JOPLIN BOYS 62, MCDONALD COUNTY 58
ANDERSON, Mo. — In Bronson Schaake’s debut as the program’s new head coach, the Joplin High School boys basketball team held on late for a 62-58 win over McDonald County on Tuesday night in a non-conference clash.
It was the season opener for both teams.
Led by the play of the Wright brothers, Always and All, the Eagles built a 16-point lead by the early stages of the fourth quarter before the Mustangs rallied late to make things interesting. In the end, Joplin did more than enough to secure the win.
The Mustangs led 12-9 at the end of a back and forth first quarter, but the Eagles finished the first half on a 17-7 run for a 26-22 halftime lead. During the second-quarter surge, All Wright hit back to back 3-pointers and also hit two free throws.
The Eagles scored the first seven points of the third period to pull away by double figures.
Late in the third quarter, the Wright brothers both hit 3-pointers to give Joplin a 41-26 cushion. By the end of the third period, Joplin’s lead was 45-30.
The Eagles held a 16-point lead at 53-37, but the Mustangs kept coming.
The hosts, who hit five 3-pointers in the final frame, cut their deficit all the way down to three with five seconds left after two treys from Cole Martin and another from Pierce Harmon. After a foul, Always Wright hit one late free throw for the final margin.
A sophomore guard, All Wright led the Eagles with 23 points. A senior guard, Always Wright had 19 points. Terrance Gibson contributed 12 points for the Eagles.
Harmon scored 18 points to lead the Mustangs, while Martin, Cross Dowd and Teddy Reedybacon all had nine points apiece.
Joplin (1-0) returns to action on Dec. 3 with a road game at Pittsburg.
McDonald County (0-1) will compete at the Battle at the Ridge tournament in Arkansas from Dec. 9-11.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BOYS 54, BRONAUGH 16
With a second win in as many nights, the Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers improved to 2-0 with a lopsided 54-16 victory over Bronaugh.
The Cavaliers led 23-4 by the end of the opening frame and were up 35-11 at intermission.
“We got off a great start tonight,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “We forced some early turnovers and turned them into transition baskets. From there we really did a much better job tonight of being disciplined and executing our half-court offense. We must continue to develop as a team in both our transition game and our half-court game in order to achieve our goals. I’m very happy with the way our team played tonight, and how much we grew in a 24-hour time frame.”
Caden Myers compiled 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead Thomas Jefferson, while Drew Goodhope added 10 points and six boards.
Also for the Cavaliers, Tyler Brouhard compiled eight points, four rebounds and three assists, while Jay Ball contributed six points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Thomas Jefferson will be the No. 1 seed for next week’s Gem City Classic.
LIBERAL BOYS 68, MCAULEY 33
LIBERAL, Mo. — Liberal jumped out to a big lead and never looked back in the win over McAuley Catholic on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs outscored the Warriors 21-7 in the first period and pushed the lead to 39-17 by the intermission. Liberal continued to build the lead in the second half on the way to the win.
“Hats off to Liberal, they have a scrappy bunch of guys that are very unselfish,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said. “They did a good job of turning us over all night with their pressure. We have got to do a better job of handling pressure offensively as well as defending and limiting teams to one shot.”
Noah Block led the Warriors with 11 points.
Payton Morrow had 18 points for Liberal, while Matt Boehne finished with 14 and Chas Ray 13.
McAuley takes part in the Gem City Classic with a matchup against Lighthouse Christian at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Diamond, Missouri.
NEOSHO GIRLS 29, CLINTON 27, OT
NEOSHO, Mo. — Beclynn Garrett and Jayden Adams hit late-game free throws in overtime to lift the Neosho Wildcats to a 29-27 non-conference girls basketball victory over Clinton on Tuesday afternoon.
In a game that began at 1 p.m., Neosho led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter and 18-13 at intermission.
The Cardinals outscored the Wildcats 8-1 in the third quarter to take a 21-19 lead.
Maelynn Garrett and Beclynn Garrett both hit key 3-pointers for the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, and the game was deadlocked at 27 at the end of regulation.
Neither team made a field goal in the extra session, as Neosho’s two free throws were the only points of overtime.
Beclynn Garrett made the second of two free throw attempts with 59 seconds left to give Neosho a one-point lead.
After a Clinton miss and a foul, Adams sank one charity with 20 seconds remaining before the Cardinals missed a last-second field goal attempt.
Beclynn Garrett and Raine Harris scored eight points apiece for the Wildcats (2-1). Briley Wishard scored eight points for Clinton (0-1).
Neosho will compete at next week’s CJ Classic. The Wildcats take on the host Bulldogs at 8:30 on Monday night.
NEVADA GIRLS 43, MOUNT VERNON 29
NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada took control early and never looked back in a 43-29 win over Mount Vernon on Tuesday.
The Tigers led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter and extended their advantage to 29-15 by halftime.
Clara Swearingen scored 15 points to lead Nevada, while Maddy Majors added 12.
Cameryn Cassity scored 16 points to lead Mount Vernon, while Jolie Prescott added seven points.
MCAULEY GIRLS 48, LIBERAL 27
LIBERAL, Mo. — Kayleigh Teeter scored 20 points and Kennedy Deruy added 12, as the McAuley Catholic girls basketball team earned a convincing 48-27 win over Liberal.
The Warriors led 14-2 at the end of the first period and 32-7 at halftime.
Lily Black added eight points for McAuley, while Ellaina LaNear scored nine points for Liberal.
The Warriors (1-0) play Lockwood at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Gem City Classic at Diamond High School.
BRONAUGH GIRLS 48, THOMAS JEFFERSON 32
Nicole Hagerman poured in 28 points to lead Bronaugh past Thomas Jefferson.
The Cavaliers trailed 12-2 at the end of the first period. Thomas Jefferson erupted for 15 points in the second quarter, but the hosts trailed 22-17 at the break.
Bronaugh outscored TJ 18-3 in the third period.
Gabbi Hiebert scored 12 points to lead Thomas Jefferson, while Presley Long added seven points. Sarah Mueller and Nico Carlson added four points apiece for TJ.
In addition to Hagerman’s 28 points, Bronaugh received 11 points from Gretchen Banes.
The Cavaliers (0-1) host Liberal next Tuesday.
