On the final day of the Kaminsky Classic, Nevada defeated William Chrisman 54-37 for third place, while Clever beat Carl Junction 70-51 for fifth place.
Look for a separate story on the event’s championship game between Joplin and Webb City. In that one, the Cardinals topped the Eagles 66-55.
NEVADA 54, WILLIAM CHRISMAN 37 (THIRD PLACE)
The Nevada Tigers finished strong.
As a result, the Tigers claimed a 54-37 win over William Chrisman in the third place game of the 2021 Kaminsky Classic at Joplin High School.
Clinging to a six-point lead at the end of the third quarter, the Tigers outscored the Bears 15-4 in the fourth quarter.
“I’m proud of our defensive effort in the second half, and really all game,” Tigers coach Shaun Gray said. “We held them to 31 percent shooting overall. And we rebounded the ball well. For the bulk of the game, I thought we defended and rebounded well.”
The hot-shooting Tigers scored the first eight points of the game and took a 17-10 lead into the second quarter.
By out-scoring the Tigers 13-11 in the second period, the Bears trimmed their deficit to five by halftime, as Nevada was up 28-23.
The third quarter was nearly even, and the Tigers held a 39-33 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Again, Nevada finished strong, outscoring William Chrisman by 11 in the final frame to leave town with third place.
Senior guard Logan Applegate poured in 25 points to lead the Tigers (7-4). He made 6-of-16 field goal attempts and 9-of-12 free throws. Applegate scored 15 of his 25 in the second half.
“He’s a leader for us on the court and off the court,” Gray said. “He really took charge tonight. It was a good job by him leading us.”
Logan McNeley added seven points for the Tigers.
The Tigers, who went 2-1 at the event, ended the tourney on a positive note.
“Obviously, we had aspirations to go 3-0 and win a championship down here,” Gray said. “But, anytime you go 2-1 in a high-quality tournament it’s something you’ll take.”
Dayne Herl led the Bears (4-7) with 12 points and Anthony Watkins had 10.
CLEVER 70, CARL JUNCTION 51 (FIFTH PLACE)
Clever took control early, racing out to a 29-5 lead en route to capturing fifth place. By the break, the Blue Jays were up 42-15.
Clever scored 28 points off Carl Junction’s 22 turnovers and the Blue Jays had a 22-2 advantage on fastbreak points.
Bryce Gelle compiled 34 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists to lead the Blue Jays (4-7). A 6-2 guard, Gelle had 31 points through the first three quarters, nearly outscoring the Bulldogs by himself.
Alex Baker led Carl Junction (1-10) with 15 points, seven boards and two steals. Sincere Williams added 12 points for the Bulldogs.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Mekhi Garrard, 6-foot-1 senior guard, Webb City
Nickhai Howard, 5-foot-11 senior guard, Webb City
Always Wright, 6-foot-3 junior guard, Joplin
All Wright, 6-foot-1 freshman guard, Joplin
Logan McNeley, 6-foot-2 senior guard, Nevada
Logan Applegate, 6-foot-2 senior guard, Nevada
Dayne Herl, 6-foot-4 junior forward, William Chrisman
Bryce Gelle, 6-foot-2 senior guard, Clever.
Kaminsky Classic presented by Joplin Sports Authority and Freeman Sports Medicine
At Joplin High School, Kaminsky Gymnasium
Wednesday’s results
Webb City 75, Clever 43
Joplin 63, Carl Junction 52
Thursday’s results
Webb City 65, Nevada 55
Joplin 78, William Chrisman 65
Friday’s results
Nevada 65, Clever 45
William Chrisman 73, Carl Junction 64
Saturday’s results
Clever 70, Carl Junction 51, 5th
Nevada 54, William Chrisman 37, 3rd
Webb City 66, Joplin 55, 1st
