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CARTHAGE INVITE: Joplin, Carthage advance to semifinals, Webb City falls short

By:
Jason Peake

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Stellar guard play propelled both Joplin and Carthage into the semifinals of the 75th annual Carthage Boys Basketball Invitational.

The Wright brothers combined for 44 points and led Joplin to a 65-51 win over Leavenworth, while Carthage’s starting backcourt trio accounted for 45 points in a 64-48 win over Ft. Smith-Southside.

In Friday’s semifinals, Carthage takes on Raymore-Peculiar at 7 p.m. and Joplin meets West Plains at 8:30.

The Zizzers rallied late to knock off Webb City 50-48, while Ray-Pec topped Nevada 33-23.

 

JOPLIN 65, LEAVENWORTH 51

A senior guard, Always Wright scored 23 points to lead the Eagles (3-0), with 16 coming in the first half. A sophomore guard, All Wright contributed 21 points. 

Joplin senior Always Wright puts up a shot against Leavenworth during the Carthage Invitational. Photo by Brennan Stebbins.

“They’re smart players,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said of the brothers. “They follow the game plan, they read the floor extremely well and they have a good feel for the game, knowing when to attack. And they’re actually very good defensive players too.” 

Joplin used a 9-0 run to pull away in the first period. Always Wright scored seven during the surge, including a dunk after a baseline drive. 

Up 18-7 at the end of the first quarter, Joplin put together a 10-2 spurt in the second period and led 34-23 at halftime. 

“I thought we had good energy throughout the first half and we moved the ball well,” Schaake said. 

Hoops from All Wright and Bruce Wilbert gave Joplin a comfortable 47-27 lead with 4:15 left in the third quarter. 

Joplin’s advantage was 51-37 entering the final frame. The Pioneers trimmed their deficit to 10 with just over six minutes to play, but the Eagles never relinquished their lead. 

“We had a 22-point lead in the third quarter, and kind of let them back into it,” Schaake said. “We didn’t close out the game like we wanted to. But they did what they had to do to finish the game out against a really good team.”

Junior forward Terrance Gibson added 11 points for the Eagles, while Eddie McLaughlin scored 17 points for the Pioneers. 

 

CARTHAGE 64, FT. SMITH SOUTHSIDE 48

Carthage senior guard Joel Pugh poured in 23 points and hit five 3-pointers to lead the Tigers, while junior guard Max Templeman added 13 points and sophomore guard Justin Ray contributed nine. 

“When you’ve got three guards like we have, and then we can bring Clay Kinder off the bench, we’re not really going to force feed it into the post,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “(3-point shooting) is something they’ve worked on. Those three guards have spent more time in the gym than anybody I’ve been around in my nine years at Carthage. That’s a testament to them. And our other guys want them to score. We did a really good job of screening bodies.” 

Carthage senior guard Joel Pugh looks to score in the lane against Ft. Smith-Southside on Thursday. Photo by Brennan Stebbins.

The Tigers (2-0) raced out to a 17-7 lead. Templeman scored nine in the opening period, while Pugh had eight. 

Ray hit a trey and Britt Coy buried a pair of 3-pointers to extend Carthage’s lead to 28-9.

The Tigers were up 30-19 at intermission and 46-28 at the end of the third period. 

A pair of free throws from Pugh gave Carthage a 48-28 cushion early in the fourth quarter and the final outcome was never in doubt. 

“We’ve got steps still to take,” Morris said. “Last year, we talked a lot about this team finishing quarters. That’s still a step we need to take. At times, I felt like we got kind of fat and happy and didn’t put that team away. We got a little lackadaisical at the end, but at the start of the game, I thought we did a heck of a job.” 

Yazed Taforo scored 15 points for the Mavericks.

 

WEST PLAINS 50, WEBB CITY 48

The game was tied when West Plains’ Sean Tinsley scored in the paint with eight seconds left. After a timeout, the Cardinals were unable to get up a shot, as a turnover sealed their fate.

“We have to stay out of foul trouble,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “They did a good job of packing in the lane and we didn’t do a very good job of running our offense. We’re still trying to figure out our rotations. We’ve got a lot of young guys that are trying to step up and get minutes. 

Webb City junior Dante Washington shoots a jumper over West Plains’ Aiden Simpson on Thursday night. Photo by Brennan Stebbins.

“We wanted to get out and run, but unfortunately we got into some foul trouble with Trey Roets and Kaden Turner,” Horn added. “Our legs just aren’t there. There was a point where we hit a wall and shots weren’t falling.” 

Of course, many of Webb City’s players just turned their attention to hoops after the football program won a state championship last weekend.

“These guys are on three practices,” Horn said of the football players. “It’s not anything new, we just have to play through it.”

Turner scored seven points in the opening frame, including two on a one-handed dunk, to give the Cardinals a 16-11 lead.

Foul trouble plagued the Cardinals throughout the first half and the game was deadlocked at 28 at intermission.

Dante Washington scored Webb City’s final six points of the third quarter, and a back and forth period ended with the Cardinals clinging to a 44-43 advantage. 

Turner’s steal and two-handed dunk in traffic gave Webb City a 48-43 lead with just under five minutes to play. But the Cardinals would not score again, as the Zizzers finished the game on a 7-0 run, with Tinsley scoring all seven. 

A 5-foot-11 junior guard, Washington scored 16 points to lead the Cardinals. A 6-4 senior, Turner scored 11 points. A junior forward, Roets contributed seven points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals (1-1).

A 6-4 senior post player, Tinsley scored a game-high 19 points for the Zizzers (2-1).

Webb City plays Leavenworth at 4 on Friday in the consolation bracket.

 

RAYMORE-PECULIAR 33, NEVADA 23

Ray-Pec led 14-7 at the end of a low-scoring first half. The Tigers trailed 23-18 at the end of the third period and were unable to rally in the final frame.

Evan Rea scored 10 points to lead Nevada, while Holden Kephart had nine for the Panthers. 

Nevada (0-4) plays Southside at 5:30 on Friday in the consolation bracket. 

Carthage Invitational
Friday’s schedule
4—Webb City vs. Leavenworth
5:30—Nevada vs. Ft. Smith Southside
7—Carthage vs. Raymore-Peculiar
8:30—Joplin vs. West Plains

 

Webb City’s Trey Roets drives to the hoop against West Plains on Thursday night. All photos by Brennan Stebbins.

 

Joplin’s Whit Hafer puts up a shot in the paint against Leavenworth on Thursday night.

 

Carthage’s Max Templeman handles the ball against Ft. Smith Southside on Thursday night at the Carthage Invitational.

 

Carthage’s Clay Kinder shoots a jumper during Thursday’s Carthage Invitational.

 

Webb City’s William Hayes scores in the lane against West Plains.

 

Joplin’s All Wright scores in the lane against Leavenworth at the Carthage Invitational. All photos by Brennan Stebbins.

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