RAY-PEC PULLS AWAY FROM HOST CARTHAGE
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Making its season debut, Carthage held with Raymore-Peculiar for the first eight minutes of action before the Panthers methodically pulled away for a 73-55 win in the opening round of the 74th annual Carthage Invitational.
“We are one of the few teams in the state of Missouri that had not played a game yet,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “It is a long basketball season. In the grand scheme of things, I’m not worried about what happened with Ray-Pec on December 10th. … We have a lot of games to get better and I know these guys will.”
Carthage converted from the perimeter on its first four baskets of the game, with Joel Pugh knocking down a pair before Patrick Carlton sank two triples to give the Tigers a 12-8 lead through the first four minutes.
“We have more guys in the program this year that can shoot,” Morris said. “There will be nights where we live by (the 3) and die by it. But this group has bought into that, and we will get better.”
The Panthers closed the first quarter with a 19-16 advantage before pushing the lead to 26-18 through three minutes of the second period. Iryn Allen, who led Ray-Pec with a game-high 30 points, had four points in the 7-2 run and Robert McClemore added a 3-pointer.
Pugh knocked down another 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 28-23 before the Panthers again stretched the lead out to 10, 38-28, by the intermission, with Jaden Reddell converting an old-fashioned three-point play with 7.5 seconds left in the half.
“I think we hit some early shots to keep us in it, but their physicality and size started to wear (on us) a little bit,” Morris said. “I told our guys that we are going to have to find a way to deal with it. We play against teams in the COC that have physical kids. We are obviously a young basketball team, so we are going to have to figure it out on the fly. … I think our guys will get there.”
Ray-Pec extended the lead to 21, 61-40, to start the fourth quarter, but Carthage didn’t go away quietly. The Tigers used a 12-1 run to open the fourth, cutting the lead down to 62-52 with 4:20 to play.
“That is who we can be,” Morris said of his team’s start to the fourth. “We will be a group who will try to pressure teams. … There will be nights where that is what we hang our hat on. We have to work on it and get better at it. I just told them to channel that.”
The Panthers didn’t allow the Tigers to get any closer, pushing the lead back out near the 20-point margin by time the final horn sounded.
Carthage takes on Carl Junction at 5:30 on Friday in the consolation bracket.
NEVADA JUMPS OUT IN FRONT EARLY IN WIN OVER CARL JUNCTION
Nevada limited Carl Junction to two field goals in the first quarter to set the tone in a 59-33 win over the Bulldogs in the opening round of the Carthage Invitational.
“Nevada is a good team, and we have to execute when we play good teams,” Carl Junction coach Justin Pock said. “I don’t feel like we executed tonight. We had trouble getting into our offense and a had lot of self-inflicted wounds—bad decisions and not moving much.”
Nevada outscored Carl Junction 18-6 in the first period and pushed the lead to 20-plus by the intermission. Nevada held that margin throughout the remainder of the contest.
“We have to be able to move without the basketball,” Pock said. “We have to start valuing possessions with the basketball more. … I think after this game, the best thing about it is we turn around and play tomorrow.”
Sincere Williams led Carl Junction with 10 points, while Jaden Cherry finished with eight. Isaiah Hefner and Josh Cory scored five each.
Logan Applegate led Nevada with a game-high 27 points. Ben Hines added 11, and Lane McNeley finished with eight.
Carl Junction takes on Carthage at 5:30 on Friday.
“We have to go back out and play a tough Carthage team in their own tournament,” Pock said. “It doesn’t get any easier.”
“We see teams that we are going to see down the line,” Pock said about the value of playing in the Carthage Invitational. “We see that we cannot make these mistakes against these good teams because they will capitalize. … It’s a competitive tournament with really good teams in it. I think you only get better by playing really good competition.”
NIXA CRUISES PAST LEAVENWORTH
Nixa jumped out to an early lead and finished with three players in double figures on the way to a 72-36 win over Leavenworth to open the Carthage Invitational.
Nixa built a 20-point lead by halftime and cruised in the second half behind a team-high 16 points from Jason Jones. Colten Berry added 15 points, while Jaret Nelson finished with 13.
Ty Bennett led Leavenworth with 10 points, while KaiKuan Darthard scored eight.
Leavenworth takes on West Plains at 4 on Friday.
