Carthage stops Cassville, 66-41

The Carthage Tigers basketball team exploded out of the gate to take a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and followed up with nearly identical results for every quarter thereafter in to earn a 66-41 win over the Wildcats at Cassville on Dec. 14.

Cassville's Garrett Kirk led all scorers with 21 points. Carthage had the more balanced attack though, as three Tigers reached double figures in the contest.

Cassville led 2-0 on a pair of Ethan Lowery free throws in the opening minute, but highlights were few and far between for the home team after that.

Lowery maneuvered underneath the basket and scored with 1:47 remaining in the first period to pull Cassville within 14-9, but Carthage scored four times in the final minute and a half to claim the 22-9 lead.

The Tigers added to their first quarter run, outscoring the Wildcats 23-4 to take a 37-13 lead late in the second quarter. Nathan Reid dunked twice in two minutes to key the Carthage spurt. Kirk's reverse layup slowed the bleeding, but Reid pumped in two more baskets in the final minute to give Carthage a 41-18 halftime lead.

Kirk scored 10 points for the Wildcats in the third period, but the Tigers pulled away to a 58-30 margin at the final break. Carthage led by 30 twice in the fourth quarter to earn a running clock enroute to the 66-41 final.

Scoring for Cassville: Kirk, 21 points; Lowery, 11; Ty Craig, 5; and Cole Beagle and Logan Scott, 2 each.

Scoring for Carthage: Jaryd Coss and Nathan Reid, 14 points each; Dawson Allmoslecher, 13; Ralston Schramm, 9; Anthony Turk, 7; Cory Prevost, 4; Levi Saving, 3; and Jesse Martini, 2.