Neosho boys best McDonald County again
Jan. 19—ANDERSON, Mo. — In a rematch of the 2021 Neosho Holiday Classic black-bracket championship, the Neosho boys basketball team again got the best of McDonald County in a 55-43 triumph Tuesday night at McDonald County High School.
Neosho claimed a 70-63 victory over McDonald County in the Holiday Classic finals on Dec. 30 at Neosho High School.
The Wildcats (12-5), coming off a narrow win over Willard on Monday night, built a 28-17 lead by halftime before edging the Mustangs by a 27-26 margin in the second half.
K'dyn Water led the scoring for Neosho with 20 points, while Kael Smith added 11 points and Carter Baslee seven points.
"Really proud of our team's effort after a hard-fought game (Monday) night," Neosho head coach Zane Culp said. "They gutted it out and found ways to win.
"Carter Baslee was huge for us today. (He) did a great job on both ends — scoring, grabbing boards and playing great defense."
For McDonald County, Sterling Woods scored a game-high 16 points while Dylan Harmon and Eli McClain chipped in 10 and eight points, respectively.
Neosho travels to Forsyth for a regular-season game on Friday. McDonald County plays host to Cassville on Jan. 25.
