NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho coach Zane Culp laid it out plain and simple for the Wildcats after their disappointing 77-49 loss Thursday against Crooked Oak (Okla.) in the semifinals of the 68th annual Neosho Holiday Classic.
During his postgame interview, Culp said that he told his players they can either lay down or show up at noon on Friday and avenge themselves.
The Wildcats definitely showed up at noon on Friday and they avenged themselves with a 54-41 win over Monett for third place in the Black Division of their home tournament.
Monett led 2-0 and 4-2 early on, but Neosho went on an astonishing 21-0 scoring run on the way to a 23-7 lead after one quarter.
“The guys came out with a lot of energy,” Culp said. “We talked about how we felt we played very below our standards defensively (Thursday). We just talked about every bucket they take better be the hardest bucket they’ve ever taken in their lives. They kind of clung to that and did a good job.”
Senior bench contributor Michael Day scored all eight of his points and fellow senior Isaiah Green added five more during that 21-0 stretch.
The Wildcats made 10 out of 13 shots in the first eight minutes and needless to say, they could not keep that nearly 77 percent shooting clip for the entire game.
Neosho finished 21-45 overall (46.7 percent) from the floor in the contest, a number hurt by a 2-13 performance (15.4 percent) from 3-point range.
The Wildcats owned a 36-16 advantage inside the paint, 22-1 in points off turnovers, 14-0 off the fast break, and 8-0 in bench points.
“A lot of those turnovers, I think maybe one was off a press, the rest were just digging in and playing really good half-court defense,” Culp said. “Kael Smith really set the tone early. He poked away a couple balls, blocked a shot, and dove on the floor. He’s one of our best players. He’s one of our leaders, and to see him set the tone right off the bat like ‘This is what we’re doing today,’ that was really good to see.”
All-tournament selection Green recorded his second double-double of the tournament and he accomplished this one with 15 points and 10 assists to go alongside his 13 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday against Cassville.
Green needed three rebounds Friday for a triple-double and he added three steals and one blocked shot in 32 minutes of play.
Slam dunk competition winner Carter Baslee joined his fellow senior in double-double territory with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Smith finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Brock Franklin and Carter Fenske each scored four points.
Monett cut Neosho’s lead down to 47-41 with 2:27 remaining, but the Wildcats buckled down both defensively and offensively and scored the game’s final seven points.
Blaine Salsman and Jason Garner led Monett with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Neosho improved to 8-2 overall and the Wildcats are back in action Jan. 3 against their Newton County rival East Newton.
“The boys had a mission to win the finals so it’s kind of like a shrugged win,” Culp said, “but you take every win you can get and I’m proud of them for responding today. It could have been really easy after last night and not as big a crowd (Friday) to lay down, but I thought this was probably the hardest they’ve played in a while. To turn around and do that in a noon game makes me really proud of them.”
68th annual Neosho Holiday Classic
Friday’s scores
Gold Title Game: Cypress Falls (Texas) 44, Atascocita (Texas) 30
Gold Third Place: Bentonville (Ark.) 72, Van Buren (Ark.) 52
Gold Fifth Place: Morrilton (Ark.) 49, Maumelle (Ark.) 38
Gold Seventh Place: St. Joseph Lafayette 98, Memphis Mitchell (Tenn.) 72
Black Title Game: Crooked Oak (Okla.) 64, Huntsville (Ark.) 57
Black Third Place: Neosho 54, Monett 41
Black Fifth Place: Sapulpa (Okla.) 55, Cassville 42
Black Seventh Place: McDonald County 54, East Newton 35
2022 Black Bracket All Tournament Team
Tymier Adkins-Freeman – Crooked Oak (MVP)
Mason Davidson – Huntsville
Jason Garner – Monett
Isaiah Green – Neosho
Kylen Edwards – Sapulpa
Troy Lambert – Huntsville
Daevian Hill – Crooked Oak
Cross Dowd – McDonald County
2022 Gold Bracket All Tournament Team
Joseph Tuggler – Cypress Falls (MVP)
Chase Ashby – Atascocita
JaCorey Mosley – Morrilton
Jaxon Cazzell – Van Buren
Camden Bennett – St. Joe Lafayette
Markalon Rochell – Maumelle
Jaylen Lee – Bentonville
Reid Meekins – Cypress Falls
Bill Ball Sportsmanship Award: Morrilton
