Lebanon’s focus inside got Joplin into foul trouble and the Yellowjackets took advantage in the second half of a 54-45 victory Tuesday night in an Ozark Conference game at Young Gymnasium on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.
The Yellowjackets, 6-7, were trailing 28-25 in the third quarter when they scored nine straight points against the foul-plagued Eagles.
“In the second half, we really executed our game plan and were able to pull one out here on the road,” said Lebanon head coach Cole Dishman. “I think the key for us was taking care of the basketball. We had 11 turnovers in the first half and just two in the second half.”
Lebanon was led by Jordan McGinnis, a 6-foot-3 senior guard who scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half. Teammate Devon Zimdars, a 6-5 senior, scored 19 points.
“They’re our two seniors we’ve keyed on all year,” Dishman said. “Zimdars is a workhorse inside and he’s a very good free-throw shooter for us.”
Joplin’s largest lead of the game was 17-11 after a 3-point goal by Daniel Stokes early in the second quarter. Joplin, 5-5, led 24-20 at halftime.
Sophomore point guard Charlie Brown scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half. Adam St. Peter, 6-5 junior, scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.
“In the first half, we battled, played tough,” said Joplin head coach Jeff Williams. “In the second half, I felt obligated to start in a zone. We had foul trouble bad.
“It was one of those nights when we didn’t get into any kind of flow,” he said. “We’re not making excuses for the second half.”
Joplin scored six straight points to pull to within 46-39 midway through the fourth quarter, but Lebanon made six of 10 free throws in the last two minutes and prevented the Eagles from getting any closer.
Joplin plays at 7 p.m. Friday in an Ozark Conference matchup at Camdenton.
