BCT: East Prairie advances to 5th place game; Portageville eliminated

East Prairie's Noah Johnson (11) drives the basket during the 66th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — East Prairie advanced to the final day of the 66th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament with a 61-45 win over South Pemiscot on Thursday, Dec. 29.

The ninth-seeded Eagles (6-4) will face second-seeded Bernie (8-1) in the fifth-place game at 4:30 p.m., while the 12th-seeded Bulldogs (3-5) were eliminated from the tournament.

“It was good to see our guys bounce back after a tough loss,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. “We knew South Pemiscot would be a tough matchup for us and we would have to play well to win. We played well in spurts but need to be more consistent on both ends of the court to put teams away. Thankfully a big fourth quarter helped us win the game and allow us to continue playing.”

Sophomore Noah Johnson led East Prairie with 15 and was very active on the offensive and defensive glass. Senior Wyatt Williams added 12 and sophomore Connor Marcum and junior Evan Kenedy each scored 10.

Erevan Shuburte and Robert Farmer scored 13 and 10, respectively, for South Pemiscot.

Portageville falls to Puxico

Another slow start doomed Portageville in the consolation bracket of the 66th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 29.

The fourth-seeded Bulldogs (5-5) fell 65-54 to eighth-seeded Puxico (8-3). The Indians jumped on their opponents from the opening tip, outscoring Portageville 21-7 in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs trailed 37-19 at halftime but narrowed the lead to 44-42 after a big third quarter.

However, Puxico regained control in the final quarter thanks to some crucial buckets from Thomas Burch and Scyler Zimmerman.

Burch scored a game-high 20, while Zimmerman added 14.

Jamarion Smith and Shane Townsend led Portageville with 18 and 16, respectively.

Portageville will next play at Holcomb (3-3) on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

East Prairie will host Bloomfield (3-7) on Friday, Jan. 6.

EAST PRAIRIE 61,

SOUTH PEMISCOT 45

South Pemiscot (45) — Trevan Shuburte 13, Robert Farmer 10, Jatrion Smith 9, Logan Welch 5, Jamarion Jones 4, Matt Moore 4. FG: 19. FT: 5-15. F: 21. (3-pointers: Farmer 1, Shurburte 1. Fouled out: Welch, Smith, Moore.

East Prairie (61) — Noah Johnson 15, Wyatt Williams 12, Connor Marcum 10, Evan Kenedy 10, Rafe Byassee 6, Kamron Farmer 5, Ty Wallace 1. FG: 24. FT: 11-19. F: 17. (3-pointers: Farmer 1, Marcum 1. Fouled out: none.)

PUXICO 65, PORTAGEVILLE 54

Puxico (65) — Thomas Burch 20, Scyler Zimmerman 14, Jaydon Mitchell 11, Cole Barnfield 7, Kayser Long 3, Jett Hancock 2, Duncan Crabb 2, Eric Riddle 2, Landon Burchard 2, Logan Robinson 1, Nikki Jones 1. FG: 24. FT: 13-18. F: 17. (3-pointers: Burch 1, Zimmerman 1, Barnfield 1, Long 1. Fouled out: none.)

Portageville (54) — Jamarion Smith 18, Shane Townsend 16, Connor Jefferies 6, Mason Adams 4, Connor Sells 4, Thomas Frakes 4, Aaron Dunlap 2. FG: 19. FT: 8-18. F: 15. (3-pointers: Smith 3, Townsend 2, Adams 1. Fouled out: none.)