CARTHAGE BOYS 59, WILLARD 58
WILLARD, Mo. — Carthage and Willard battled to the final seconds, with Carthage holding on for a Central Ozark Conference win on Friday.
Carthage (14-10, 4-4 COC) led by four after the first quarter and took a one-possession lead into the intermission, 30-28. CHS pushed the lead to five to start the fourth quarter and spent the fourth quarter holding off Willard’s comeback bid. Carthage withstood the rally for the win.
Max Templeman led Carthage with a pair of 3-pointers and a game-high 24 points. Justin Ray (13 points) and Clay Kinder (10 points) each added a pair of 3-pointers in the win.
Carthage secured the program’s first back-to-back winning seasons since 2010-12.
Carthage wraps up its regular season with a matchup at Neosho on Tuesday.
REPUBLIC BOYS 64, NEOSHO 53
REPUBLIC, Mo. — Republic erased an early deficit over the middle quarters on the way to a Central Ozark Conference and district matchup on Friday.
The Wildcats (18-6, 5-2 COC) took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter before the Tigers (21-3, 5-2 COC) outscored Neosho 33-20 in the second and third quarters to build a 10-point cushion to start the final eight minutes. Republic held firm down the stretch.
Brenley Hagewood finished with 17 points to lead the Tigers, while Allante Askew added 14. Gunner Ellison scored 12.
Isaiah Green had 19 points to lead Neosho in scoring, while Brock Franklin finished with 11. Carter Baslee added 10.
Neosho hosts Carthage on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular-season portion of the schedule with a road contest at Nixa on Thursday.
NIXA BOYS 82, WEBB CITY 69
NIXA, Mo. — A solid effort wasn’t enough for the Webb City Cardinals.
Overcoming an early deficit, Class 6 No. 2 Nixa remained undefeated by earning a COC win over the visiting Cardinals.
Nixa is now 24-0 and 7-0 in the conference, while Webb City fell to 15-9 overall and 2-6 in the COC.
The Cardinals scored nine unanswered points early in the game and led 21-18 by the end of the opening frame.
Using an 11-5 spurt, Webb City held a nine-point lead with just under four minutes to play in the second quarter at 32-23. But Nixa closed the first half on a 17-6 surge to take a 40-38 advantage at the break.
The Eagles outscored the Cardinals 25-11 in the third period for a 63-51 advantage.
The visitors were unable to rally in the final frame. Nixa won the fourth quarter 19-18 for the final margin.
Sophomore guard Eli Pace led the Cardinals with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while junior guard Barron Duda added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior forward Alex Martin had 15 points and sophomore guard Holton Keith added eight points.
Kael Combs led Nixa with a game-high 25 points, while Garrett Hines added 21 points and Josh Peters had 14.
The Eagles hit 13 3-pointers, while the Cardinals made three. Nixa went 17-of-24 at the foul line, while Webb City made 6-of-15 at the charity stripe.
Webb City will host Carl Junction on Tuesday night in the final conference game of the season.
JOPLIN BOYS 65, BRANSON 53
BRANSON, Mo. — Joplin went on the road and earned a Central Ozark Conference win over Branson on Friday.
No other information was made available.
WILLARD GIRLS 48, CARTHAGE 42
WILLARD, Mo. — Carthage built an early double-digit lead only to see Willard rally back for a Central Ozark Conference win on Friday.
Carthage (10-14, 2-6 COC) jumped out to a 15-point lead after the first quarter after outscoring Willard 23-8 over the first eight minutes. Willard rallied hard in the middle quarters, scoring a combined 32 points and holding Carthage to nine points to take a 40-32 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of action. Willard held off Carthage to earn the win.
Elise Murray led Willard with 15 points, while Carolina Crawford knocked down two 3-pointers on the way to 10 points. Karli Wheeler and Kenadie Johnson each scored nine.
Carthage was led in scoring by Kianna Yates’ game-high 17 points, including a set of 3-pointers. Lauren Choate added seven points, while Landry Cochran finished with six. Cochran knocked down two 3-points in the loss.
Carthage is at Neosho on Monday before wrapping the regular season at Cassville on Thursday.
