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CARTHAGE INVITE: Carthage Tigers, Webb City Cardinals end tourney with wins

By:
Jason Peake

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers and Webb City Cardinals both ended the 75th Carthage Invitational on a positive note.

Tourney host Carthage upended West Plains 58-54 in the annual event’s third-place game, while Webb City held off Ft. Smith Southside 54-48 for fifth place.

 

CARTHAGE 58, WEST PLAINS 54

This one was close all the way, but the Tigers got the job done in the fourth quarter by not only knocking down some key perimeter jumpers, but also by making some clutch free throws in the final minute.

“I couldn’t care less how a game is won,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said, noting the contest wasn’t always pretty. “Both teams were unhappy about not being in the championship game. We knew it would come down to what crew really wanted to play in the third-place game. It was a physical basketball game. I thought our kids made some really big plays in stretches in the third quarter and early in the fourth. And we were able to hold on.”

The Tigers led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. Joel Pugh and Max Templeman both hit a pair of treys in the second quarter, but the Tigers were unable to pull away from the Zizzers. Templeman’s short jumper gave Carthage a 28-27 lead at intermission. 

The game was tied at 36 late in the third period when Pugh buried two 3-pointers to give Carthage a slim lead entering the fourth quarter. 

Two treys from Justin Ray and a hoop in the lane from Templeman gave Carthage a 50-43 cushion with 3:30 left.

But it was far from over. The Tigers were clinging to a three-point lead with just over a minute to play when the Zizzers had an empty possession before a foul.

Ray made 1 of 2 at the charity stripe, with the hosts grabbing an offensive rebound on the miss. Pugh then converted two foul shots for a five-point advantage.

On the other end, West Plains buried a trey before Pugh made one more free throw. 

Pictured is Carthage senior Joel Pugh.

The Zizzers once again pulled within two after a hoop by Landon Casey, but Kinder connected on two clutch free throws with eight seconds left for the final margin.

A sharp-shooting senior guard, Pugh led Carthage with 18 points. He hit five 3-pointers.

A sophomore guard, Ray scored 13 and hit four treys, while junior guard Templeman added 12 points with two 3-pointers. Another junior, Kinder added eight points. Pugh and Templeman were all-tourney selections.

Sean Tinsley scored 20 points for West Plains. 

The Tigers went 2-1 at the always-tough tournament. And to Morris, that’s something to build on.

“If these three games don’t help get us ready for the season then I don’t know what does,” Morris said. “We played three extremely big basketball teams. And we’re going to be out-sized almost every single night. But it was big for our kids to battle through that. I don’t know the last time we finished third in this tournament. I don’t know the last time we as a program won a close basketball game. Last year, we won handily or we lost close games. I think this one may really help this group turn the corner.”

Carthage (3-1) hosts Springfield Central on Tuesday night. 

 

WEBB CITY 54, FT. SMITH SOUTHSIDE 48

The Cardinals used a pair of late spurts to claim the fifth-place trophy.

“The biggest takeaway from this game is that we persevered and we did what we had to do to win,” Cardinals coach Jason Horn said. “Shots weren’t falling for us and you could tell we were fatigued. But I thought we showed a lot of mental toughness and we made winning plays when we needed to make them.”

Dante Washington and Trey Roets scored six points apiece in the first quarter for the Cardinals, but the game was deadlocked at 16.

There were seven lead changes in the back-and-forth second quarter, and hoops from Roets and Isaiah Brisco gave Webb City a 29-28 halftime advantage.

The Cardinals owned the third quarter, as Webb City closed the period on an 11-0 run to take a 40-31 lead. The Mavericks did not have a field goal in the third quarter. 

Pictured is Webb City’s Landon Johnson. Photo by Brennan Stebbins.

However, Webb City’s lead was down to one with 4:29 remaining when the Cardinals rattled off nine straight points.

Kaden Turner scored five straight points, a corner 3-pointer and two free throws, and Brisco made a transition layup before Turner converted a hoop inside for a 10-point cushion. 

The Mavericks trimmed their deficit to four with 1:06 left, but late charities from Washington and Landon Johnson sealed the win.

A 6-4 senior guard who was named to the all-tourney team, Turner scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. 

Turner, who made 6 of 13 field goal attempts, had 15 points in the second half, carrying the Cardinals late in the game. 

“I think Kaden is as talented as any player in Southwest Missouri,” Horn said. “We want the ball in his hands. When it got late, he looked to take the game over.” 

A junior guard, Washington added 13 points for the Cardinals, while Roets, a 6-4 junior forward, had 11 points and seven boards. A junior guard, Johnson contributed nine rebounds and seven points for the Cardinals, who made just 12 of 30 at the foul line. 

Horn recorded win No. 200 of his coaching career on Friday night and earned No. 201 on Saturday. 

“That just means I’ve been doing it for a long time and I’ve had a lot of good players,” Horn said of the milestone win. “Coming over here has been a good situation for me and it makes me think of all the guys who have played for me. And I guess it means I’m getting old.”

Webb City (3-1) hosts East Newton on Tuesday night.

 

NOTE: Leavenworth defeated Nevada 61-44 in the seventh-place game. 

Brice Budd scored 11 points for the Tigers and Cade Beshore added 10. 

 

CARTHAGE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Always Wright, Joplin (MVP)

All Wright, Joplin

Ashton Jermain, Raymore-Peculiar

Joel Pugh, Carthage

Max Templeman, Carthage 

Sean Tinsley, West Plains

Kaden Turner, Webb City

Eddie McLaughlin, Leavenworth

Tucker Miller, Raymore-Peculiar

Yazed Taforo, Ft. Smith Southside

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