CARTHAGE — The Carthage Tigers ended the 75th Carthage Invitational on a positive note.
Tourney host Carthage upended West Plains 58-54 in the annual event's third-place game.
 
CARTHAGE 58, WEST PLAINS 54
This one was close all the way, but the Tigers got the job done in the fourth quarter by not only knocking down some key perimeter jumpers, but also by making some clutch free throws in the final minute.
"I couldn't care less how a game is won," Carthage coach Nathan Morris said, noting the contest wasn't always pretty. "Both teams were unhappy about not being in the championship game. We knew it would come down to what crew really wanted to play in the third-place game. It was a physical basketball game. I thought our kids made some really big plays in stretches in the third quarter and early in the fourth. And we were able to hold on."
The Tigers led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. Joel Pugh and Max Templeman both hit a pair of treys in the second quarter, but the Tigers were unable to pull away from the Zizzers. Templeman's short jumper gave Carthage a 28-27 lead at intermission. 
The game was tied at 36 late in the third period when Pugh buried two 3-pointers to give Carthage a slim lead entering the fourth quarter. 
Two treys from Justin Ray and a hoop in the lane from Templeman gave Carthage a 50-43 cushion with 3:30 left.
But it was far from over. The Tigers were clinging to a three-point lead with just over a minute to play when the Zizzers had an empty possession before a foul.
Ray made 1 of 2 at the charity stripe, with the hosts grabbing an offensive rebound on the miss. Pugh then converted two foul shots for a five-point advantage.
On the other end, West Plains buried a trey before Pugh made one more free throw. 
Pictured is Carthage senior Joel Pugh.
The Zizzers once again pulled within two after a hoop by Landon Casey, but Kinder connected on two clutch free throws with eight seconds left for the final margin.
A sharp-shooting senior guard, Pugh led Carthage with 18 points. He hit five 3-pointers.
A sophomore guard, Ray scored 13 and hit four treys, while junior guard Templeman added 12 points with two 3-pointers. Another junior, Kinder added eight points. Pugh and Templeman were all-tourney selections.
Sean Tinsley scored 20 points for West Plains. 
The Tigers went 2-1 at the always-tough tournament. And to Morris, that's something to build on.
"If these three games don't help get us ready for the season then I don't know what does," Morris said. "We played three extremely big basketball teams. And we're going to be out-sized almost every single night. But it was big for our kids to battle through that. I don't know the last time we finished third in this tournament. I don't know the last time we as a program won a close basketball game. Last year, we won handily or we lost close games. I think this one may really help this group turn the corner."
Carthage (3-1) hosts Springfield Central on Tuesday night. 
 
 
CARTHAGE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Always Wright, Joplin (MVP)
All Wright, Joplin
Ashton Jermain, Raymore-Peculiar
Joel Pugh, Carthage
Max Templeman, Carthage 
Sean Tinsley, West Plains
Kaden Turner, Webb City
Eddie McLaughlin, Leavenworth
Tucker Miller, Raymore-Peculiar
Yazed Taforo, Ft. Smith Southside

CARTHAGE — Joplin dominated the second half to earn a 51-23 win in the semifinals on Friday over West Plains to earn a trip to the championship round of the 75th annual Carthage Invitational.
In other semifinal action, host Carthage rallied back from a double-digit deficit late before Raymore-Peculiar scored with less than 10 seconds to play to hold on for a 42-40 victory. Webb City knocked off Leavenworth 59-51 in a memorable win for coach Jason Horn.

