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Campbell's 32 not enough for Nevada
By Joe Warren
Herald-Tribune
NEVADA, Mo. -- Senior Bryan Campbell had a career night but it wasn't enough as the Nevada Tigers were stopped by the Webb City Cardinals Friday, 71-64.
Campbell scored 32 points, but Webb City tallied 30 in the fourth quarter to squash Nevada's upset bid on Senior Night at Wynn Gymnasium.
The Tigers (16-8 overall, 5-3 in the Southwest Conference) looked poised to upset the conference champion Cardinals (17-7, 8-0) through the first three periods.
Nevada led most of the first half before trailing by one at the break, then took a seven-point lead midway through the third period, but it wasn't enough.
Webb City closed the third with two unanswered buckets to trail 44-41 going into the final quarter, then used a 16-6 run to take control.
"They got out and got some easy buckets," Nevada head coach John McNeley said. "That's going to happen with their athleticism. They get to some passes (defensively) that most people don't get to."
Landon Zerkel was Nevada's main nemesis Friday, scoring the final four points of the third period and the first bucket in the fourth to trim a 44-37 Nevada lead to one. The junior finished with a team-high 22 points.
Then Collin Howard scored consecutive baskets, one in transition off a steal, and the Cardinals led 47-44.
Drew Weatherly hit one of his four 3-pointers to tie the score for Nevada, but the long-range bomb did little to slow Webb City.
Chance Sossamon scored a pair of buckets sandwiched around a Colin Powell free throw and the Cards led 52-47.
Jordan Kerbs knocked down a trey to keep Nevada alive, but Webb City had found their groove.
Zerkel answered with a three of his own, and Howard hit a jumper from the elbow to keep the Cardinals in command, 57-50.
The lead would reach as many as 10 points, as Nevada simply couldn't keep the Cardinals from scoring, and Webb City showed why they were unbeaten in conference play.
In the regular season finale for both schools, the contest was highly contested all night.
Campbell had 24 of Nevada's 44 points through three quarters, making a myriad of shots from all angles in the process.
Webb City rotated defenders on Nevada's stalwart, but Campbell kept getting into the paint, knocking down his patented hanging one-handers.
McNeley raved about his captain after the game, noting that he was playing on two sprained ankles.
"It's a night that he deserves," McNeley said. "Nobody deserves this night like Bryan does for what he's done for this program."
The 6-1 guard is a four-year varsity starter, and he played despite spraining his right ankle against Neosho the night before.
The injury came late in a big Nevada victory, and added insult to the weakened left ankle Campbell has played on since he sprained it in December.
"After the game (Thursday) we looked at it and I told him we were going to sit him out against Webb.
"He told me he was going to play. That's the kind of kid Bryan is," McNeley said.
Nevada showed early that they wouldn't back down, despite a 66-59 loss at Webb City Jan. 9. That game wasn't as close as the score as the Tigers had to rally from 20 down in the fourth period to make it respectable.
Friday's game was much more competitive.
The Tigers turned steals into layups for their first four points, as Kerbs did the job for the initial basket of the game, and Campbell followed suit after Webb City had tied it at two.
The Tigers closed the first period with an 11-2 run, taking a 20-11 lead after one period, but Webb City battled back to take the lead at halftime.
"We played like I thought we would play," McNeley said of his team not backing down. "I don't think we played as well as we can play, but we competed as hard as we could compete and we played pretty good."
Nearly all of Nevada's scoring came from three players, as Weatherly and Kerbs each poured in 14.
James Tumm has the team's remaining four points. The 6-6 senior post also led Nevada with nine rebounds.
Webb City had five players with at least nine points.
Sossamon and Howard each scored 12, while Caleb Powell and Trey Laveroni added nine apiece. Howard added 10 boards to lead both teams.
The Tigers finished tied for second in the Southwest Conference along with Carthage, who beat McDonald County Friday, 51-38.
Nevada is the second seed in the upcoming Class 4, District 10 tournament in Harrisonville. They will play third-seeded Clinton in the district semifinals Thursday at 7:30 p.m.