Cardinals nearly pull off district championship

The Cardinals gave their fans in the Cardinal Dome two nail-biting district games – upsetting the No. 1 seed, Central, and then nearly upsetting Parkview for the championship.

Clutch three-pointers were the Cardinals’ trademark. Eli Pace drained one to give Webb City a 26-25 lead at the half Friday against Central, followed by Trae Turner’s three to put the Cardinals ahead 44-43 to start the fourth quarter. The Cardinals outscored Central 24-18 in the fourth quarter to win 68-61.

On Monday night in the final, Dalton Riggs gave the Cardinals a 36-35 lead going into the final quarter. The game was tied at 38-all with 6 minutes left, but the Vikings went on a brief 6-point surge and held on to win 52-40. They’ll play Helias in the state quarterfinals Friday at Jefferson City.

The 16-13 Cardinals were seeded fourth in the Class 5 District 6 tournament. They took down Central in the semifinals, while Parkview reached the final by defeating Carl Junction 72-48.

The two Springfield teams may have been surprised by the tournament host team, which they had beaten in the regular season 70-51 (at Central) and 70-37 (at Parkview).

Senior leaders Holton Keith and Eli Pace led the Cardinals against Central, with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Turner added 12. Seventeen of Pace and Keith’s total points were free throws. Pace shot 10 of 12, and Keith made 7 of 9 (81% together).

Keith was the only Cardinal in double figures, with 14, against Parkview.