Webb City built a lead with its defensive pressure and preserved it at the free-throw line in defeating Carthage 55-45 Saturday for the boys Class 5 District 12 championship.

Junior guards Jalen Vaden and Phoenix Johnson applied the defensive pressure, and Johnson was 10 for 10 at the free-throw line, all in the second half.

"I just try to do the same thing every single time, just look at the rim and follow through," said Johnson, who along with Breckin Williams led Webb City with 18 points. "That way I'm not distracted by anything around me.

"We just wanted to speed their guards up and force some turnovers. That's how we got the 12-2 run."

Webb City turned a 9-8 lead late in the first quarter into a 21-10 advantage with 6 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first half. The Cards led 27-16 at halftime.

"You saw that with the travels," said Webb City's Landon Cornish, in his first season as a head coach. "Jalen and Phoenix are the guys who can speed things up and set that pressure. Once we got that lead, we were able to lock it down and not give it back."

By the middle of the third quarter, foul trouble began to take a toll on the Tigers. Desmond Buerge picked up his third foul with 4:32 left and did not score in the quarter. He led Carthage with 21 points.

"We couldn't let him get started," Johnson said. "We wanted to keep the ball out of his hands because he's their leading scorer."

The task of defending Buerge, because of his versatility, was a team effort, Cornish said.

"Absolute team defense, communicating, calling out screens," he said. "They do a lot of things. When they post him up, we know we need help.

"Breckin did a phenominal job in the post. Logan Williams can guard him with his length, but we have to get Logan help in the post. The team concept is what got that done today."

Buerge scored eight of his points in the last two minutes while Webb City made seven of 10 free throws during that span.

"This is the most competitive group I've ever been around," Cornish said. "I learned early in the season to just make it short and simple. Today, they just wanted to come here and play."

Webb City, now 21-7 on the season, will travel to Southwest Baptist University on Wednesday night to face Nixa.  Game time is set for 7:45.