Cardinals easily topple Crusaders

By JASON VIOX\Daily Journal Sports Writer

PARK HILLS - The Mineral Area Cardinals basketball squad used an effective defense against the Missouri Baptist J.V. Crusaders on Wednesday. Both teams took plenty of shots from three-point range, and both teams found success outside of the perimeter. In the end, the Crusaders had 10 more turnovers than the Cardinals, and Mineral Area finished with a convincing 106-52 win.

A three by Willie Hassell for the Cardinals and Dustin Dildine for the Crusaders kicked off the contest, but a pair of lay-ups by Tremaine Wilkerson boosted Mineral Area to a quick 11-3 edge. A triple by Rickey Claitt for the Cardinals was matched by a trey from Rashaad Davenport. Davenport later sank two straight three pointers to narrow Mineral Area's lead to eight points.

The Cardinals came back with a 14-0 run for a 37-15 advantage. The scoring run included a dunk by Curtis Muse. Mineral Area continued their dominant play with a 12-4 scoring run for a 49-21 game. Chad Henderson drained a couple of three-point shots, and Henderson set up De'Alan Hicks for an alley oop during the drive.

Missouri Baptist knocked down three attempts from the charity stripe, but Hicks and T.J. Britton closed out the first half with a putback. The Cardinals led 53-24 at half-time.

Henderson and Joe Ashlock exchanged a three to kick off the second half. Both teams traded tallies before Mineral Area went on a crushing 15-3 run for a 86-41 contest. Tony Webb, Hassell, and Henderson all posted a three during the scoring spree.

The Cardinals later added 10 consecutive points for a 96-45 game. Henderson and Dontavis Jones both added a three pointer during the run. Jones sank two three-point shots to push Mineral Area beyond the 100-point mark, and Eric Stuckey slammed down a dunk for the Cardinals' last points of the game. Dildine close out the contest with a lay-up.

“We just wanted to stay solid,” commented Mineral Area assistant coach Chad Kish. “These games can go one way or the other. They can be ugly, or they can be a blowout.”

Henderson led all scorers with 18 points. All of his points came from three-point range. Hassell contributed 16 tallies for the Cardinals. Davenport and Joe Graham both scored 15 points for the Crusaders.

Mineral Area, now 13-4, will travel to West Plains for an important region and conference game on Saturday.

Missouri Baptist - 24 28 - 52

Mineral Area - 53 53 - 106

SCORING:

Missouri Baptist - R Davenport 15, J Graham 15, D Dildine 9, A Beckemeier 6, J Ashlock 3, T Grier 2, J Vinson 1, J Johnson 1.

3-Pointers - R Davenport 5, J Graham 3, A Beckemeier 2, D Dildine 1, J Ashlock 1.

Mineral Area - C Henderson 18, W Hassell 16, D Hicks 12, E Stuckey 12, D Jones 11, T Webb 11, T Wilkerson 8, R Claitt 6, T Britton 6, C Muse 4, R Mata 2.

3-Pointers - C Henderson 6, W Hassell 4, D Jones 3, T Webb 1, R Claitt 1.