Blowouts prevail in varsity, JV semifinals

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Thursday night's anticipated semifinal ""shootouts"" turned into "blowouts" as SCAA teams battled for spots in tonight's championship games.

The four SCAA semifinal games, two varsity and two junior varsity, were all lopsided contests with the average margin of victory hovering at just over 26 points.

The two junior varsity semifinal games were nearly identical in score as No. 1 Bernie thumped No. 5 Advance, 54-29, and No. 2 Dexter dumped No. 3 Bloomfield, 53-29.

Dexter's Chase Young finds his path to the basket blocked by Advance's Ethan Barr.

Bernie and Dexter will play for the JV title tonight at 7 p.m.

On the varsity side, No. 1 Bernie steamed-rolled No. 4 Bloomfield, 81-52, while No. 3 Advanced dominated No. 2 Dexter, 86-59.

Both Bernie and Advance dominated the boards in their varsity wins. The winner of their championship matchup tonight at 8:30 could well be decided by the team that controls the boards.

Bernie beat Advance in the regular-season meeting, but it took a 65-foot buzzer beater by the Mules' Sam Turner to notch the 3-point victory.

Varsity Semifinals

No. 1 Bernie 81, No. 4 Bloomfield 52

Bloomfield (10-9) looked tired after its triple overtime win against Puxico Tuesday night. Bernie had four players score in double figures and the Mules' depth became more apparent as the game progressed.

Talented David Baker led the Mules, now 16-3 on the season, with 24 points. B.J. Jenning added 17, Landon Woods chipped in with 14 and Turner notched 10.

"I felt we played the first complete game we have in a long time," Bernie coach Brad Botsch commented after the game. " Bloomfield is a solid team, and playing them on their home floor, I knew it would be tough to win.

"Our kids really came out and executed much better than we have been on both ends of the floor," Botsch continued. "After we got out to a lead, we also sustained our intensity and effort, which is something we haven't been doing. I was really pleased with our effort tonight. We will have to play well tomorrow night, as Advance is playing as well as anybody in the area right now, and they'll want to get us back for beating them earlier in the year."

Bloomfield got a 21-point effort from Caleb Baker and Brett Ruch added 15, but the Wildcats just couldn't hang with the Mules on this night.

"Bernie played very well tonight," Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes said. "Coach Botsch and Coach Long do a tremendous job at preparing there team and getting them ready to play, and that was no different tonight.

"We had a tough time on both ends of the floor, and that was really contributed to how Bernie played. We must have a short memory as we have to come back tomorrow ready to play and compete against a very good Dexter team."

No. 3 Advance 86, No. 2 Dexter 59

Ethan Barr scored a game-high 33 points and dominated the boards against the Bearcats, who were seeking a third-straight SCAA tournament title.

Barr scored four points in the first quarter as Dexter trailed by just six, 18-12, heading into the second period, but the 6'4 Advance senior erupted for 13 second quarter points as the Hornets began to pull away. Eight of those points came on offensive rebounds and stick-backs as the 'Cats just couldn't matchup with Barr inside.

It was still just a 15-point game at the half with Advance up, 37-22, but the Hornets began to pad their lead in the third.

Barr played just over three quarters as the Hornets' bench played most of the fourth quarter.

Advance's Lane Below had a workman-like 17 point effort.

Dexter's Chase Young was hurt with just seconds remaining in the game and had to be helped off the court. The senior led the Bearcats with 16 points and his status for tonight's third-place game was unknown.

Brad Potts had a 15-point night for the 'Cats while DJ Dowdy finished with 10.

Dexter and Bloomfield will take the court for their third-place game at 5:30.

Junior Varsity

No. 1 Bernie got 27-points from Caleb Ellenburg in its 54-29 win over Advance while No. 2 Dexter was paced by a 27-point effort from Austin Chesser.

Bernie beat Dexter in the regular-season meeting of the two teams. The junior varsity championship game is set to tip off at approximately 7 o'clock.

NOTE: For a complete schedule of tonight's games and results from all of the games, see page 9 of today's edition of the Daily Statesman under the Scoreboard.