For the first time in program history, the Webb City High School boys basketball team has captured a Kaminsky Classic championship.
Overcoming a nine-point deficit with a big second half, Webb City rode a one-sided third quarter to a 66-55 victory over Joplin in the annual event’s championship game on Saturday afternoon at a packed Kaminsky Gymnasium inside Joplin High School.
“I’m excited for our kids,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “It’s the first time we’ve won a regular-season tournament title since I’ve been here. So it’s good for the program and good for the kids.”
“This is very exciting,” Webb City senior guard Nickhai Howard said. “We’ve been working for this for a lot of years. Beating Nevada was really exciting as well. I had a good time playing against all of them.”
Joplin used a 15-0 surge in the second quarter to take a 31-23 lead at the break, but the Cardinals turned things around in the game-changing third quarter.
Webb City put together a 13-0 burst and closed the period on a 17-2 run, taking a 46-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
“I thought we showed a lot of composure after getting down at the half,” Horn said. “Shots weren’t falling, but our kids battled through it and showed some toughness. We did a good job in the second half of executing offensively and finishing plays.”
“Games like these often come down to the 50-50 balls, the hustle, the charges and the willingness to do those things,” Joplin coach Jeff Hafer said. “They were much better and tougher than us in the third quarter in particular. Against a good team that is skilled like Webb City and that is unselfish as they are, if you don’t win that battle it’s going to be hard to beat them. We struggled with that. In the second quarter, we were that team. But it’s a four quarter game.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Senior post player Luke Brumit scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots for the Cardinals, who are now 8-1 and ranked eighth in Class 5.
“He plays tough,” Horn said of the 6-foot-4 Brumit. “He’s one of those guys who kept working to get better and he was waiting for his time. We thought he was going to be pretty good coming into this year, and he’s played beyond our expectations up to this point. He’s a great rebounder and he has good touch around the rim.”
Senior Mekhi Garrard and sophomore Alex Martin scored 12 points apiece for Webb City, while seniors Howard and Cohl Vaden contributed eight points apiece.
Garrard, Howard and Vaden all had eight rebounds apiece, while Vaden and Garrard each handed out four assists.
Webb City made 25-of-62 field goal attempts (40 percent). The Cardinals, who hit just 2-of-11 3-pointers, out-rebounded the Eagles 44-34.
The Cardinals had 36 points in the paint compared to Joplin’s 18. Webb City’s bench outscored Joplin’s 19-9.
Freshman guard All Wright led Joplin (7-3) with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including four 3-pointers. He had 14 points in the first half.
Junior guard Always Wright had 12 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Dante Washington contributed 11 points. LT Atherton had a team-high seven rebounds, while Dominick Simmons had four assists.
The Eagles, in the title game for the first time since 2018, connected on 18-of-52 shot attempts (34 percent).
Hafer noted his young squad continues to make progress.
“This is an opportunity for us to learn and try to grow,” Hafer said. “This game will help us get better. We’re young when it comes to experience, so these games are important for us.”
GAME RECAP
Webb City took a 23-16 lead in the second quarter after a hoop from Martin, but things suddenly changed.
Joplin grabbed all of the momentum, putting together a 15-0 run to end the first half.
Both Wright brothers hit treys during the surge, while Simmons contributed a coast-to-coast layup.
All Wright’s third 3-pointer of the first half made it 29-23 in favor of the hosts. On the final play of the half, Joplin’s Malik Williams converted a steal into a buzzer-beating layup, giving the Eagles a 31-23 halftime advantage.
“We competed well in the second quarter and did some good things,” Hafer said.
“We gave them clean looks and they made us pay for it,” Horn said.
Webb City went the final 4:24 of the first half without a point.
But in the key third period, the Cardinals outscored the Eagles 23-8, making 9-of-18 shots.
“We were in a little bit of foul trouble in the second quarter with some key guys,” Horn said. “The main thing we told them is, ‘The shots are going to fall. We have to stay composed, play level-headed and stay solid on defense.’ Our defense led to some runouts for us and really helped us get going there in the second half. You’re not going to see us shoot the ball as poorly as we did in the first half, and some of that had to do with them (Joplin). But we’ve got some guys who are skilled at finishing in traffic or passing through traffic. And we share the ball well, so it’s hard to keep us from scoring consistently for four quarters.”
On the other hand, Joplin made just 2-of-8 field goal attempts and had six turnovers during the third quarter.
“We settled a lot,” Hafer said of his team’s offensive struggles during the frame. “We didn’t execute very well. And then we got caught standing and watching. We kind of got stagnant and we tried to get it all back in one shot instead of trying to play the game and consistently do what we need to do offensively. But that’s on me as a coach.”
The visitors put the game away with a strong start to the fourth period.
Three free throws from Brumit and a Garrard putback pushed Webb City’s advantage to 51-41.
Moments later, Vaden scored five straight points and Kaden Turner contributed an old-fashioned 3-point play to extend the Cardinals’ cushion to 65-47.
Horn noted his team’s defense was much better in the second half.
“We did a better job of trying to keep All contained at the 3-point line,” Horn said. “He got loose three times in the first half where we didn’t run him off the line.”
GAME NOTES
Joplin was seeking its third championship after winning the event in both 2000 and ’01.
Francis Howell won the last three Kaminsky Classic titles, but the Vikings were unable to attend this year’s event due to the pandemic.
Francis Howell, Jefferson City and St. Louis University High will join William Chrisman as out of the area teams in the 2022 tourney. Webb City, Carl Junction and Nevada will join the host Eagles as the local squads.
REMATCH IS TUESDAY
Joplin travels to Webb City on Tuesday night for a Central Ozark Conference clash inside the Cardinal Dome.
“Webb City’s good,” Hafer said. “I think Webb City will be one of the upper-echelon teams in the COC. They’re capable of beating anyone. Webb beat us up pretty good today. Our guys will take it to heart and we’ll come back on Monday to get ready. We get a chance to go there on Tuesday and we’ll see if we can put a better effort on the floor for four quarters instead of just a couple.”
WEBB CITY (66) — Mekhi Garrard 5 2-2 12, Trenton Hayes 3 0-0 6, Nickhai Howard 2 4-4 8, Cohl Vaden 3 1-2 8, Luke Brumit 4 5-7 13, Alex Martin 5 1-2 12, Shane Noel 0 0-0 0, Kaden Turner 3 1-1 7, Max Higginbotham 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 14-18 66.
JOPLIN (55) — Always Wright 2 6-10 12, All Wright 7 1-2 19, Dante Washington 4 2-3 11, Dominick Simmons 1 0-0 2, Terrance Gibson 1 0-0 2, Bruce Wilbert 0 1-3 1, Fielding Campbell 1 0-0 2, Malik Williams 1 0-0 2, L.T. Atherton 1 2-2 4. Totals 18 12-20 55.
Webb City 14 9 23 20 — 66
Joplin 13 18 8 16 — 55
3-point goals—Martin, Vaden, Alw.Wright 2, All Wright 4, Washington. Total fouls—Webb City 22, Joplin 17. Fouled out—Hayes.
