Father-son duos lead Woodland to historic victory at Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament

In the brightest lights, on the biggest stage, two father-son combos deliver Woodland’s biggest win as a longtime participant in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Calvin Layton scored 25 points and Korbin Kinder added 20 points to lead the Cardinals past the Scott City Rams 81-76 and win third place for the first time in school history Monday, Dec. 30, at the Show Me Center.

Woodland head coach Shawn Kinder and his assistant Ryan Layton got involved in coaching once their kids started playing sports at a young age. To see their sons succeed on a stage such as the Show Me Center is a long time coming for them.

“We’re starting to see the fruits of our labor,” coach Kinder said. “It’s just remarkable to see the kids be so successful and then our kids to be a big part of that. It’s something special that we talked about for a long time and now starting to see come to fruition.”

Calvin Layton has been a reliable 3-point shooter for the Cardinals during the tournament, but saved his best game for last.

“It’s been a tough tournament for Cal, and he struggled with that because he had high hopes for being a big-time player in this tournament,” coach Layton said. “But he bounced back tonight and really brought the third-place game home for us.”

Korbin Kinder finished his tournament run leading the field with 85 points through four games. He scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Lane Lee scored 16 points and Jackson Shock added 12 points for the Cardinals.

“Korbin is probably getting the team’s best defender,” coach Kinder said. “But the thing that makes this team special is we got a lot of guys who can score.”

Woodland made eight baskets from the 3-point line and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line.

Max Snider hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the game to bring his team-high total to 23 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Rams.

Kaden Lowery scored 15 points for the Rams to add to his tournament total of 50 points, but he was held without a basket in the fourth quarter. Jaylon Rulo scored 14 points and Kobe Watson chipped in nine points, including two baskets from beyond the 3-point line during the Rams’ 30-point fourth-quarter comeback attempt.

Woodland was down 19-9 after the first quarter, but came back to take a 33-32 halftime lead after a pair of free throws from Shock. The Cardinals continued to ride the momentum of the second quarter into the third, building a 58-46 lead entering the final period after a buzzer-beating layup by Kinder.

The Cardinals entered the tournament undefeated but left 9-1 on the season. Woodland started its run by defeating Leopold, which went on to win the consolation title. The Cardinals defeated No. 3 Charleston in an upset to make their first semifinal appearance.

Woodland now travels to Oran on Friday, Jan. 3.

“We knew we had a rough road to get there,” coach Kinder said. “The kids really responded tonight with Scott City and we’re hoping that that just gives us a little momentum in the second part of the season.”

The Rams entered the tournament undefeated but, despite a 2-2 run, reached the semifinals for the first time since 2004. Scott City (8-2) will begin the new year hosting Cape Central on Friday, Jan 3.