By: Jason Peake
The Cardinals used a pair of late spurts to claim the fifth-place trophy.
"The biggest takeaway from this game is that we persevered and we did what we had to do to win," Cardinals coach Jason Horn said. "Shots weren't falling for us and you could tell we were fatigued. But I thought we showed a lot of mental toughness and we made winning plays when we needed to make them."
Dante Washington and Trey Roets scored six points apiece in the first quarter for the Cardinals, but the game was deadlocked at 16.
There were seven lead changes in the back-and-forth second quarter, and hoops from Roets and Isaiah Brisco gave Webb City a 29-28 halftime advantage.
The Cardinals owned the third quarter, as Webb City closed the period on an 11-0 run to take a 40-31 lead. The Mavericks did not have a field goal in the third quarter.
However, Webb City's lead was down to one with 4:29 remaining when the Cardinals rattled off nine straight points.
Kaden Turner scored five straight points, a corner 3-pointer and two free throws, and Brisco made a transition layup before Turner converted a hoop inside for a 10-point cushion.
The Mavericks trimmed their deficit to four with 1:06 left, but late charities from Washington and Landon Johnson sealed the win.
A 6-4 senior guard who was named to the all-tourney team, Turner scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Cardinals.
Turner, who made 6 of 13 field goal attempts, had 15 points in the second half, carrying the Cardinals late in the game.
"I think Kaden is as talented as any player in Southwest Missouri," Horn said. "We want the ball in his hands. When it got late, he looked to take the game over."
A junior guard, Washington added 13 points for the Cardinals, while Roets, a 6-4 junior forward, had 11 points and seven boards. A junior guard, Johnson contributed nine rebounds and seven points for the Cardinals, who made just 12 of 30 at the foul line.
Horn recorded win No. 200 of his coaching career on Friday night and earned No. 201 on Saturday.
"That just means I've been doing it for a long time and I've had a lot of good players," Horn said of the milestone win. "Coming over here has been a good situation for me and it makes me think of all the guys who have played for me. And I guess it means I'm getting old."
Webb City (3-1) hosts East Newton on Tuesday night.