Travis Vogt scored eight of his 32 points in the final minute of Carl Junction’s 64-59 come-from-behind victory over Joplin on Monday night at Young Gymnasium. Vogt, a 6-foot-1 junior, gave Carl Junction a 60-59 lead with 59 seconds left on a layup after a steal near midcourt by sophomore guard Matt Magee. Vogt was 14 of 14 at the free-throw line, including six for six in the final minute.

“He had a heckuva night, especially in the second half,” said Carl Junction head coach Ryan Odaffer. “Those free throws he hit in the fourth quarter were crucial. He’s a special player and he had a special night tonight.”

Carl Junction, 9-11, overcame a 22-point performance by Joplin sophomore Charlie Brown, who scored 10 points — including a pair of 3-pointers — in the fourth quarter. Joplin took its largest lead of the game, 36-24, early in the second half after a 3-pointer by Gabe Sachetta and a breakaway layup by Brown.

“At that point, I was a split second away from calling a time out,” Odaffer said. “It was real close to getting away from us. Then we got a steal. It’s a credit to our players. They knew what they needed to do. Our intensity on defense picked up without me having to call a timeout.”

The steal began a 13-0 Carl Junction run — in 1 minute, 40 seconds — led by Magee’s two field goals and two assists. He scored nine of his 13 points in the second half and was assigned to guard Brown for most of the game. “Matt did an excellent job on Brown,” Odaffer said. “I know Charlie still got 22, but he did a great job making it hard for him.”

Joplin quickly regained the lead on a court-length pass from Sachetta to Adam St. Peter for a layup, followed by a 3-pointer by Brown. The game was tied at 45 going into the fourth quarter. Joplin tied the score at 56 on an inbounds play to St. Peter with 3:02 to go, and Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:11 left gave Joplin a 59-56 lead.

“It’s really tough to digest when our kids played as hard as they did,” said Joplin head coach Jeff Williams. “But we turned the ball over four times in the last minute, and they’re usually sure-handed.”
 

Blue Springs prepared for its return to Suburban Conference competition by defeating Carl Junction 72-41 Saturday in the Carl Junction Classic. The Wildcats, who won the tournament, led 16-2 with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first quarter and spiced their performance with four dunks in the first half.

Parsons, which edged Carl Junction 55-54 on Thursday, outlasted Seneca 63-57 Saturday and was the runner-up.

Delondre Hall, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, led Blue Springs with 23 points, including back-to-back fast-break dunks after a pair of steals near midcourt in the second quarter. “Our kids came out strong and played real well,” said Blue Springs head coach Frank Wheeler. “We got it done on the defensive end early. “We have two big conference games when we return. We play the two teams we’re tied with for first place.”

Blue Springs, which led 47-20 at halftime, kept its starters off the court for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the second half. Marvin Clark, a 6-6 junior, had 14 points and Jay Corwin, a 6-5 junior, scored 12. Junior guard Travis Vogt of Carl Junction picked up his third foul with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half and was limited to 11 points. Chase Marrs and Payton Walker each scored nine.

Vogt was named to the all-tournament team along with Clark and Hall of Blue Springs, Kyler Ng of Seneca, and Wes Krull and Steve Jones of Parsons. Corwin was named the most valuable player.

Against Seneca, Parsons played its third game in three days that was decided in the last 30 seconds. “I’m glad to get out of here with two Ws,” said Parsons head coach Mike Krull. “We’re not kidding when we say all of our games have been like that. There are only two that haven’t.” Parsons, 10-1 and ranked No. 10 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, made nine of 10 free throws in the last half of the fourth quarter against Seneca, including four-for-four in the last 33 seconds. “They did a good job of battling us inside,” Krull said. “Through this tournament, we’ve been a good outside shooting team, but they’re a better outside shooting team than we are.”

Seneca, which broke the school record with 13 3-pointers Thursday against Blue Springs, had six in a 59-54 loss to Carl Junction and six more against Parsons. Ng and Daniel Noah each scored two of their three 3-pointers apiece in the first quarter, but the Indians were only able to keep pace with Parsons until they went on an 8-0 run and took a 24-18 lead early in the second quarter.

From there, Parsons went on a 14-0 run and led 32-28 at halftime. The two teams traded baskets in the second half until Ng’s third 3-pointer tied the game at 55 with 2:38 left. Ng led Seneca with 24 points, Noah scored 13 and Payton Rawlins had 10. Krull led Parsons with 14 points, Tevin Johnson had 13 and James Jackson had 12.
 

Boys' BB: Republic 67, Carl Junction 33
Joplin Globe, 12/9/11
Nick Yocum’s 21 points paced four players in double figures as Republic posted its third victory in four starts. Jake Fletcher added 11 points and Payton Looney and Marcus Miller each had 10 for the Tigers, who widened a 21-15 first-quarter lead to 43-22 at halftime.
Travis Vogt tallied 17 points for Carl Junction (2-3). The Bulldogs return to action Dec. 16 at St. Mary’s-Colgan in Pittsburg, Kan.