SCAA Tournament: No. 6 seeded Woodland upsets No. 3 Bloomfield 49-48

Note: 16 Photos of Monday action are available in a gallery at this link: View Photos Here

DEXTER, Mo. - Fresh off a 51-45 road win at Bloomfield Friday Woodland first-year varsity boys basketball coach Scot Davis knew extra preparation was needed for Round 2 in the opening-round of the SCAA varsity boys basketball tournament Monday.

"We just played Bloomfield Friday and we knew they would be hungry because we spoiled their homecoming and that would put extra fire in their game," Davis said. "We had to come out and play even better than what we did Friday. We worked on some things in practice especially for this game. A few times they worked and a few times they backfired, but overall we were able to get the job done and it was a lot of fun."

Sixth-seeded Woodland accomplished its mission to knock off third-seeded Bloomfield in the final half-minute of regulation Monday.

Tyler Battles put Bloomfield on top 48-47 when he drained a clutch 3-pointer near the top of the key with 30 seconds remaining.

Woodland five-foot-ten junior guard Garret Reynolds put his team back on top 49-48 15 seconds later when he penetrated to the basket against a set Bloomfield defense and made a contested shot near the rim.

Bloomfield moved the ball to half court and called timeout with about 11 seconds remaining after Reynolds' lay-up.

Following the timeout Bloomfield worked the ball around the perimeter near the 3-point line on both sides of the floor until Noah Vandiver released a contested trey to the right of the top of the key shortly before the buzzer sounded that made contact with the rim but did not fall.

"When we needed it we got it," Davis said, when asked about the final 30 seconds. "That was the biggest thing. This team fights so hard. They give me everything they've got every single day and it shows in some of these close games and we were able to walk out of here with a great win tonight."

Bloomfield took its largest lead of the game at 7-2 less than three minutes into the first quarter. Woodland's largest advantage of the first half was seven twice in the second quarter before Bloomfield trimmed the margin to 29-24 at halftime.

The Cardinals took its largest lead of the game at 39-29 with 3:59 left in the third period.

"Shots were falling," Davis said. "Basketball is a game of runs. We went on a big run right there, but then Bloomfield got their run and it was a two-point game going into the fourth quarter."

Bloomfield narrowed the margin to 41-39 by the start of the fourth quarter and tied things up at 41-41 later.

Woodland did not score in the fourth quarter until Reynolds hit back-to-back free throws to put his team on top 43-41 with 4:37 remaining. Reynolds finished 12 of 12 for the free throw line. He scored 28 points.

The game was tied a 43 and 45 before a 2-pointer by Evan Grindstaff with 1:03 remaining gave the Cardinals a 47-45 lead.

Vandiver led Bloomfield with 15 points. Tim Fox scored 11 points, Alex Gibbs tallied nine points and Nathan Newell calculated eight.

"I'm proud of my guys and their effort," Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes said. "We just didn't execute enough tonight to ever establish anything. Give Woodland a lot of credit. They played very well."

Bloomfield (5-11) will have a week to prepare for an SCAA regular-season showdown at Bell City Feb. 4.

Woodland (9-9) will play in a varsity semifinal Thursday at 7 p.m. at Dexter against the winner of a quarterfinal that features No. 2 seeded Advance and No. 7 seeded Bell City. Arch rivals Advance and Bell City will play Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m.

"Either one of those teams we get it will be even tougher than when we played them before," Davis said. "We will have to be ready."

Varsity Boys: No. 6 Woodland 49, No. 3 Bloomfield 48

WHS 15 14 12 8 - 49

BHS 13 11 15 9 - 48

WOODLAND (49) - Evan Grindstaff 6, Tyler Yount 2, Garret Reynolds 28, Landon Johnson 5, Devon Gramlisch 8. FG 17, FT 12/12, F 11. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2, Johnson 1. Fouled out: none)

BLOOMFIELD (48) - Nathan Newell 8, Tim Fox 11, Tyler Battles 3, Noah Vandiver 15, Triston Mitchell 2, Alex Gibbs 9. FG 18, FT 6/9, F 16. (3-pointers: Fox 3, T. Battles 1, Newell 2. Fouled out: none)