BELTON, Mo. — Second-seeded Webb City suffered a season-ending 79-63 setback to third-seeded Ruskin on Friday night in a semifinal contest of the Class 5 District 7 boys basketball tournament at Belton High School.
After a close first half, Ruskin pulled away after intermission, as a lack of defensive stops and too many empty possessions were too much to overcome for the Cardinals.
Webb City ends the season with a record of 17-11.
Ruskin (19-8) meets fourth-seeded Belton (17-11) at 6 p.m. on Monday in the district title game.
Webb City took an early 9-6 lead after senior guard Joe Adams knocked down a 3-pointer, but Ruskin put together an 11-0 run to go up 17-9.
A hoop inside from Alex Martin and a trey from Barron Duda cut Webb City’s deficit to three before the Eagles scored just before the buzzer for a 19-14 lead at the end of the opening period.
Ruskin went up eight early in the second period, but the Cardinals used a 10-2 run to tie the game at 27. During the surge, Duda and Omari Jackson scored five 
points apiece.
The Eagles ended the first half on an 11-6 surge. Led by 19 first half points from Jaquan Smith, Ruskin held a 38-33 halftime advantage.
In a key swing of momentum, Ruskin began the second half on an 8-0 run to go up 46-33.
Webb City senior forward Trey Roets, in his first significant action of the season, scored five points off the bench before hoops from Eli Pace, Holton Keith and Martin kept the Cardinals within striking distance.
However, Ruskin led 56-46 at the end of the third period.
The Cardinals were unable to overcome the deficit in the fourth quarter. Ruskin held a 71-57 lead with just over two minutes to play en route to victory.
A junior guard, Duda paced Webb City with 15 points and eight rebounds. Martin and Roets added 11 points apiece in their outings. Pace and Jackson scored seven points apiece, while Adams and Keith added six points apiece. A sophomore, Pace handed out eight assists.
Webb City went 25-for-57 on field goals (44 percent), including 6-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Ruskin shot 52 percent for the game (29-of-56) and the Eagles made nine treys. Smith scored 28 and hit six 3-pointers for Ruskin.
Webb City’s seniors are Roets, Martin and Adams. Roets missed nearly all of the season due to a shoulder injury after starting as a junior.
Tourney host Belton knocked off top-seeded Grandview 59-51 in Friday’s first semifinal.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
