CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers earned their first win in Central Ozark Conference play with a 73-67 victory over the visiting Ozark Tigers on Friday night.
Carthage successfully rebounded after Tuesday’s 50-48 heartbreaking overtime loss at home against Joplin, scoring 22 points in the first quarter and trailing just once early on Friday, 3-2 in the first minutes of the contest.
Carthage led 22-12 after one quarter, 33-29 at halftime as Ozark put together a 17-11 second quarter, and 49-44 headed into the fourth.
Carthage, 8-6 overall and 1-1 COC, won for the first time against Ozark since 2012 and ended a 11-game losing streak against their fellow Tigers.
“We had a talk on Wednesday about that Joplin game,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “As much as it hurt, it was over, and it felt good to get back out on the court Wednesday and Thursday. We had a good practice leading into this one, understanding that if you linger on it, you could lose another one in the COC. I’m proud of our guys for how we started, then Ozark made a run, and they were able to stay in the game. To finish this one tonight, it’s huge.”
Senior guard Max Templeman especially answered the bell early on for Carthage scoring 13 in the first quarter and 19 by halftime on his way to a game-high 27 points.
“Max has kind of been a closer for us for four years,” Morris said. “Tonight, he had 18 in the first half. He really got us going and he put Ozark back on their heels.”
Fellow guard Justin Ray found his shooting touch early on Friday and finished with 18 points, highlighted by a four-point play that put Carthage up 12-5 only 2 minutes and 22 seconds in.
Templeman and Ray had 28 of Carthage’s 33 points at halftime, but senior Britt Coy, senior Clay Kinder, sophomore Trent Yates, and sophomore Kruz Castor made their offensive contributions in the second half as Carthage scored 40 second-half points.
“A huge contribution from Justin,” Morris said. “Britt scored 12 and Clay didn’t get to double-figures, but Clay’s fighting in the post with (Ozark’s 6-foot-6 junior) Jace Whatley was a huge factor in the game.”
Coy added 12 points with nine of them after halftime, Kinder finished with nine and seven of those were second-half points, Yates scored all five of his points in the fourth, and Castor made a pair of free throws in the third.
Carthage battled an Ozark team with a significant height advantage — 6-9 sophomore Cohen George in addition to the 6-6 Whatley — but this is not anything new for Carthage, especially in COC play.
“For years, we’ve been undersized,” Morris said. “Some nights, it’s hurt us, but these guys have truly embraced the underdog role in terms of size and they’re willing to fight, front guys in the post, be there to help each other, and their communication tonight to defend how many different sets that Ozark can run at you, it was key.”
Carthage returns to conference action Jan. 31 against Webb City, who currently stands at 11-3 overall and 1-1 COC.
“We’re going to see some teams knock each other off,” Morris said. “You’ve got to be willing to worry about your game one at a time and if you look ahead or skip a team, it’s going to hurt you and bite you in the rear end.”
Carthage plays again next week in the Ralph Miller Classic in Chanute, Kansas.
“I think this next week is good for us to step away from COC play for a little bit at 1-1,” Morris said. “We’re not taking any time off. We’re going to play in a really good Chanute tournament.”
Missouri schools Carthage and Springfield Parkview join Kansas schools Chanute, Coffeyville, Emporia, Andover Central, and Bishop Miege in the field.
Carthage finished second in the Ralph Miller last year.
Carthage’s win Friday night against Ozark gave the Tigers a win over both a conference and district opponent.
“After losing two to Joplin, this one was really good,” Morris said. “We want to stack up as many (district) wins as you can, just knowing that 1-8 it’s loaded and there’s no easy one in that district. You want to have some wins to go into voting with, though.”
Hudson Roberts led Ozark (4-11, 0-2 COC) with 19 points, Garrett Ballard added 16 points, Whatley finished with 14, Ryan Engel had seven and his early three provided Ozark’s lone lead of the evening, Jake Garner added five points, and the 6-9 George and the 5-10 Phin Scott provided the other six Ozark points with three each.
OZARK GIRLS 57, CARTHAGE 44
Basketball is often a game of runs, and Ozark’s first-half scoring run topped Carthage’s one that happened immediately before it.
Carthage led Ozark 14-7 late in the first quarter after seven unanswered points, but Ozark rattled off 19 straight points with the last two points of the first and the first 17 points of the second giving the visiting Tigers a 26-14 lead.
Kianna Yates’ basket ended the 19-0 run and provided Carthage with its first basket and first points in nearly a quarter’s time.
Ozark led 46-36 entering the fourth quarter, and the hosts were unable to rally late.
“We played even with Ozark for three of the four quarters tonight,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “Unfortunately, a cold shooting second quarter coupled with foul trouble allowed Ozark to take a 10-point lead at halftime that we couldn’t seem to erase during the second half. The girls battled hard tonight, we are getting better. We just need to put four good quarters together to play our best game yet.”
Ozark senior Alexis Soloman scored a game-high 25 points, and she had nine of them during that decisive scoring run.
Jordyn Foley added 12 points with all of them scored from 3-point baskets, Macey Sult scored nine points, Sydney Hampton and Molly Rushing combined for another nine points with five and four respectively, and Abby Wofford’s only two points closed out Ozark’s scoring.
Yates led Carthage with 17 points, Maggie Boyd added 10, Lauren Choate nine, Ashlyn Brust and Jaidyn Brunnert three each, and Lexa Youngblood two points.
Carthage dropped to 6-6 overall and 1-1 COC, and the Tigers return to action Tuesday at home against Big 8 Conference opponent McDonald County.
