Semoball

Bernie upsets state-ranked Neelyville, to face top-seeded Campbell in Bernie Invitational championship game

BERNIE — Foul trouble forced the third-seeded Bernie Mules to make a defensive switch in the second half.

Coach Jason Long’s strategy paid off in a 51-29 upset of second-seeded and state-ranked Neelyville in the semifinals of the Bernie Invitational boys basketball tournament.

Bernie (2-0) will meet top-seeded Campbell (3-0) in the championship game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bernie High School. The Camels beat fifth-seeded Risco 68-49 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.

Risco (2-2) will face Neelyville (1-2) for third place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The seventh-seeded Puxico Indians (1-1) and fourth-seeded Twin Rivers (1-1) earned spots in the consolation championship game with victories Tuesday. Puxico beat Bloomfield 56-54 and Twin Rivers defeated Holcomb 51-45.

The Indians and Royals will face each other at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Bernie committed more than 10 fouls in the first half, allowing the Tigers -- who are ranked No. 10 in the Class 2 preseason coaches poll -- to stay close from the free-throw line. They sank 9 of 15 free throws in the second quarter and went to halftime down by only eight points (26-18).

“We tried pressure in the first half. I thought that we played really hard all night, but we got in foul trouble,” Long said. “We only had an eight-point lead. It was still very much a ballgame. The plan was to come out in the zone and try to maintain the lead and maybe burn some clock. Maybe go back and try to pressure some, but we had some success with the zone in the second half, so we ended up staying with it.”

Bernie held the Tigers to four points in the third quarter and pushed its lead to 19 points (41-22) by the start of the fourth.

Landon Zoll made a pair of 3-pointers, Johnny Vaughn sank a 3 and three other players scored field goals in the third for the Mules.

The Tigers never came closer than 18 points in the final quarter.

Bernie held the Tigers’ talented senior, Curtis Fowler, to only nine points, six after halftime.

“Curtis Fowler, he tore the rim off the backboard a couple times,” Long said. “He’s a legit, really good player. We just have to do our best. A kid like that with that amount of talent and size advantage, we just have to play as hard as we can and hope for the best.”

Neelyville’s other top scorer, Jemaane Williams, scored 13 points, including a 3-for-4 performance at the foul stripe in the second quarter.

Blake Harty helped the Mules get off to a strong start, scoring 13 of his game-high 17 points in the first half.

Zoll finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and drew praise from his coach.

“He had a good floor game,” Long said. “He did a good job of cutting off the baseline on defense. He rebounded strongly. It was one of the better games he’s played.”

Andrew Geohagan scored 10 points and held his own against Fowler inside.

“Andrew’s starting to get his legs under him a little bit more,” Long said of his 6-foot-5 senior. “The thing about Andrew is he shoots a high percentage. He puts the ball in the hole. We’ve got to work on getting him the ball more. He gave us some buckets tonight. … In a low-scoring game, we need those baskets.”

The Mules trailed only briefly in the first quarter. Austin Ennis’ 3-pointer gave Neelyville a 3-2 lead, but Harty scored on a fast-break layup after a turnover and a baseline jumper to give the Mules a 6-3 lead. They never trailed again.

Harty made a 3-pointer and Johnny Vaughn and Zoll sank jumpers to close the quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 13-5 lead into the second.

The Mules pushed their lead to as many as 11 points (17-6) in the second before Neelyville rallied from the free-throw line.

Campbell 68, Risco 49

Three Campbell players scored 15 or more points, and the Camels sank eight 3-pointers.

Jake Vines scored a game-high 23 points, including two 3-pointers. Blake Fowler scored 17 points with three 3-pointers. Kaden Siebert added 15 points and made three 3-pointers.

Fowler scored 10 points in the first quarter where the Camels took a 17-11 lead. Siebert and Vines scored eight points apiece in the second, and the Camels extended their lead to 36-23 at halftime.

The Tigers stayed in contention in the third quarter. Andrew Rodgers scored six of his team-high 22 points in the third, and Kamron Meese had four of his 18.

Still, Campbell extended its lead by one and took a 49-35 lead into the final quarter.

The Camels pushed their lead to as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter. A basket and a free throw by Vines delivered Campbell a 66-41 lead.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

Puxico 56, Bloomfield 54

The Puxico Indians held off Bloomfield who had multiple shots to tie or win the game in the fourth quarter.

Lucas Plunkett and Bailey Zych scored six points each in the first quarter to give the Indians a 16-7 lead.

The Wildcats cut into Puxico’s lead in the second quarter and trailed 28-23 at halftime.

Dawson Hill sank two 3-pointers, and Jamison Dodd scored six of his team-high 16 points in the third, reducing Puxico’s lead to 44-41 going into the fourth.

The Wildcats stayed in contention in the fourth because Puxico made only 3 of 7 free throws.

Dalton Andrews and Zych paced Puxico with 13 points each, and Plunkett finished with 11.

Hill joined Dodd in double figures with 10 points for the Wildcats, who fell to 0-2.

Twin Rivers 51, Holcomb 45

Brent Trout scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter and the Royals held off Holcomb.

The Hornets (0-2) took a 15-11 lead after one quarter behind a balanced attack. Five different Holcomb players scored points in the first.

Miller Gehrke, Brandon Tompkins and Trout scored four points apiece in the second quarter, as the Royals pulled ahead 26-24 at halftime.

Parker Watson made a pair of 3-pointers, as Twin Rivers took a 38-35 lead into the fourth where it held a 13-10 scoring advantage.

Gerhrke and Watson scored 13 points apiece to lead the Royals.

Dylan Bradshaw scored eight of his game-high 14 points in the fourth for Holcomb.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: