November 14, 2014
Bernie claims Fisk Tournament titles in thrilling fashion
Note: A photo gallery of the action is available at this link: View Photos Here Editor's Note: This story is also available in the Saturday print edition of Dexter Daily Statesman. FISK, Mo. - The Bernie Mules middle school boys basketball program collected a pair of championships Thursday night at the Fisk tournaments...
Note: A photo gallery of the action is available at this link: View Photos Here
Editor's Note: This story is also available in the Saturday print edition of Dexter Daily Statesman. This story has been updated to indicate Hayes, not Cassinger, fouled out in the overtime session. FISK, Mo. - The Bernie Mules middle school boys basketball program collected a pair of championships Thursday night at the Fisk tournaments.
7th Grade Championship
Second-seeded Bernie upset top-seeded Neelyville 27-26 in overtime in the seventh grade title game.
Neelyville jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led by single digits throughout the first half. Its largest lead of the game was 12-6 with 3:08 remaining in the second quarter.
Neelyville standout Koby Hayes, who finished with a team-high 11 points, picked up his fourth foul 25 seconds into the third quarter.
Bernie outscored Neelyville 14-5 in the third period to move ahead 20-18 by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Mules took its largest lead of the game at 23-18 with 4:02 remaining in regulation.
Neelyville held Bernie scoreless the final four minutes of the fourth period and rallied to tie things up at 23-23 with 1:20 remaining.
A field goal by Hayes put Neelyville on top 25-23 with 1:36 remaining in a two-minute overtime session.
Blake Harty, who paced Bernie with 14 points, hit a pair of free throws with 1:33 left to things up at 25-25. Hayes collected his fifth foul on the play.
Harty gave Bernie a 27-25 lead with a 2-pointer field goal with 55 seconds left in regulation but collected his fifth foul nine seconds later..
Austin Cassinger hit one of two free throws after being fouled by Harty to trim the deficit to 27-26 with 46 seconds remaining.
Neither team scored in its final three offensive possessions allowing Bernie to escape with a one-point victory.
The Bernie seventh grade advanced to the championship with a 46-13 quarterfinal victory against No. 7 seeded Naylor and 41-35 semifinal win against third-seeded Doniphan.
7th Grade Boys: Bernie 27, Neelyville 26 (OT)
NMS 8 6 4 5 3 - 26
BMS 4 5 11 3 4 - 27
NEELYVILLE (26) - Austin Cassinger 1, Jacob Abner 2, C. Emmons 2, N. Burton 6, Curtis Fowler 4, Koby Hayes 11. FG 9, FT 8/19, F 17. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: Hayes)
BERNIE (27) - Blake Harty 14, Razer 2, Brayln Jankowski 1, Trey Jackson 3, Kade Burk 7. FG 10, FT 5/9, F 18. (3-pointers: Jackson 1, Hardy 1. Fouled out: Hardy)
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8th Grade Championship
Top-seeded Bernie rallied from nine down at halftime to beat third-seeded Qulin 42-37 in the eighth grade championship.
Bernie led 10-8 late in the first quarter before missing its final eight field goals of the first half, which helped Qulin surge ahead 21-12 by halftime.
Weston Zoll hit half of his six 3-pointers in the third quarter, including two in the opening minute of the second half, as Bernie rallied to tie things up at 26-26 by the start of the fourth period.
The Mules dominated in the paint in the fourth quarter after putting on a 3-point show in the third period.
Bernie recorded five of its eight two-point field goals in the final six minutes of regulation. The inside scoring help Bernie takes its largest lead of the game at 40-34 with 1:41 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Aaron Mittelstadt cut the deficit to 40-37 with 29 seconds left.
Bernie missed a layup and turned the ball over on its next two offensive possessions, but Qulin followed by missing a pair of 3-pointers that would have tied things at 40-40 in the final half-minute.
Josh Ellenburg put things out of reach with a pair of made free throws with six seconds remaining to set the final score.
Zoll paced Bernie with 18 points. Ellenburg also finished in double digits with 13 points.
Hayden Thomas finished with six 2-pointers, a pair of treys and was 2 of 2 from the charity stripe. He paced Qulin with 20 points.
The Bernie eighth grade advanced to the championship with a 59-23 win against No. 8 seeded Fisk and 58-18 victory against No. 4 seeded Neelyville.
8th Grade Boys: Bernie 42, Qulin 37
QMS 11 10 5 11 - 37
BMS 10 2 14 16 - 42
QULIN (37) - Josiah Suiter 3, Hayden Thomas 20, Brady Leutert 5, Aaron Mittelstadt 5, Allen Hendrix 4. FG 14, FT 4/8, F 16. (3-pointers: Suiter 1, Thomas 2, Leutert 1, Mittelstadt 1. Fouled out: none)
BERNIE (42) - Weston Zoll 18, Hunter Slavings 1, Trenton Johnson 6, Jeffery Brown 4, Josh Ellenburg 13. FG 14, FT 8/14, F 11. (3-pointers: Zoll 6. Fouled out: none)
Notes: Bernie concludes its season at the SCAA Tournament Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at Dexter. Second-seeded Bernie plays seventh-seeded Puxico Saturday at 10:15 a.m. in an eighth grade quarterfinal. Second-seeded Bernie plays seventh-seeded Puxico Saturday at 12:45 p.m. in a seventh grade quarterfinal. Both games take place at the Bearcat Event Center.
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