CARTHAGE, Mo. — Longtime rivals Webb City and Carthage will meet in the championship game of the 77th Carthage Invitational boys basketball tournament.
In Friday’s semifinals, Webb City used a strong second half to come from behind to beat Raymore-Peculiar 55-51 and Carthage never trailed in a 59-42 win over Joplin.
The tourney’s championship game between the Cardinals (3-0) and the Tigers (2-0) is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Joplin will meet Raymore-Peculiar for third place at 2.
CARTHAGE 59, JOPLIN 42
Propelled by 10 made 3-pointers, the Tigers led from start to finish in the nightcap.
Carthage led 9-6 at the end of the low-scoring first quarter, but the Tigers began the second period on a 10-2 run to gain some separation.
Hot-shooting Carthage made six 3-pointers in the second quarter, three by Justin Ray, two from Landon Ray and one from Dylan Pugh, to take a 33-20 halftime lead.
The third period was even, 12-12, but the Tigers took a 45-32 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Carthage led by as many as 18 points in the final frame en route to victory.
A senior guard, Justin Ray scored a game-high 21 points and made four 3-pointers for the Tigers.
Junior guard Dylan Pugh added 12 points for Carthage, while sophomore guard Landon Ray had nine, junior guard Trenton Yates added seven and junior forward Taylor Stevens-Diggs scored four.
Junior guard Collis Jones led Joplin with 12 points. Senior Hobbs Gooch added seven points, junior Carter Harbin had five and sophomore Fred Taylor, junior Trenton Gage and junior Aiden Scourten each scored four.
Junior Cooper Williams and sophomore Brecken Green added three points apiece.
“We competed hard but it was a little frustrating on the offensive end,” Joplin coach Nick Pfeifer said. “We just really struggled to make shots when we really needed a basket, especially in the second quarter. Defensively, we did some positive things but also missed a couple of assignments that Carthage made us pay for.”
WEBB CITY 55, RAYMORE-PECULIAR 51
In a thriller that went down to the wire, Friday’s first semifinal was deadlocked after three quarters before the Cardinals won the final frame 17-13 to secure a spot in the tourney title game.
The Cardinals had to come from behind in this one.
Plagued by early turnovers, Webb City trailed by five at the end of the opening frame at 16-11.
The Panthers led 21-13, but the Cardinals put together an 11-4 run to pull within one at 25-24. Raymore-Peculiar scored the final six points of the first half to take a 31-24 halftime advantage.
Ignited by eight points from junior guard Eli Pace, Webb City outscored Ray-Pec 14-7 in the third quarter, and the game was tied at 38 heading into the fourth period.
The Cardinals started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 surge, but the Panthers kept coming.
Webb City senior guard Barron Duda knocked down a fadeaway 3-pointer from the left corner to give his team a 52-47 lead with 1:30 left.
Ray-Pec scored four straight points, but a free throw from junior Joseph DeGraffenreid with 29 seconds left and two clutch charities from senior Omari Jackson with 17 seconds remaining accounted for the final score. The Panthers had two costly turnovers late in the game.
Pace scored 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting and also had five assists to lead the Cardinals, while Duda added 19 points and nine rebounds. Junior Holton Keith added seven points and sophomore Gabe Johnson contributed nine rebounds.
Ashton Jermain and Cannon Northcraft scored 12 points apiece for the Panthers, while Holden Kephart added 11.
NEVADA 63, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 48
The game was deadlocked at 13 when Nevada ended the first quarter on an 8-1 run for a 21-14 advantage.
The Tigers started the second period on a 10-3 run to take a 31-17 lead. After the two teams traded 3-pointers, Alex Ast’s layup just before the buzzer gave Nevada a comfortable 36-20 halftime lead.
Nevada held a comfortable 52-35 advantage by the end of the third quarter and the final outcome was never in doubt in the fourth period.
“We did a much better job of handling pressure tonight,” Nevada coach Shaun Gray said. “We were able to break the full court zone press and find our open teammates. Our guys did a good job of sharing the ball, and they also executed the game plan of getting Southside’s best player into foul trouble. By drawing charges and attacking him on offense we were able to eliminate his inside scoring. Defensively, we were able to really buckle down in the second quarter. We hope to build off of this effort tomorrow against Leavenworth.”
Junior guard Jack Cheaney led Nevada with 17 points, while sophomore Kellen Braden added 13 points and senior Brice Budd contributed 12.
Also for the Tigers, senior Riddick Shook scored nine points on three treys and Ast added eight points.
Alex Roper scored 14 points for Southside.
Nevada (2-3) will meet Leavenworth for fifth place at 12:30 on Saturday.
In the other consolation semifinal, Leavenworth defeated the Carthage JV team 52-38.
77TH CARTHAGE INVITATIONAL
Thursday’s scores
Raymore-Peculiar 60, Fort Smith Southside 33
Webb City 84, Nevada 51
Joplin 57, Leavenworth 48
Friday’s scores
Nevada 63, Southside 48
Leavenworth 52, Carthage JV 38
Webb City 55, Raymore-Peculiar 51
Carthage 59, Joplin 42
Saturday’s schedule
11—Southside vs. Carthage JV (7th place)
12:30—Nevada vs. Leavenworth (5th place)
2—Raymore-Peculiar vs. Joplin (3rd place)
3:30—Webb City vs. Carthage (Title game)
