CARTHAGE BOYS 66, NEVADA 36
NEVADA, Mo. — In a clash between Tigers, Carthage rode a strong third quarter to a lopsided non-conference victory over Nevada on Friday night inside Wynn Gymnasium.
Up five at halftime, Carthage outscored Nevada 24-6 in the game-changing third period to take a commanding lead.
Overall, the visitors outscored the hosts 40-15 in the second half.
Carthage improved to 11-7, while Nevada fell to 8-12
Max Templeman led Carthage with 17 points, while Britt Coy added 16 points and Clay Kinder had 11.
Cade Beshore led Nevada with nine points, while Brice Budd added eight and Riddick Shook had six.
A back-and-forth first quarter that saw four lead changes and three ties ended with Carthage up 12-10.
Carthage outscored Nevada 14-11 in the second period to take a 26-21 halftime advantage.
The visitors took their first double digit lead at 34-24 after Templeman’s runner in the lane.
Carthage continued to pull away, as Kinder’s 3-pointer from the top of the key and Templeman’s two free throws gave the visiting Tigers a 15-point cushion.
Later in the third period, treys from Justin Ray and Coy gave Carthage a comfortable 50-27 advantage. Carthage’s lead was never in jeopardy in the fourth quarter.
Carthage hosts rival Webb City on Tuesday night in a Central Ozark Conference contest.
Nevada is at Monett on Tuesday.
MCAULEY BOYS 54, EXETER 37
EXETER, MO. — McAuley limited Exeter to three points in the first quarter and held a nine-point lead by the intermission before pulling away down the stretch on the way to a conference win on Friday.
The Warriors improve to 6-13, 1-2 in Ozark 7 action.
Alex Bohachick led the Warriors in scoring with 13 points, while Rocco Bazzano-Joseph finished right behind with 12 points. Bradley Wagner finished with nine in the win and Noah Black finished with eight.
McAuley takes on College Heights at 8:30 p.m. on Monday to open as hosts of the Mercy Warrior Classic.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS 76, WHEATON 41
College Heights jumped out in front early and pushed the pace throughout en route to an Ozark 7 win over Wheaton on Friday.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 11-8 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
“We had a second straight game of shooting very well as a team,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “While Libby Fanning certainly carried the load for us in terms of scoring, we had a very balanced attack from everyone else.
“Our defense was instrumental in getting us off to a quick start tonight, jumping out to a 11 to 0 lead. Wheaton’s coach is doing a great job with a short-handed team of only six players. They played hard and battled back cutting into our lead. But, our kids responded well clamping down defensively creating several turnovers leading to some early fast break points.”
Fanning led the way for the Cougars with her 14th double-double of the season, pouring in 27 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Ava Lett finished with 10 points and Maddy Colin added eight. Jayli Johnson added five points, five assists and five steals, while Lauren Ukena scored eight and had five steals. Addie Lawrence finished with six points.
College Heights takes on Thomas Jefferson in non-conference action at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the Mercy Warrior Classic hosted by McAuley Catholic.
ST. CHARLES GIRLS 44, JOPLIN 40
LEBANON, Mo. — Joplin built a 27-15 lead by the intermission before St. Charles rallied in the second half on the way to the win on Friday in the I44 Lady’s Classic Basketball Tournament hosted by Lebanon High School.
Joplin used a 16-7 first quarter to build an early lead before extending the margin to 12 by halftime. St. Charles outscored Joplin 16-7 in the third quarter and 13-7 down the stretch to rally for the win.
Bailey Ledford had 13 points to lead the Eagles in scoring, while Alissa Owens accounted for nine points. Riley Kelly had five points in the loss.
EL DORADO SPRINGS GIRLS 69, CARTHAGE 40
EL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. — Class 3 second-ranked El Dorado Springs held a 10-point lead after the first quarter and never looked back in a win over Carthage on Friday.
El Dorado led by 13 at the half and was on top 56-35 heading into the final eight minutes of action en route to the win.
Kianna Yates led Carthage (9-9) with 16 points, while Lexa Youngblood finished with nine.
Macie Mays led El Dorado Springs with 27 points.
Carthage hosts Webb City on a Super Night on Tuesday.
