The Joplin Eagles came away from their home dual on Tuesday with a 40-35 win over McDonald County in the second gym at Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Joplin’s Ilannah Burtrum and McDonald County’s Helen Martinez-Mazariegos square off on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Joplin won the first match by forfeit at 106 pounds and jumped out to a 30-6 lead, McDonald County used four pins to cut it down to 33-30 because of a point lost due to unsportsmanlike conduct, and Joplin earned critical wins at 190 and 215 to secure the team victory.
“It was a great team-effort win tonight,” Joplin coach Jeremy Finley said. “Mac County’s got some good kids. They really do. I think they’re ranked somewhere in the state Class 3, I don’t know but they’ve got tough kids. It took a total team effort. We had to shuffle the lineup a little bit, and our kids stood up to the challenge. That goes to show what Joplin kids are about. We may not be the most technical, we may not be the most flashy, but dang it, we’re tough kids and very proud of the team effort.”
On a night when the contested matches ended 7-6 in favor of Joplin, two of them proved especially critical since both Joplin wrestlers trailed significantly after the first period only to turn around and pin their McDonald County opponent during the second period.
Jabin Brown (120) fell behind Robinson Yoshino 10-4 after one, then he pinned Yoshino 30 seconds into the second.
Joplin’s Toryn Jones and McDonald County’s Paden Vance square off on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Andrew Burke (132) trailed Ayden Ball 4-1 after one, before pinning his McDonald County counterpart with 46 seconds remaining in the second.
“Jabin Brown at 120, that kid (Yoshino) was clearly a good wrestler,” Finley said. “It was 10-1 and 10-4 then we found a way to put him on his back. Honestly, those matches at 120 and 132 were the difference in the dual. We end up winning by five. If we get beat in those matches, Mac County wins the dual.”
Joplin’s Toryn Jones (126) pinned Paden Vance in 2:25, Alex Short (138) pinned Lorenzo Mendoza in 24 seconds, Juan Morales (165) won a 5-2 decision from Huxley Wardlaw, Drew VanGilder (190) won 7-3 against Malosi Sosef, and Jonathan Williams (215) won a 10-0 major decision against Cole Thomas.
Tucker Houston (106) won by forfeit.
“Any time you have a nice win like this tonight and you’re going into the second half of your season, it’s a nice springboard going forward, that’s for sure,” Finley said.
Joplin’s Drew VanGilder and McDonald County’s Malosi Sosef matchup on Tuesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
McDonald County’s Eberson Perez (113) pinned Ryley Hall in 3:16, Blaine Ortiz (144) pinned Johnathon Burke in 2:18, Levi Smith (150) pinned Cole Gandy in 1:29, Cross Spencer (157) pinned Hyder Bowman in 44 seconds, Colter Vick (175) pinned Ethan Bentz in 1:03, and Samuel Murphy (285) pinned Draven VanGilder in 53 seconds.
Finley moved Draven VanGilder up to heavyweight Thursday and Williams stepped in and stepped up with a big win at 215.
McDonald County’s Matthew Muehlebach (144), Ethan Jones (150), and Kevin Molina (165) each won their JV matches by pin.
Joplin and McDonald County ended in a 24-all draw in their girls dual.
Joplin’s Coryaunna Mueller (115) pinned Jaslyn Benhumea with 30 seconds remaining in the third period, Ericka Washom (135) won by forfeit, Amy Kessler (145) pinned Jazmynn Brewer in 3:02, and Illahna Burtrum (190) pinned Gisel Aragon in 2:24.
McDonald County’s Ellysia Wasson (110) won by forfeit, Rylie Huston (140) pinned Olyvia Higdon in 1:51, Stacy Lopez-Apolinar (155) pinned Mya Ndedi-Ntepe in 3:55, and Helen Martinez-Mazariegos (170) won by forfeit.
NEOSHO, Mo. — With three minutes and 12 seconds remaining in regulation during their Neosho Holiday Classic opener on Wednesday, all signs pointed toward a defeat for the host Neosho Wildcats against the Van Buren Pointers at Neosho Junior High.
Neosho’s Karlee Ellick scores inside for the Wildcats in their matchup with Van Buren on Wednesday in the Neosho Holiday Classic. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Van Buren’s Caylee Barbour heated up from 3-point range late in the third and early in the fourth quarter and her teammate Camryn Schmidt provided the other four points during a 10-2 run in the first 2:45 of the fourth that put the Pointers up 42-35.
Jaci Odom’s two free throws then gave Van Buren a 48-37 lead with 3:12 remaining.
After that, everything changed so dramatically that Neosho scored the game’s final 15 points and came out with a stunning 52-48 win.
The Wildcats’ turnover rate slowed down in the fourth, Reagan McInturff hit the go-ahead 3-point shot with just under a minute remaining, the Wildcats completely took the Pointers out of their offense that final 3:12, and Neosho made seven free throws down the home stretch.
“What we have been harping on them all season to break is this—when it gets tough, we fold up, we lay down and it’s over,” Neosho coach Daniel Durst said. “So, really, we had a timeout with about three minutes left and I just had that conversation with them. This is exactly what we fight against all the time, it’s just laying down and rolling over. Now you’ve got to stand up, you’ve got to sprint hard, and it’s got to be the three hardest minutes of defense you’ve ever played. They responded.”
