NEOSHO, Mo. — Hillcrest caught fire from the perimeter midway through the first half to build an insurmountable cushion on the way to a 70-63 win over Neosho in the nightcap on the second day of the 66th Neosho Holiday Classic on Tuesday.
“We struggled putting the ball in the hole, and they made seven 3s in a half,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “We didn’t guard them well, but good basketball teams make shots. They only made one (3-pointer) in the second half. So, you’d like to think if they made one or two less 3s and we throw a few balls in then it could have been a different game down the stretch.
“Honestly, I am proud of the guys. It is common when a team gets up big and you play pretty much even (the rest of the way), but we cut it down to six with the possession for a chance to cut it to one possession. … That was good to see.”
Hillcrest took an 18-11 lead into the second quarter before opening the period with a 11-0 run to push the margin to 29-11 through the first four minutes. Crishawn Haggard opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer before Devin Oliver added a triple moments later to make the score 24-11. After a driving score by AJ Collins, Oliver knocked down his second 3-ball from the top of the key to push the Hornets’ lead to 29-11.
“We felt like we needed to change up our defense because we had two or three guys with two fouls,” Culp said. “We just switched up our defense. Hillcrest is a good team and they started to hit their shots as soon as we went to a zone.”
Neosho (6-2) broke its scoring drought with a Chase Flynn score on the drive at the 3:40 mark, but a corner 3-pointer from Anthony Keltner followed by a fast-break score from Cooper Huett and an old-fashioned three-point play from Oliver with two minutes left in the first half gave Hillcrest a 37-13 advantage.
The Wildcats finished with just four field goals and shot 28.6 percent in the second period, going into the half trailing 37-20.
“They had some big, athletic guys that we haven’t faced really,” Culp said. “When you try to do too much against a team like that, I think you start to force shots you wouldn’t normally take. Hopefully, that will be a learning experience.”
Neosho, which outscored Hillcrest 26-16 in the final period, cut the lead to single digits, 58-49, with 4:15 left following a 6-0 run fueled by baskets from Dalton Brodie, Isaiah Green and Landon Austin. The Wildcats trimmed the lead to 62-56 with 2:25 to play on a three-point play from Austin, but got no closer before the final horn sounded.
STATS
Hillcrest was led in scoring by Haggard’s game-high 24 points. Oliver finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while Cole Griesemer finished with a double-double after scoring 11 and pulling down 11 rebounds.
Austin led Neosho with 23 points on 10-of-21 shooting. Brodie scored a career-high 19 points and added a team-high eight rebounds, while Green, a sophomore, finished with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“It’s fun as a coach to see a kid progress,” Culp said of Green. “As you watched him in the first couple games, he looked like a kid with talent who didn’t know what to do with it yet. He is getting more aggressive and more confident in himself, and he does a lot of good things.
“Dalton Brodie set his career high in points and also had eight rebounds. He is always in there banging with the big guys and never comes out of the game. He is fun to watch as well.”
UP NEXT
Neosho closes the Holiday Classic with a 5 p.m. matchup against Monett on Wednesday, while Hillcrest takes on East Newton at 8.
LAMAR 61, MONETT 56
Lamar and Monett opened the fourth quarter tied at 43-43 before the Tigers used a 14-2 run to open the final eight minutes en route to the win on Tuesday to open the second day of the Neosho Holiday Classic.
Lamar dominated in paint points, 30-18, and on the boards, 41-20, while outscoring Monett 12-0 in second-chance points.
Mason Gastel led the Tigers with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, with six free throws. He added 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Conner Shoff added 13 points and four rebounds, while Gunnar Dillon added six points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Daniel Navarro led Monett with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field as well as four assists. Blaine Salsman scored 14 points and finished with two assists and two steals, while Tyler Waterman added 11 points and five rebounds and two assists.
Lamar takes on McDonald County at 6:30 on Wednesday, while Monett and Neosho square off at 5.
EAST NEWTON 64, MCDONALD COUNTY 42
East Newton held a six-point lead after the first eight minutes of action before limiting McDonald County to single digit scoring totals in the second and third quarters to pull away for the win on Tuesday in the Neosho Holiday Classic.
The Patriots outscored the Mustangs 14-9 in the second period and 17-6 in the third to pace the way down the stretch on the way to victory.
McDonald County committed 19 turnovers to East Newton’s seven, leading the Patriots to a 26-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Connor Killion led East Newton with 22 points off 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Tanner Youngblood had 11 points and six boards, while Lucas Kimbrough finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Kyson Lahman scored seven and Kelton Sorrell six.
McDonald County was led in scoring by Pierce Harman, who finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Teddy Reedybacon scored 10 and had seven rebounds.
McDonald County takes on Lamar at 6:30 on Wednesday, while East Newton battles Hillcrest at 8 p.m.
