Cardinals advance to semifinals

Webb City boys opened the district basketball tournament that they’re hosting Wednesday with a 63-58 win over Hillcrest.

Now the 15-12 Cardinals will face the top seed, Springfield Central, at 6 p.m. Friday in the Cardinal Dome as the Class 5 District 6 tournament continues.

Also advancing to the semifinals, Carl Junction and Parkview will play the second game on Friday. The final is set for 6 p.m. Saturday.

Trae Turner stepped up for the Cardinals to compete with the team’s regular scoring leaders Holton Keith and Eli Pace. Turner and Pace both scored 19, while Keith had 20.

After giving up the lead in the second quarter, trailing 27-25 at the half, the Cardinals led the Hornets by as much as 12 points in the third quarter.

Webb City’s game was the last of four on opening night. In the first game, Parkview defeated West Plains 66-54. Carl Junction beat Willard 85-68 in the second game, and Central defeated McDonald County 89-34 in the third game.

Webb City closed out the regular season Friday in the Dome with a 69-55 win over Joplin.

The 18-8, fourth-seeded Webb City girls will begin districts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday against the host team, Willard.

The Lady Cardinals defeated Joplin 69-36 last Thursday in the Dome to end their regular season.