Neosho led Van Buren 10-9 after one quarter, the teams were tied at 19 at halftime, and Neosho led 33-32 entering the fourth.
Turnovers slowed Neosho down — 21 after three quarters with seven in each quarter, but Neosho committed only three in the fourth.
Van Buren, meanwhile, committed seven in the fourth and finished with 23 turnovers.
“Turnovers killed us,” Durst said, “but I knew it was going to be a sloppy game coming off break because it always is. Luckily, we were able to pull that out.”
Neosho last played Dec. 19 against William Chrisman.
Neosho senior Karlee Ellick finished with a double-double with a game-high 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. She already had a double-double at halftime with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the first 16 minutes.
Neosho’s Raine Harris lets go of a jumper in the Wildcats’ matchup with Van Buren in the opening round of the Neosho Holiday Classic on Wednesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
“She gets us going,” Durst said. “When teams pressure her, then we falter a little bit until we can get our bearings again.”
McInturff added 13 points, Beclynn Garrett scored all 11 of her points in the second half and came through with five assists, three rebounds and six steals after being slowed down by foul trouble in the first half, Maelynn Garrett and Avyn Blair each added four points, Raine Harris added two points, and Courtney Thomason rounded out the scoring with one point.
The Wildcats finished 15-25 (60 percent) from the line and owned a nine-point advantage on Van Buren in made free throws.
Van Buren made five more 3-point baskets (8-3) than Neosho.
Ellick’s work on the glass contributed to a 33-23 rebounding advantage for the Wildcats.
Aspen Cone and Schmidt each led Van Buren (7-6) with 11 points and Barbour had nine. Foul trouble in the second half slowed Cone down after she had nine points in the first half.
Neosho improved to 6-4 overall and the Wildcats play Whitehaven (Tenn.) in their next Holiday Classic game at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Neosho Junior High.
Whitehaven defeated St. Joseph Lafayette 58-46 on Wednesday.
NEOSHO BOYS 61, CASSVILLE 43
Neosho’s Isaiah Green absorbs contact on a drive to the hoop during the Wildcats’ matchup with Cassville in the opening round of the Neosho Holiday Classic on Wednesday. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Cassville led Neosho for all of 49 seconds and the game was tied for 2:15 during their Neosho Holiday Classic Black Division quarterfinal game Wednesday at Neosho High School.
Neosho went on to a 38-16 halftime lead behind a dominant 25-10 second quarter.
Cassville finished the contest with 20 turnovers, which led directly to 23 Neosho points and a 17-2 edge in fast break points for the host Wildcats.
“Defense is what we pride ourselves on,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “It’s not necessarily a press or anything special, it’s just about making them take tough shots. We started slow offensively … we got a groove going. They play a good 1-3-1 matchup zone, but once we got the feeling of it, we were in a good spot.”
Isaiah Green led Neosho with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds and finished with six assists. Carter Baslee had 11 points and seven rebounds, Carter Fenske added 10 points, Michael Day contributed eight points off the bench, and Kael Smith and Jared Siler each added five, Collier Hendricks four, Brodie Arthur three, and Brock Franklin two points.
Aidan Cook finished with 12 points to lead Cassville.
Neosho, now 7-1 overall, plays the Crooked Oak (Okla.) Ruf-Nex in a semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Neosho High School.
Neosho’s Carter Baslee works from the block during the Wildcats’ matchup with Cassville on Wednesday in the Neosho Holiday Classic. Photo Derek Livingston.
The Ruf-Nex roughed up East Newton 79-52 in their Holiday Classic opener Wednesday.
HUNTSVILLE (ARK.) BOYS 67, MCDONALD COUNTY 57
The Huntsville Eagles erased a 35-27 halftime deficit and earned a 10-point victory Wednesday over the McDonald County Mustangs with a 40-22 second half, including a 20-9 fourth quarter.
Huntsville took control for good of the contest with eight unanswered points in 83 seconds of the fourth quarter, turning a 53-51 deficit into a 59-53 lead with 3:11 remaining in regulation.
Huntsville’s guard tandem of Mason Davidson and Troy Lambert proved too much for the Mustangs, especially in the second half, and they finished with a combined 46 points (Davidson 24, Lambert 22).
McDonald County’s Cross Dowd scored a game-high 25 points.
“I thought we came out in the first half and had a decent amount of energy,” McDonald County coach Brandon Joines said. “We executed pretty well. Second half, they had more of the energy, and they had the little extra spark to get going and we struggled to score the ball. We got a little hesitant with our movement and bad things started to happen.
“Then, on the other end of the floor, defensively, we let two guys (Davidson, Lambert) who are solid scorers, and they can shoot the ball … we let them shoot for free.”
McDonald County dropped to 5-5 on the season overall and the Mustangs face Sapulpa (Okla.) in a Black Division consolation semifinal at 10 a.m. Thursday at Neosho Junior High.
Sapulpa took a 51-50 loss Wednesday against Monett.
