OZARK BOYS 81, CARTHAGE 61
OZARK, Mo. — Ozark pulled away in the second half for an 81-61 win over Carthage on Friday night in Central Ozark Conference boys basketball action.
The clash between Tigers was tied at 21 at the end of the first quarter and Ozark led 40-36 at halftime.
The hosts outscored the visitors 41-25 after intermission.
Ozark held a 58-50 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The host Tigers finished strong, outscoring Carthage 23-11 in the fourth quarter.
The loss snapped a three-game conference winning streak for Carthage (18-6, 4-4 COC).
Clay Kinder scored 22 points and hit four 3-pointers for Carthage, while Max Templeman added 13 points. Also for CHS, Britt Coy had 10 points and Joel Pugh scored eight.
Ozark improved to 17-7 and 6-1 in the COC.
Tyler Harmon scored 21 points, while Ethan Whatley added 18.
These two teams will meet again on Feb. 28 in the opening round of the Class 6 District 5 tournament at Joplin High School. Ozark is the No. 3 seed, while Carthage is seeded sixth.
Carthage ends the regular season at rival Webb City on Tuesday night.
OZARK GIRLS 50, CARTHAGE 19
OZARK, Mo. — Ranked seventh in Class 6, Ozark took control early and the host Tigers continued to add to their lead throughout the COC clash.
Ozark held an 11-5 lead by the end of the opening period. Ozark then outscored Carthage 16-4 in the second period to take a comfortable 27-9 halftime lead.
The host Tigers led 40-15 at the end of the third quarter. A 10-4 fourth quarter gave Ozark a convincing win.
Sophie Shannon scored seven points for Carthage, while Kianna Yates added six points.
Zeffie Kent scored 16 points to lead Ozark (19-5, 7-1 COC).
Carthage (11-14, 2-6 COC) is at Webb City at 6 on Tuesday.
NIXA BOYS 77, NEOSHO 51
NIXA, Mo. — Nixa built a double-digit lead by halftime and pulled away from Neosho down the stretch for a Central Ozark Conference win on Friday.
Ranked fourth in Class 6, the Eagles (22-3, 8-0 COC) led by 11 points at halftime before outscoring the Wildcats by nine in the third quarter to build an insurmountable lead down the stretch.
Kael Combs led Nixa with 26 points, 16 coming in the first half. Jaret Nelson had 17 points and Jordyn Turner finished with 12.
K’dyn Waters led Neosho (16-8, 3-4 COC) with 16 points, while Isaiah Green added 11 and Carter Fenske finished with 10. The Wildcats are ranked ninth in Class 5.
Neosho is at Joplin on Tuesday.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS 50, SARCOXIE 33
SARCOXIE, Mo. — College Heights Christian closed out the regular season with a convincing road win.
“We got off to a tremendous start, winning the first quarter 16-6,” CHC coach John Blankenship said. “Our defense was great in the opening quarter and our transition game was much better tonight. We rebounded well and gave ourselves second and third shot opportunities. I was very pleased with our effort tonight.”
CHC’s Libby Fanning recorded her 11th double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Addie Lawrence scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Jayli Johnson had 13 points and five assists, while Maddy Colin contributed 14 rebounds to go with four assists.
The Cougars (14-10) begin Class 2 District 12 play at 7:30 on Monday night in Verona.
Second-seeded College Heights awaits either No. 3 Marionville or No. 6 Purdy in the semifinals.
Also of note, the College Heights boys beat Sarcoxie 59-29 to end the regular season at 21-4.
The CHC boys are the No. 1 seed for the district tournament. The Cougars will take on either No. 4 Miller or No. 5 Purdy at 6 on Tuesday in Verona.
MOUNT VERNON GIRLS 54, MCDONALD COUNTY 39
The Mountaineers took control with a 17-4 second period.
Cameryn Cassity scored 19 points for Mount Vernon (13-10), while Jolie Prescott and Raegan Boswell added 14 points apiece.
Addy Leach scored 16 points for McDonald County, while Anna Clarkson had eight.
