” Schaake said. “That free throw we missed tied at 47, we had a good opportunity and I think with a little more lift on his legs, he finishes it. That’s just how basketball goes. When the legs go, everything else goes.”
“You could tell from the atmosphere in the gym and these kids knowing each other for most of their lives,” Morris said. “The proximity of the schools and the opening of COC. All that culminates in a good basketball game.”
Points were definitely at a premium from the opening whistle to the final buzzer.
“We’re built on defense,” Schaake said. “We were tied at 18 (at halftime) and I thought we offensively rebounded really well in the first half. We just weren’t finishing, but defense has to carry you until you start breaking through (offensively). We have to hang our hat on defense.”
“We’ve now held All (Wright) to probably his two lowest-scoring outputs of the season,” Morris said. “It’s frustrating when you do the dirty work and then that takes place. I think both teams would take the other team scoring 18 points in the first half. I’m sure both teams felt like they left some points out there in all four quarters. We gave up some more offensive rebounds to a big basketball team, but I thought we got the big rebounds when it counted the most. We can hopefully learn from that and just move on.”
Wright finished with 17 points and the Eagles received some considerable contributions from their supporting cast Tuesday night — 6-foot-5 senior Terrance Gibson matched Wright with 17 points, Renfro and freshman Fred Taylor each had seven points, and Cooper Williams rounded out the scoring with two points in the second quarter.
“All wasn’t on tonight like he usually is, but he was still battling and guarding their best guy,” Schaake said. “Terrance Gibson stepped up big tonight and he’s definitely more than capable. Hobbs Gooch had a really good first half and Q and Fred (Taylor) stepped up. We’re getting more guys that are contributing.”
Joplin improved to 8-4 overall and 1-0 COC, and the Eagles return to action on Friday for their home conference opener against a formidable Republic squad 13-1 on the season (on a 12-game winning streak) and ranked ninth in Class 6.
Republic opened conference play Tuesday with a 68-48 win over Carl Junction.
Kinder led Carthage with 16 points, fellow senior Max Templeman scored 12 points before fouling out with 2:49 left in overtime, senior Britt Coy split his 10 points evenly between the first quarter and overtime, Trent Yates added eight points, and Justin Ray finished with two points on a night when his greatest contribution was his defensive work against Wright, one of the most prolific scorers around.
Carthage dropped to 7-6 overall and 0-1 COC, and the Tigers return home Friday to face Ozark (4-10 overall, 0-1 COC).
“No matter what happens whether you lose on a buzzer-beater, or you lose by 20, in the COC you’ve got to wake up and get ready for the next one because it’s a tough night every single night,” Morris said. “We have to get ready for Ozark here on Friday.”
