Top seeds reach title game; Mules, Camels to decide who's number one tonight

Jerry Jarrell photo Bloomfield's Leighton Hensley hooks his Campbell defender during semfinal action Thursday night at the Campbell Invitational Tournament. Campbell defeated Bloomfield, 73-71.

CAMPBELL -- Top seed Bernie steam rolled its second straight opponent, while host Campbell needed a big edge at the free throw line to beat back Bloomfield in semifinal action Thursday at the Campbell Invitational Tournament.

Bernie (2-0) beat No. 8 Holcomb by 26 points in the first round Monday, and last night routed No. 5 Buffalo Island Central of Arkansas, 75-35, to reach the finals against No. 2 Campbell which held off No. 3 Bloomfield, 73-71.

The Camels (2-0) erased a 34-30 half-time deficit with a 14-8 advantage in the third, then held on down the stretch to beat back the challenge of Bloomfield (1-1). Bloomfield held a 22-20 edge in field goals, but the Camels were awarded 49 free throw attempts and connected on 25. Bloomfield could have still won the game despite the lopsided free throw totals, but could only manage a dismal 5-of-21 from the charity strip.

Jerry Jarrell photo Bernie's Jordan McGowan draws the defender to him, then drops off a pass to teammate Jake Welch under the basket for an easy two points during the Mules' 75-35 semifinal win over Buffalo Island Central of Arkansas Thursday at the Campbell Invitational Tournament.

"We let our emotions get the best of us, myself included," Bloomfield coach Dustin Hicks said. "The boys are probably feeding off me, we're still waiting for someone to step up and take the leadership role. So I understand that I have to get better control of myself so my team doesn't feed off that."

Campbell's Andrew Pearson led all players with 25 points, including five 3-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. Bloomfield got double digit efforts from Leighton Hensley (19), Blake Harris (17) and Seth Hill (14) but it was enough to over come the Wildcats inability to knock down free throws and Campbell's better than 2-to-1 edge in attempts..

"We let our struggles on offense feed on the defensive end. Early in the game, when we're up roughly 10 points, we're playing excellent defense and we only have three fouls on the board. Then the shots don't fall and we start reaching and not moving our feet, so in the end we let our offense affect our defense."

Bernie's suffocating defensive pressure set the tone against the Mustangs from the opening tip off.

The Mustangs had trouble just getting the ball past half-court early as the Mules raced to a 21-8 first quarter lead and expanded it to 47-24 at the half.

"We really played pretty well tonight (Thursday)," Bernie coach Brad Botsch stated. " Our kids came out with a lot of intensity and really guarded well. Buffalo Island is not a push-over by any means, and I thought our kids really did some great things against them.

" We had real balanced scoring, and it was by far the best defensive effort that I've ever seen this group play," Botsch added. " They are really starting to buy-in to what we're teaching, and we just hope to keep getting better. I was really pleased tonight."

Bernie was led by sophomore Jordan McGowan with 17 points, including 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. Jake Welch added 12 from his point-guard position, while Jake Owens and Daniel Becking each chipped in with 10.

Bloomfield and Buffalo Island will play for third place honors tonight at 7 p. m. with the championship game between Bernie and Campbell to follow at 8:30.

Consolation Game

Risco 84, Puxico 77

Puxico just couldn't keep pace in the fourth quarter as Risco pulled away for the win in the consolation bracket during the first game Thursday at Campbell.

The Indians held a 22-16 lead after the first quarter, but Risco charged back to take a one-point lead at the break, 26-25.

Both teams matched each other in the third and the Indians were able to salvage a 62-all tie heading into the final eight minutes of play where Risco pulled away with a 22-15 advantage.

Puxico's Cody Russom led all players with 21 points, while Risco's Ross Carter netted 20.

Risco will now play East Prairie at 5:30 tonight for the consolation bracket title, while Puxico (0-2) will tangle with Holcomb (0-2) for seventh place at 4 p. m. to start Friday's schedule of games.