The celebration was muted, but people could sense the inaudible sigh of relief from players and coaches following the McDonald County Mustangs 51-42 win over Cedar Ridge, Ark., in the final round of the 62nd Annual Neosho Holiday Classic.
Not only was the win McDonald County's first in four tournament games, it was the Mustangs first win of any kind after opening the 2016-2017 season with nine consecutive losses.
"This win was big for the team," said coach Kyle Fields. "It felt good for us to get a win. The kids need that. They need to know we can win and if we do things right we are going to be successful."
Cedar Ridge High School, which is located in Newark, Ark., scored the game's first basket, but that was the only lead for the Timber Wolves throughout the game. McDonald County went on an 8-1 run before settling for a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.
The teams traded baskets for most of the second period before a three-pointer by Brandon McAdams started a 7-2 run that allowed the Mustangs to end the half with a 33-25 advantage.
McDonald County built a 40-30 lead on back-to-back baskets by Boston Dowd midway through the third quarter, but Cedar Ridge's Ethan Ballard hit a trey to trim the margin to 40-33 at the end of the third quarter.
Cedar Ridge opened the fourth quarter with consecutive baskets to cut the lead to 40-37, but Cooper Reece's old-fashioned three-point play stretched the margin back to six points. Cedar Ridge twice cut the deficit to four, but McDonald County scored the game's final five points to seal the win.
"We were able to do some things late that gave us a little separation," Fields said. "We got better today. I thought we matured a little bit. Hopefully, we can build on this."
Dowd scored a career high 16 points to lead McDonald County while McAdams added 10 points off the bench. Rounding out the scoring were Reece with eight points, Blake Gravette and Rustin Lett six each and Andrew Landers five.
"I thought we got some real good minutes off the bench from Andrew Landers," Fields said. "He played well and gave us a little spark."
Ball finished with 28 points to lead all scorers.
McDonald County, 1-9, opens play at 9 p.m. Jan. 5 against St. Louis Christian in the first round of the Kaminsky Classic at Joplin High School. Semifinals are set for Jan. 6 and the finals are Jan. 7. Other teams in the tournament are Joplin, Springfield Glendale, William Chrisman, Jefferson City, Webb City and Francis Howell.
North Little Rock
The North Little Rock (Ark.) Charging Wildcats used a balanced scoring attack in the first quarter -- four dunks and four three-pointers -- to take a 31-12 lead on the way to an 86-40 win over McDonald County in the Dec. 27 tournament opener.
"They are a very good team with long and quick athletes," Fields said. They shot it well, but I didn't think we defended the three-point line very well, especially early."
North Little Rock stretched its lead to 46-22 at halftime before outscoring the Mustangs 32-4 to take a 78-26 lead into the final period.
"We are still in the progression stage," Fields said. "We are trying to figure out our identity and what it takes to win, especially against this caliber of team. We have to learn to take care of the ball against that type of pressure."
Reece led the Mustangs with 14 points followed by Gravette with nine points, Lett with six, Sergio Dozal three and Cole DelosSantos, Devon Aubrey, Grant Cooper and Landers two each.
B.J. Walker scored 18 points to lead North Little Rock.
Morrilton
The Morrilton (Ark.) Devil Dogs, leading by only seven points at halftime, handed McDonald County a 57-34 loss on Dec, 28 in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Morrilton forced 18 turnovers and held McDonald County to 37 percent shooting while shooting 49 percent themselves.
"They got after us and until our guard play gets better, we are going to struggle," fields said. "They forced a bunch of turnovers that led to run outs and easy baskets. We have to learn how to take care of the ball."
Morrilton took a 14-6 lead at the end of the first period, but McDonald County outscored the devil Dogs 13-12 in the second period to trail by just seven points at halftime. But Morrilton stretched its lead to 41-27 after three periods. McDonald County closed to 45-33 on a pair of McAdams free throws midway in the final period, but the Devil Dogs closed out the game with a 12-1 run.
Reece scored 12 points to lead McDonald County while Aubrey added nine points followed by DelosSantos with four, Lett three, Dowd and McAdams two each and Gravette and Landers one each.
"I thought Devon Aubrey did some good things today," Fields said. "He is starting to show some confidence and I think that is the most important thing for him. He is starting to believe in his ability a little bit and we are going to need some scoring from him."
Xavier Wright scored 14 points to lead three Morrilton players in double figures.
Wooddale
Leading 8-6 midway in the first quarter, the Wooddale Cardinals of Memphis, Tenn., scored the final seven points of the period on the way to a 47-23 win on Dec. 29.
McDonald County cut the Cardinal lead to 18-15 early in the second quarter, but Wooddale closed out the first half with a 15-1 run.
"I thought we competed hard early, but we have a hard time with consistency and sustaining our effort," Fields said. "We made a good run in the second period and then the wheels fell off. That's part of our immaturity and lack of experience. We don't know how to deal with adversity very well."
Gravette and Reece scored five points each to lead McDonald County while McAdams and Landers had four each. Rounding out the scoring were Aubrey and Grant Cooper with two each and Tim Shields scored a single point.
Demarcus Danner led Wooddale with 12 points.
Life Prep Academy of Wichita, Kan. beat Maumelle, Ark. 91-63 in the championship game. McDonald County defeated Life Prep by 21 points last year in the opening round of the Kaminsky Classic at Joplin High School.
Sports on 01/05/2017