By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
It wasn’t just the 24 points that had Joplin senior Derek Stokes smiling after the Eagles’ 62-55 win against Carthage on Tuesday night in Kaminsky Gymnasium.
That was a good start, of course, but the Eagles avenged a 57-52 loss to the Tigers in the finals of their tournament on Saturday night.
Second, Stokes liked the results of the Joplin defensive pressure in the third period.
Third, about as important as the second, the 6-foot-2 left-hander liked the way the Eagles finished the game.
“We picked up our defensive intensity in the third quarter,” Stokes said. “We caused some turnovers and got some easy baskets.
“We were lousy, as a team, playing defense in the second quarter,” Stokes said. “We just stopped playing.
“We played with intelllgence at the end of the game (running time off the clock with a solid lead and moving the ball around to their leading ball-handlers),” Stokes said.
“Several teammates found me in the corners and on the inside for baskets,” Stokes, who sank three treys, said.
The Eagles, thanks to an 18-11 scoring advantage in the third behind Stokes’ 10 points, led 49-41 entering the fourth and didn’t allow Carthage to make a substantial rally.
The result left both teams 3-1 and allowed first-year Joplin coach Jeff Williams to debut successfully at home.
“Obviously, we played better than our guys did at Carthage,” Williams said. “Our guys had a good practice on Monday to help prepare.
“We have a long way to go on defense,” Williams said. “But the kids are starting to understand our press.
“The kids were unselfish in this game and that’s something we’re really working hard to achieve,” Williams said.
Said Carthage coach Steve Ray: “We played hard enough but not well enough. We didn’t execute. We wore down a bit.
“We didn’t handle their defensive pressure well early in the game or in the third quarter,” Ray said. “We didn’t answer their run in the third quarter.”
Stokes had three-point plays at 2:17 and 1:35 in the third to build a 48-37 Joplin lead.
The Eagles also got 12 points from 5-10 senior Zentrell Shannon. 10 from, 6-4 senior Matt McCreary and nine from 6-2 senior Nick Brown.
Carthage’s dandy sophomore duo of 6=2 Desmond Buerge and 5-10 Kyle Reed scored 18 and 13 points, respectively.
Carthage rallied from a double-figure deficit in the second quarter to lead briefly before it trailed 31-30 at the half on 6-3 sophomore Sam Williams’ basket off a McCreary pass.
The teams, continuing nonconference play, resume on the road. Carthage is at Springfield Kickapoo on Saturday night and Joplin travels to McDonald County on Tuesday night.
