Bloomfield to battle Bernie for tourney title

Jerry Jarrell photo Bloomfield's Jacob McNeil (left) battles for a loose ball with Risco's Caleb McCord during semifinal action at the Bernie Invitational Tournament Thursday night.

BERNIE -- Derrick Caldwell scored Bloomfield's first eight points of the third quarter and finished with a game-high 24 as the Wildcats advanced to the championship game of the Bernie Invitational Tournament with a 75-55 win over Risco Thursday night.

The win sets up an all-SCAA title game with host and No. 1 seed Bernie Friday night after the Mules defeated No. 4 Campbell, 85-57, in the first semifinal game Thursday.

Caldwell, a rugged 6'1" post player, did his damage in the paint and under the basket, but it was three consecutive 3-pointers by Garrett Rice, Seth Hill and Jacob McNeil late in the first period that broke open a tight game. Before the outburst from behind the 3-point line it was a 15-14 game at the 3:43 mark, but and 3's and a late basket capped a 11-0 run to close out the first with the Wildcats on top, 26-14.

Risco chipped away at the lead in the second to make it a 39-31 game at the half.

"We try to tell them to stay within what we do and what we do is always work inside out," Bloomfield coach Dustin Hicks said of his half-time talk. "Even when we are taking 3's, we run them off penetration or post touches and kick-outs and relocates, but we always want to make a conscience effort, especially when Derrick and Leighton (Hensley) are in the post, to get them as many touches as possible.

"Derrick and Leighton are a really good one-two punch inside," Hicks continued. "Derrick typically will draw the more physical post player which allows Leighton a little room to maneuver. If they do choose to put their best post player on Leighton, Derrick is really a handful for a secondary post defender.

"Derrick really came out tonight, and the team has really been good through two nights (at the tournament) and they seem to take the mentality that they are going to take what the opposition gives," he added. "They feel we are balanced enough, and I think that we are, that if its Caldwell's night or Seth Hill's night or Garrett's night, or whoever, we'll try to fine the best matchup and exploit it for al long as we can."

Caldwell scored the first six points of the second half and the quick start helped Bloomfield increase its lead to 53-42 and the Wildcats nailed down the win with a big 22-13 advantage over the final eight minutes of play.

Hensley finished with just six points, but he ignited the crowd with a dunk at the 4:55 mark of the fourth to push the score to 61-46 as the Wildcats were beginning to pull away.

The win sets up a championship game between conference rivals. Bloomfield was on a short list of teams that recorded a win over the Mules last season.

"I wish you wouldn't have brought that up," Hick said with a laugh. "I'm sure that's on the bulletin board some where down there if I know Brad (Botsch, Bernie coach). "We're playing at Bernie and we know they are going to shoot well, they are going to be comfortable and they'll draw a good crowd. It'll be a fun game for everybody. We'll hope to defend well and check some shooters and not get in too much foul trouble.

"They're kind of like us, except for they are so guard oriented, each one of their players can break you down off the dribble that it really poises problems for us," he added. "We'll come out here in Bernie and try to do the best we can and have a little fun doing it."

Bernie had five players score in double figures with Quinton Stevens and Jake Smith leading the way with 18 points each in the win over Campbell.

Point guard Jake Welch finished with 17 points and added 10 rebounds (6 offensive) and eight assists. Smith had 12 rebounds to go with his 18 points and Jordan McGowan knocked three 3-pointers on his way to a 15 point night while Jake Owens chipped in with 11 points and eight boards.

Bernie took charge of the game with a 25-10 second quarter advantage after Campbell battled the Mules to a 15-14 score after the first eight minutes of play.

"We started off a little sluggish in the first quarter but had a great overall second and third quarter," Bernie's Botsch commented. " We have a lot of weapons offensively, and we got very balanced scoring tonight (Thursday). Our kids compliment each other well, and as long as we are unselfish and find the open man, we are going to be hard to stop on the offensive end. We got a great rebounding effort from some of our kids tonight as well, and playing tough on the boards is a big key for this team."

The championship game is scheduled for 8:30 Friday after the third place game between Risco and Campbell at 7 o'clock.

BERNIE INVITATIONAL

Semifinals

No. 1 Bernie 85, No. 4 Campbell 57

Score By Quarters

CAMPBELL (fg-ftm-fta-tp) J. Campbell 4-4-6-12, J. Budnik 1-1-2-3, J. Fowler 6-1-1-15, Holloway 3-2-3-9, Jackson 5-2-3-12, Deen 2-1-2-5, Collins 0-1-2-1. Totals: 21-12-19-57.

BERNIE -- Welch 5-7-8-17, Owens 5-1-2-11, Smith 5-8-8-15, McGowan 6-0-0-15, Stevens 7-2-4-18, J. Walker 0-2-2-2, S. Walker 1-2-4-4, Lane 0-0-1-0. Totals: 29-22-29-85.

3-Pointers: Campbell 3 (J. Fowler 2, Holloway 1); Bernie 5 (McGowan 3, Stevens 2).

No. 2 Bloomfield 75, No. 3 Risco 55

Score By Quarters

RISCO (fg-ftm-fta-tp) -- Pavy 5-2-2-12, Long 2-8-7-12, Carter 3-1-2-7, Bennett 2-0-0-5, Fowler 2-0-0-5, Williams 3-8-11-14, Earnheart 0-0-2-0. Totals: 17-18-25-55.

BLOOMFIELD -- McNeil 2-1-2-7, Steen 1-0-0-2, Hensley 3-0-0-6, Rice 5-0-1-11, Hill 3-2-2-11, Tilley 2-0-0-4, Caldwell 9-6-9-24, Bader 0-2-4-2, Lutman 1-0-0-2, Skaggs 3-0-0-6. Totals: 29-11-18-75.

3-Pointers: Risco 3 (Long 1, Bennett 1, Fowler 1); Bloomfield 6 (Hill 3, McNeil 2, Rice 1).