The Webb City Cardinals used a strong start and a big second half to beat the McDonald County Mustangs 71-49 Saturday in the final round of Kaminsky Classic at Joplin High School.
After getting behind 15-4 to start the game, McDonald County closed to 25-23 in the second quarter, but after three missed chances to tie or take the lead, the Mustangs were outscored 12-5 the rest of the quarter to trail 37-28 at intermission.
Webb City led 41-33 early in the second quarter before using an 8-0 run to help extend the lead to 52-39 after three quarters.
Trailing 55-42 early in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs were outscored 16-7 over the final six minutes.
"I thought we took a step forward last night (in a 67-45 loss to William Chrisman) and I think we took another step forward today," coach Kyle Fields said. "We got better. We played another good, quick team. We defended, at times, much better. We are starting to do some grittier things a lot more often."
Cooper Reece led McDonald County with 15 points off the bench. Brandon McAdams added 10 points, followed by Blake Gravette with nine, Rustan Lett and Devon Aubrey five each, Boston Dowd three and Tim Shields two.
Alex Gaskill scored 22 points and Grant Ellis scored 15 points, including nine points in nine attempts from the free throw line, to lead Webb City.
McDonald County was whistled for 23 fouls that led to 22 points by the Cardinals. Webb City was called for 22 fouls that led to 14 McDonald County points.
St. Louis Christian
McDonald County opened the tournament by dropping a 57-26 decision to St. Louis Christian, the tournament's defending champion.
Tied 4-4, the Cougars closed out the first quarter with an 8-2 run, then opened the second quarter with another, to build a 20-11 lead at intermission. St. Louis Christian turned up the pressure in the third period, scoring several points of McDonald County turnovers on the way to taking a 38-20 lead at the end of the period.
"St. Louis Christian is athletic and big," Fields said. "We had a hard time against their length. It really bothered us making passes and that led to several turnovers. It was definitely kind of a shock and intimidating for us to open against them."
McDonald County was led in scoring by Gravette with nine points, followed by Dowd with eight, Shields four, Reece three and McAdams two.
William Lombe, a 6-3 junior, led the Cougars with 17 points.
"We have to protect the ball better -- and against pressure we struggle," Fields said. "With a young team you are going to have turnovers, but we have to do better."
William Chrisman
The Bears from Independence took leads of 18-13 after the first quarter and 36-24 at halftime on the way to a 67-45 win in the second round.
Aubrey scored 12 points off the bench to lead the Mustangs, followed by Gravette with eight, Dowd and Noah Jones six each, McAdams five, Andrew Landers four, Lett three and Reece one.
Derriq Moore led William Chrisman with 18 points.
"I thought Devon played really well and Andrew has been giving us some good minutes," Fields said. "We are getting some good production from the bench. We are moving in the right direction. We are getting better."
McDonald County falls to 1-12 entering its Jan. 10 game at Monett. The Mustangs return home on Jan. 13 to host Seneca.
Sports on 01/12/2017