By Richard Polen
rpolen@joplinglobe.com
Springfield Hillcrest didn’t allow a field goal during a five-minute span late in the fourth quarter of a 60-53 victory against Joplin on Tuesday night at Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Hornets outscored Joplin 11-2 during the decisive fourth-quarter run, including 7 of 12 from the free-throw line. Joplin’s only points during that time came on two free throws by Matt McCreary, who led the Eagles with 19 points.
“We wanted to attack the basket,” Hillcrest head coach John Schaefer said. “I told our guys, ‘When you’re going through scoring droughts, you need to get to the free-throw line.”
Hillcrest outscored Joplin 13-0 from the free-throw line in the first half as Joplin got into foul trouble early.
Joplin center Phillip Davis, who was held scoreless, picked up his third foul with 4:09 left in the first half, and he went to the bench with his fourth foul with 3:54 to go in the third quarter. He returned to start the fourth quarter but played just 38 seconds before he fouled out.
“We scouted them when they played Parkview and we felt like he was their best player,” Schaefer said. “We did some switches with our zone and did a good job denying him the ball.”
Senior guard Tray Starks, who made 8 of 10 free throws in the first half, led Hillcrest with 20 points. Dorial Green scored 18 for the Hornets, who improved to 16-7 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
“I think it’s huge,” Schaefer said of the game’s impact on the conference race. “We have Camdenton, West Plains and Lebanon left. We felt like this was the big one we needed to win in order to win the conference.”
Joplin, which fell 40-35 in the junior varsity game, plays Friday night at Springfield Kickapoo.
The Eagles, who slipped to 16-5 overall and 3-2 in the conference, tied the score at 44 late in the third quarter when Devin St. Clair scored on an assist from McCreary.
The Eagles pulled to within 49-48 with 5:26 to go when Brad Hefley, who spent much of the night guarding Green, scored on an assist from McCreary.
“I’m heartbroken for our guys,” Joplin head coach Jeff Williams said. “Give Hillcrest credit. They came in here and played their A game. They played well.
“We need to execute better and rebound better,” he said. “We didn’t contain the ball and allowed them to penetrate and got into foul trouble. That penetration in the first half really hurt us.”
McCreary made five 3s, including one with just eight seconds left in the game. Derek Stokes made three 3s and scored 13 points, and Zentrell Shannon scored eight of his 13 points in the first quarter.
“We’ve been waiting for Derek to get going again,” Williams said. “We need to get our shooters more shots.”
Starks scored 14 points in the first half. The Hornets scored the last six points of the half and led 35-29 at halftime.
“We got after them the whole game,” Schaefer said. “They play good defense. They’re a good team. If we’re lucky, we’ll see them in the district championship game.
“We have a lot of respect for Joplin. They play tough. They play hard. If we make it to the district championship game, I expect them to be there.”
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