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Carthage, Renaissance post wins
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
NEVADA, Mo. -- A couple of standout individual performances helped the Carthage Tigers and Renaissance Warriors to victories in the opening day of the Nevada Tiger Classic Monday.
Jason Adams scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Carthage Tigers overcame the Southeast Knights of Kansas City in the first game, 54-50.
In the second game, it was Dominique Johnson dropping 20 to lead the Warriors from Kansas City in a rout of El Dorado Springs, 66-49.
In Game 1 it was the Knights who controlled the third period, utilizing a 13-2 run to gain some distance from Carthage and take a 38-28 lead.
But the Tigers scored the final two baskets of the quarter to close within 38-32, and Adams took over in the final period.
Carthage opened the fourth with a 10-1 run, with seven of the points coming from the 6-5 Adams, who scored in a myriad of ways during the contest. The junior had three dunks in the game and dropped a trio from beyond the arc.
After the Tigers took a 42-39 lead, Southeast answered with baskets by Chester Brown and Tyrone Tanner to take a 43-42 advantage.
But Adams drained a three and 6-5 teammate Kyle Wicklund turned a steal into a dunk while also being intentionally fouled and the Tigers built a 48-43 edge.
Eventually it turned into a free-throw shooting extravaganza for the Tigers, but they almost let the Knights back in it by hitting only six of 12 free throws down the stretch. It wasn't until Luke Bayless hit one of two with 2.7 seconds left that put the game away for Carthage, giving them a four-point margin of victory.
Adams finished with seven rebounds to go with his offensive performance. The only downside to Adam's performance was he also led the Tigers with six turnovers.
Wicklund scored 16 and grabbed eight boards to help Carthage's cause.
Ryan Stokes led Southeast with 14 points, while Daniel Martin scored 10.
Carthage (9-6) next plays Girard (Kan.) Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Southeast (8-4) plays Girard Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The second game of the Classic wasn't near as close, as Renaissance started the game with a 9-2 run and dominated throughout.
The Bulldogs couldn't match the Warriors' athleticism, and Renaissance (7-5) led 18-8 after one period and 37-21 at halftime.
Johnson was joined by teammates Lamont Conner (14 points) and Bill Wheeler (11) in double figures as nine different Warriors scored.
The Warriors overcame a monster performance inside by Bulldogs junior Michael Thomason, who scored 23 as the only El Dorado Springs player in double figures.
El Dorado Springs (6-9) plays Nevada Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., while the Warriors take on the hosting Tigers Friday at 9 p.m.
Monday's games were held at the Nevada Middle School gym because of a leaking roof at the high school. Today's girls' games have also been moved to the middle school.