BY JASON PEAKE
After an even first half, William Chrisman used a 13-3 surge in the third period to take control for good.
"We won, but I don't feel like we played very well," Kates said. "But you have to do that if you want to win championships. We didn't shoot the ball well, but we found a way to scrap one out. These guys are grinders."
Dawson Herl scored 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting for the Bears (10-2), while Isaiah Jackson added 14, Zachariah Rowe had 12 and Kelvyn Mason chipped in 10. William Chrisman hit 46 percent of their shots (26-of-56), while Webb City shot 40 percent from the field (22-of-54).
Junior guard Terrell Kabala scored a game-high 21 points for Webb City, hitting 7-of-15 field goal attempts. Junior Tanner Rogers also reached double figures for the Cardinals (6-4) with 13 points. Alex Gaskill contributed nine rebounds and eight points.
The Cardinals had a fivepoint cushion early, but the game was tied at 20 after a fast-paced first period. The Bears started the second quarter on a 7-0 run, but the Cardinals eventually tied the game at 29 after treys from Rogers, Austin Bash and Colton McKee.
After seven ties and a pair of lead changes, the contest was tied at 33 at the break.
Attacking the basket and pressuring the Cardinals into mistakes, William Chrisman's third quarter run made it 49-39. The spurt was capped by a layup from Zachariah Rowe and a corner trey from Alex Calhoun.
"We've struggled in the third quarter all year," Webb City coach Jason Horn said. "We've got to figure out what adjustments we need to make to come out better in the third. William Chrisman has a good team and they get you spread out and they're athletic. They had some drive and kicks and we were late on our rotations."
Webb City trailed 51-44 entering the fourth quarter and Herl hit a 3-pointer to start the final frame, giving the Bears a double-digit advantage.
Kabala hit a pair of 3-pointers and Rogers hit a trey of his own, cutting Webb City's deficit to 67-61. But the Cardinals could never get enough defensive stops down the stretch.
"Our guys kept playing hard," Horn said. "We starting shooting it better in the fourth quarter, but we just didn't get enough stops to get back in it."
Joplin Globe 1/5/2019 (Used by permission)