NEOSHO, Mo. — It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and that sentiment was on display for Neosho in the Wildcats’ 68-61 win over Monett on Wednesday to open action on the final day of the 66th Neosho Holiday Classic.
Neosho and Monett were in a back-and-forth battle all game, though, when it came down to closing out the quarter, the Wildcats always had the edge. Neosho used pivotal scoring runs to finish each of the first three quarters to ultimately build a double-digit lead to start the fourth. Monett fought back and pulled within one possession late, but Neosho’s closing effort showed up once again to seal the win.
“That is a good motto of what happened tonight—finishing,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “It seemed like every time we were just about to break it open they would run down or hit a three or make a shot. It just seemed like we were a couple of plays from breaking it open but Monett played a great game. I am just glad we pulled it out.”
With the win, Neosho finished the Holiday Classic with a 2-1 record in three days of action, improving to 7-2 on the season.
“We beat Lamar (on Monday), and that is always good because they are a tough opponent,” Culp said. “Last night (against Hillcrest), it was an intense, and hard-fought game. … Anytime you play three games in three days, you will take that win on the last day.
“I was really proud of the five guys in the second half. I don’t think we substituted once in the second half. That was pretty impressive and shows some grit.”
STATS
Landon Austin led Neosho with a game-high 26 points, adding nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Dalton Brodie scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Isaiah Green scored 15 points, had six rebounds and finished with three steals.
Tyler Waterman led Monett with 18 points and five rebounds, while Daniel Navarro scored 11 points and finished with six assists and two steals. Cameron George scored 10 points and had five rebounds.
GAME ACTION
The first quarter saw two ties and six lead changes before Neosho scored the final seven points of the period to take a 15-12 lead into the second. Green scored inside and Austin added two free throws before Brodie knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with two seconds left.
Monett opened the second with momentum, using an inside score from Aleks Salas and two 3-pointers from Cameron Erwin to build a 20-15 advantage at the 6:23 mark. The Cubs extended the lead to 26-17 after a mid-range jumper from George, but the Wildcats answered with an 8-2 run to regain the momentum with a 28-25 lead.
Monett surged to a five-point lead with 2:40 to play in the half before Neosho scored the final eight points of the second quarter to take a 33-30 lead into the intermission.
Neosho kept the momentum out of the break and pushed the lead to 42-34 after consecutive baskets from Austin, Green and Brodie. Back-to-back 3-pointers from George followed by a score on the drive from Waterman tied the game at 42-42 with 3:40 left in the third.
The Wildcats’ defense locked in from there, holding the Cubs off the scoreboard for more than three minutes of game action while the offense scored 12 unanswered to ultimately build a 54-45 lead to start the fourth quarter.
Both teams traded scores to open the fourth until three straight baskets from Navarro, Waterman and Erwin brought the Cubs within one possession of the lead, 61-59, with less than 90 seconds to play.
As it had all evening, Neosho closed the game strong, outscoring Monett 7-2 down the stretch, including a steal and fast-break score by Green with 55 seconds left and four free throws inside of the final 40 seconds from Austin to seal the win.
“You want to be ahead so free throws don’t matter, but this (type of win) really matters for later in the year,” Culp said. “One big play when we were up two or three and Isaiah (Green) got the steal and runout layup. … That was a big play.”