RAY-PEC HOLDS ON FOR WIN OVER CARTHAGE
Carthage trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half only to rally and tie the game up late in the fourth before a layup from Raymore-Peculiar's Myles Sutton inside the final 10 seconds to give the Panthers a 42-40 win over the Tigers in the first semifinal of the 75th annual Carthage Invitational on Friday. 
"There were times a lot last year that it happened the same way," Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. "We didn't start well and we had to fight back. I am never going to question the fight in our kids, but I told them that the first three minutes of basketball games have got to change for us. The days of getting in a 7-0 hole and having to call a timeout just aren't going to cut it this year. We talked a lot about our guard leadership. We have got to be able to start a basketball game better than that."
The Tigers take on West Plains in the third-place game at 3 p.m. on Saturday, while Ray-Pec takes on Joplin in the championship at 4:30.
SCORING LEADERS
Sophomore G Ashton Jermain led Ray-Pec with 19 points, including a game-high five 3-pointers. Senior F Tucker Miller finished in double figures with 10 points. 
Junior G Max Templeman led Carthage with 13 points, while senior G Joel Pugh, sophomore G Justin Ray and junior F Tyler Willis each added six points in the loss. 
GAME ACTION
Carthage went scoreless for the first three minutes of game action, giving Ray-Pec an opportunity to build an 8-0 lead highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Jermain. Jermain hit two more 3-balls in the quarter to give Ray-Pec a 16-9 lead after the first period.
"I think they have to trust the work they've put in within our half-court offense," Morris said about what adjustments need to be made to start games. "(Ray-Pec) did a good job of taking away sets early that we like to get into. Our kids were kind of put back on their heels by that. Once we settled in and realized that we could play basketball, we fought them really well."
Pugh splashed home a 3-pointer to start the second quarter to cut Carthage's deficit to four, but Jermain connected on three more 3-pointers, accounting for all of Ray-Pec's points in the second period, to help the Panthers hold on to a 25-18 advantage at the break. Junior F Clay Kinder and Willis both added baskets for the Tigers in the second period.
Carthage senior Joel Pugh looks for room to drive in the Tigers' loss to the Panthers on Friday. Photo by Brennan Stebbins.
Ray-Pec pushed the lead to double digits with an 8-2 run out of the intermission, with Miller accounting for six of those points.
The Panthers played with the double-digit lead for much of the third quarter before Carthage's Templeman knocked down a long 3-pointer from the wing with 1:20 left and added a pullup jumper from the elbow to trim the margin to seven, 36-29, with eight minutes to play.
Heading into the fourth, the Tigers were in need of a run on offense, and they turned up the heat on defense to get it. Using the press at the six-minute mark, Carthage forced Ray-Pec into four turnovers over the next five minutes that led to a 9-0 run, tying the game at 40-40 with 1:03 left in regulation.
"Our kids took the challenge of one-on-one matchups," Morris said about his team's defense late. "We tried some zone press early in the game and they did a good job of breaking it. So, I asked the kids what they wanted to throw at them. They wanted to challenge them with full-court man. Our kids took that challenge, I just wish they would have earlier on."
Pugh started the run with a 3-pointer from the wing before Ray added a pair of charities. Pugh pulled down an offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback, converting the and-1 free throw to trim the deficit to 40-39 with 2:34 to play. Templeman tied the game with a free throw with a minute to play.
The Panthers held possession until going into their offense with 10 seconds left, with Sutton finding room on the drive to the right for a layup off the glass to give Ray-Pec the lead and eventual win.

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Stellar guard play propelled both Joplin and Carthage into the semifinals of the 75th annual Carthage Boys Basketball Invitational.
The Wright brothers combined for 44 points and led Joplin to a 65-51 win over Leavenworth, while Carthage's starting backcourt trio accounted for 45 points in a 64-48 win over Ft. Smith-Southside.
In Friday's semifinals, Carthage takes on Raymore-Peculiar at 7 p.m. and Joplin meets West Plains at 8:30.
The Zizzers rallied late to knock off Webb City 50-48, while Ray-Pec topped Nevada 33-23.
 
CARTHAGE 64, FT. SMITH SOUTHSIDE 48
Carthage senior guard Joel Pugh poured in 23 points and hit five 3-pointers to lead the Tigers, while junior guard Max Templeman added 13 points and sophomore guard Justin Ray contributed nine. 
"When you've got three guards like we have, and then we can bring Clay Kinder off the bench, we're not really going to force feed it into the post," Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. "(3-point shooting) is something they've worked on. Those three guards have spent more time in the gym than anybody I've been around in my nine years at Carthage. That's a testament to them. And our other guys want them to score. We did a really good job of screening bodies." 
Carthage senior guard Joel Pugh looks to score in the lane against Ft. Smith-Southside on Thursday. Photo by Brennan Stebbins.
The Tigers (2-0) raced out to a 17-7 lead. Templeman scored nine in the opening period, while Pugh had eight. 
Ray hit a trey and Britt Coy buried a pair of 3-pointers to extend Carthage's lead to 28-9.
The Tigers were up 30-19 at intermission and 46-28 at the end of the third period. 
A pair of free throws from Pugh gave Carthage a 48-28 cushion early in the fourth quarter and the final outcome was never in doubt. 
"We've got steps still to take," Morris said. "Last year, we talked a lot about this team finishing quarters. That's still a step we need to take. At times, I felt like we got kind of fat and happy and didn't put that team away. We got a little lackadaisical at the end, but at the start of the game, I thought we did a heck of a job." 
Yazed Taforo scored 15 points for the Mavericks.
 
-SoMo Sports