BOYS
THOMAS JEFFERSON 62, VERONA 33
Thomas Jefferson outscored Verona by 19 points in the first half to build an insurmountable advantage on the way to the Ozark 7 win.
The Cavaliers (15-5, 2-2) pushed the lead to 37-13 by halftime and outscored the Wildcats 15-5 in the third quarter to seal the win.
Drew Goodhope led Thomas Jefferson with 19 points, while Jay Ball finished with 14. Dhruv Gheewala added 11.
Thomas Jefferson holds the top seed for the Class 1 District 7 tournament and will play the winner of No. 4 Rich Hill and No. 5 Bronaugh at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23.
OZARK 65, CARTHAGE 49
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Ozark used a big fourth quarter to earn a COC win.
Ozark led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter and the visitors were up 31-27 at halftime. The third period was even, 12-12, and Ozark was clinging to a 43-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ozark definitely finished strong. The visitors outscored the hosts 22-10 in the final period.
Max Templeman scored 16 points for Carthage, while Justin Ray had nine and Joel Pugh added eight.
Blaine Cline scored 20 points and Tyler Harmon added 13 for Ozark (17-7, 6-1 COC).
Carthage (7-15, 1-5 COC) is at Branson at 2 on Saturday. The Tigers then host Webb City on Tuesday to conclude the regular season.
GIRLS
OZARK 57, CARTHAGE 52 (OVERTIME)
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Ozark rallied from a six-point deficit to start the fourth to tie Carthage by the end of regulation before going on to complete the comeback in the overtime period on Friday.
“We played a great first 30 minutes, Carthage coach Scott Moore said to SoMo Sports. “Unfortunately, we didn’t close them out in regulation. Then a couple of missed baskets and free throws in overtime allowed Ozark to pull away.”
Carthage (12-10, 2-5 COC) held a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter before Ozark trimmed the deficit to 24-22 by the intermission. Carthage pushed the lead back up to six to start the fourth before Ozark rallied down the stretch.
“I’m proud of how hard the girls competed tonight. The loss was not an effort problem, it was an execution issue late that let this one slip away. This one stings because we had an opportunity to knock off one of the hottest teams in our area and we didn’t close them out late in the game. We will learn a lot from this game and use that to our advantage in our next close ball game.”
Brinna Ream led Carthage with 16 points, while Hailey Fullerton finished with 14. Kianna Yates added 12.
“Brinna Ream was unstoppable in the paint tonight,” Moore said. “The girls kept giving her the opportunity to score and we took advantage of that. She carried us at times tonight.”
MOUNT VERNON 84, MCDONALD COUNTY 32
ANDERSON, Mo. — Lacy Stokes poured in 42 points and also had 10 rebounds and eight steals as Mount Vernon improved to 20-3.
Ellie Johnston added 17 points for the Mountaineers, who led 31-11 by the end of the first quarter.
Kristin Penn scored 12 points and Sydney Killion scored nine points for the Mustangs.
