Wrapping the first half of Kansas Jayhawk Conference play, the Labette Cardinals beat the Neosho County Panthers, 76-64.
“We stayed solid when Neosho had their runs and I didn’t blow my top at them,” Labette head coach Jason Hinson said. “I trusted them to right the ship. We guarded when we needed to and got the stops. That’s the bottom line.”
Despite shooting 12 percentage points worse than the Panthers, the Cardinals won both halves and connected on 17-of-22 foul shots to Neosho County’s 7-of-7.
“They did a good job of getting into the paint and we couldn’t contain the dribble,” Neosho County head coach Taylor Shaffer said. “They also hit some big shots and did a good job against us.”
Kawasiki Ricks posted a career-high 26 points for the Cardinals on 8-of-16 shooting and 8-of-10 from the foul line.
“He played well. Our offense got stagnant and he bailed us out with some shots,’ Hinson said. “I teased him last year about not being able to make a free throw. Now he’s been clutch for us.”
Ball security issues infected Neosho County, which committed 23 turnovers.
Tane Kirisome led the Panthers with 17 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting. Neosho County as a team shot 55.6% from the floor.
“It’s hard to shoot the ball when you turn the ball over,” Shaffer said. “That’s what killed us. That’s the difference in the game. Tane was very efficient and we were efficient as a team besides our turnovers.”
The Cardinals were limited to single-digit turnovers — nine.
“That was our goal tonight,” Hinson said. “The glaring thing in the scout was that they struggled when they turned the ball over. So we wanted to speed them up. We’ve been good all year taking care of the ball.”
Labette improved to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in KJCCC play while Neosho County went to 8-13 and 0-7 respectively.
Up Next
Labette starts the second half of the KJCCC round robin schedule with a home tilt against Allen on Wednesday.
The Cardinals are 3-1 in conference action at home and tied for fifth place in the conference.
“We won most of our home games and that’s what you have to do before anything else,” Hinson said. “We’ve got to pick up a road win. But if you protect home court, you’ll be OK.”
As for Neosho County, it faces Hesston at home on Wednesday.
“We want to show up, compete and stay together every night,” Shaffer said. “We’re turning the corner and we’ve been playing better. But it’s a constant battle we’re fighting as a group.”
Box Score
Labette: 31 45 — 76
Neosho: 29 35 — 64
Scoring
Labette: Eric Dillinger 8, Brandon Taylor 10, Kamryn Edwards 17, Kawasiki Ricks 26, Christian Williams 3, Jayde Duncan 2, Julius Lymon 10, Brock Wesley 1
Neosho County: Ezrah Vaigafa 7, Alexander Norris 7, Tane Kirisome 17, Peter Obeng 8, Traymond Willis-Shaw 9, Davion Lewis 4, Michael Odingo 6, Shaun Holmes 6
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