By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Aurora High School boys basketball team lived up to its No. 1 seeding at the expense of Joplin in the championship game of the Carthage Tournament on Saturday night.
Ryan Carmichael, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored 16 of his 33 points in the second period as Aurora defeated the third-seeded Eagles 70-52.
Seneca nudged McDonald County 44-41 for third place in the 62nd annual event.
Carthage beat Neosho 59-43 for fifth place and Monett trimmed Nevada 63-41 for seventh.
Said Aurora coach Darin Meinders: “We know we have a lot of things to improve, but this is a good way to start the season. I thought we did a great job with our defensive pressure considering we were playing on back-to-back nights.”
Said Joplin coach Tim Spiers: “They were aggressive on defense. They also did a good job attacking us.
“Aurora did a good job of getting to the foul line,” Spiers said. “They were 25-of-28 from the line to our 5-of-12.
“Two big keys were their offensive rebounding and our 18 turnovers,” Spiers said.
“I was proud of our effort. I thought we became a little tired,” Spiers said.
Carmichael hit from all angles in the second quarter in sparking Aurora to a 37-24 halftime lead. He added a 12-point fourth quarter keyed by 8-of-8 accuracy from the charity stripe.
“Whatever it takes to win,” Meinders said. “This is an unselfish group.”
Kaleb Roy, 6-1 senior whose specialty is a 3 from the corner, connected for three 3s in netting 11 and 6-2 classmate Devin Hillman tallied nine.
Defending champion Joplin received 17 points from 6-4 junior Matt McCreary and 10 from 6-6 junior Phillip Davis.
Joplin opened the second half with five points and missed on another possession before the winner regained momentum on Kaleb Roy’s trey, a free throw by Carmichael and a follow by 5-10 senior Kyle Roy.
Seneca, 44-41
The Indians, leading 30-29 entering the fourth period, built a 39-31 lead and held on to hand the Mustangs their second straight tough loss in the consolation round.
McDonald County, hitting free throws, pulled within two points down the stretch — 41-39 at 1:50 — and within one at 42-41 at 16.7.
But two free throws by 5-10 junior Jimmy Reed produced the final score at 10.9. McDonald County missed a game-tying 3 from the corner as time expired.
Seneca received a combined 36 points from 6-3 senior Nick Chasten, 6-7 junior Stryker Harris and 6-3 junior Toby Roelfsema.
Bo Bergen and Tyler Shaver, 5-11 seniors, led the scoring for McDonald County with 14 and 13, respectively.
Carthage, 59-43
A balanced scoring attack and a 22-point final quarter carried the Tigers past Neosho for consolation honors.
Carthage, which expanded a 23-17 halftime advantage, got 12 points from 6-3 junior Cody Caster, 11 from 5-10 senior Dylan Samuelson and 10 apiece from 5-11 senior David Brown and 6-0 junior Lane Stephens.
The Tigers, in the fourth period, got a combined 14 points from Samuelson and 6-3 senior Anthony Bordeaux.
Carthage finished with six treys.
Neosho received 15 points from 5-10 sophomore Alex Wise.
Monett, 63-41
Kirk Moore, 6-2 senior who had four 3s, and 6-3 classmate Kyle Coatney tallied 24 and 23 points, respectively, to power the Cubs.
Moore had 11 points in the third period as the Cubs outscored Nevada 20-13 to expand a 25-19 halftime lead.
Nevada got 12 points from Cole Ogle and 11 apiece from Trevor Freeman and Jordan Tumm. All are 6-1 seniors.
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Aurora outguns Eagles
Carmichael scores 33 as Houn Dawgs win Carthage Tournament
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