Cardinals score over 100 points to open Woodland Tournament with win

There was no better way to cap off the first round of the Woodland Invitational Tournament than with the host scoring over 100 points.

The Woodland Cardinals reached the 100-point mark at the end of the third quarter as they cruised to a 115-17 win over the Zalma Bulldogs on Tuesday, Nov. 28, in Marble Hill, Mo.

Surprisingly enough, this isn't the first time all season the Cardinals scored 100 points in a game. They recently beat St. Pius X 101-85 on Nov. 26, in the Valley Park Tournament.

“I knew going into the year offensively we shoot the ball well,” Woodland head coach Shawn Kinder said. “As long as kids continue to share the ball, we have a good chance of putting up points on the board.”

27 of Woodland’s 40 first-quarter points came from Brayden Hastings and Korbin Kinder. The Cardinals went the entire first quarter without allowing a single point. Both players finished the game with 17 points.

Zalma didn’t score until Jarren Woods put up a free throw with 5:25 left in the second quarter. He finished the game leading Zalma with seven points. The Bulldogs were 6-of-19 from the free-throw line.

“I want to give Zalma credit,” Kinder said. “I graduated from a small school, and I know from time to time it's hard to even field good enough kids to even field a team. I feel like they've done a good job getting guys out. What we focused on was just respecting the game, making sure we shared the basketball and ran the floor, and really focused more on the intensity on the defensive end more than anything.”

Kinder got what we expected from the Cardinals offensively. They made six three-point baskets and had six different players in double-digits. Lane Lee scored 11 of his team-leading 20 points in the third quarter, as the Cardinals scored 103 points before the beginning of the fourth quarter.

What Kinder really wanted to see out of his Redbirds against the Bulldogs was their defensive proficiency.

“We knew coming into the season, we were gonna have a lot of guys who could shoot the ball well,” Kinder said. We’re kind of small for a Class 3 school with our schedule and we really got to emphasize really the defensive end and rebounding on both ends.”

Reed Layton scored 12 points for the Cardinals, all in the first half, helping Woodland score more points by halftime (73) than the previous four teams in the tournament scored in a complete game. Colby Miller and Bryer Sauls scored 10 to round out Woodland's double-digit scorers.

The Cardinals will take on Oak Ridge in the semifinal round of the tournament at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30. The Blue Jays advanced by defeating Perryville 66-47, led by a 26-point performance from Konner Hobeck.

A win on Thursday would put Woodland in the tournament championship game for the fourth year in a row.

“I think it would really set the tone for the year for us,” Kinder said. “We're excited for this year.”