Late three-pointer sends Webb City past Rogersville

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By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

NIXA – In a rematch of last year’s Class 4 sectional bout, the Webb City Cardinals came out on top this time around with a fight-to-the-finish 58-57 victory over Logan-Rogersville on Tuesday night.

Tanner Rogers lit up the scoreboard in the first half, going 5-for-6 from 3-point range for 17 points, but none were bigger for Webb City than the final 3.

With 46.1 seconds to go in a tie game (55-55), Kanon Gipson hit two free throws to give the Wildcats a 57-55 lead. But just 20 seconds later, Rogers got free for a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Cardinals up 58-57 with 26 seconds left.

“Starting the game, my teammates did a great job of penetrating; I can’t thank them enough,” Rogers said. “They got in that lane, but instead of going up they kicked it out to me, and I just kept that confidence. I kind of got quiet in that third quarter, but that last shot just was a routine shot – couldn’t put it any better. I can’t thank Coach enough for making that call.”

Webb City picked up a steal and called time out with 18.8 seconds remaining. A Logan-Rogersville foul sent the Cardinals to the line for a 1-and-1, but missed the front end. The Wildcats collected the rebound and called time with 7.5 seconds to go and a chance to win the game.

Another timeout taken with 1.2 seconds left, and the ball in its half of the court, gave Logan-Rogersville its last chance, but the shot fell short, lifting Webb City to the quarterfinal round on Saturday.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

“(There was) a lot of motivation coming into this one,” Rogers said of Webb City avenging last year’s sectional loss to the Wildcats. “Coach was preaching all week, ‘same place, same location, same team’ – the perfect atmosphere to come out and just compete.”

Which both teams did. The game had the feel of a boxing match with each team punching and counter-punching.

“We talked to our kids before the game,” said Webb City coach Jason Horn, “it’s not how hard we’re going to hit them, it’s the hits we can take and keep going. They had some heavy swings at us, and I thought we absorbed them. We stayed very level-headed and just executed, and we were fortunate enough to have enough winning plays down the stretch to win it.”

Logan-Rogersville won the sectional battle against Webb City last year with a 63-52 victory on its way to the Class 4 final four and a fourth-place finish.

But, the Wildcats had their hands full in this one.

“I felt like they fought really hard; they fought hard all year,” Logan-Rogersville coach John Schaefer said of his seniors. “Tonight, we had a lot of turnovers and some miscues, but kudos to Webb City. They’ve got a good team, they’re super-physical and put a lot of pressure on us all night.

“Both teams took decent-sized leads, just back and forth, and every time you look up, it’s tied at the end of the quarter. (It was) a great game, great kids just playing hard and competing, and that’s what March is, that’s what you can ask for.

“We’ve gotten stops all year, that’s what we do. We just had a miss key and just couldn’t get it out of our head to not help. And when you can’t, you really collapse and in trying to help on those guards, they draw so much attention, you fall asleep. But, you’re trying to rebound, too. If (Rogers) misses that shot, you win the game. But he made the shot, so you don’t win the game – pretty simple.”

Horn, whose Cardinals will next face Jefferson City Helias in the Class 4 quarterfinals on Saturday, also tipped his cap to the Wildcats in the rematch.

“They probably, in my opinion, have been the best Class 4 team over the last three years in southwest Missouri,” Horn said. “If you’re going to advance, you’re going to have to go through them.

“Last year was a great learning experience for us, it was an eye opener for us, and I think our kids wanted to get back to this point, obviously, and we wanted another shot. We had a really good team and we wouldn’t have wanted to play anyone else. Like I said, if you want to be one of the best, you’ve got to play with the best to beat the best. And, we were fortunate to make one more play tonight.”

Rogers led all scorers with 23 points, going 7-for-8 from 3-point range for Webb City (17-9). Terrell Kabala and Nickhai Howard added 12 points apiece.

Cade Blevins paced the Wildcats (20-9) with 20 points, with Josh Linehan and Gipson adding 16 and 10 points, respectively.

CLASS 4 SECTIONALS
WEBB CITY 58, LOGAN-ROGERSVILLE 57
WEBB CITY 14-16-13-15—58

LOGAN-ROGERSVILLE 14-16-13-14—57
WEBB CITY (17-9) – Terrell Kabala 12, Tanner Rogers 23, Gary Clinton 4, Nickhai Howard 12, Colton McKee 2, Cohl Vaden 5.
LOGAN-ROGERSVILLE (20-9) – Cade Blevins 20, Josh Linehan 16, Andrew Sell 4, Zach Bergmann 5, Kanon Gipson 10, JJ O’Neal 2.

Up next: Class 4 quarterfinals – Webb City vs. Jefferson City Helias, 2:45 p.m., March 14, at Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar

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