Van Buren rallies to turn back Doniphan upset bid at Bloomfield Christmas Tournament

BLOOMFIELD — After five first-round games decided by double-digits at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Thursday, the sixth game was hands-down the most exciting one of the day.

The seventh-seeded Van Buren Bulldogs overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat the 10th-seeded Doniphan Dons 74-73 in overtime Thursday in the opening round of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.

In other evening and late afternoon action at the tournament, East Prairie rolled past Holcomb 79-25, Dexter downed Malden 66-33 and Risco got past host Bloomfield 51-31.

Doniphan (5-4) trailed early in the first half but managed to take a short lead in the second quarter that resulted in a halftime tie at 31-31.

Van Buren (3-3) fell behind by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but its defense forced a flurry of Doniphan turnovers that brought the Bulldogs back to tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime with a last-second layup from senior guard Isaiah Van Wagner.

“We’re thankful for win,” said Van Buren coach Jacob Black. “I’ve got great kids that have no quit, and if we could figure out how to play four quarters like we did the second half, I might grow hair.”

“We’ve got to execute so much better,” said Doniphan coach Hunter Dilbeck. “We had a big lead in the third quarter, and if we handle a little bit of pressure, that lead doesn’t shrink as fast as it does.”

Van Buren’s leading scorer was Wagner, with a game-high 33 points, including the game winner.

Doniphan’ s top scorer was Emmitt Jones with 23 points.

Van Buren took an early lead in the first quarter, mainly due to Doniphan turnovers and the lack of rebounds on either end of the court. A last-second 3-pointer by the Dons' Tyler Lowery from far beyond the arc, however, cut the Bulldog lead to 20-15 at the end of the first.

Doniphan settled down in the second quarter, tying the score at 24 halfway through the period and taking a two-point lead with 3:29 remaining. However, Van Buren matched the Dons shot for shot and the score was tied at 31 at halftime.

Doniphan opened the second half with a 6-0 run, which led to a Van Buren timeout at 6:32. A series of Bulldog turnovers, Dons rebounds and consecutive 3-pointers from Corey Hagood and Lowery extended the Dons' lead to 50-33 at 3:36 left in the third.

But just as it looked like Doniphan might pull away for an easy win, the momentum shifted dramatically.

Van Buren began a furious effort on defense, forcing five Doniphan turnovers in a row, all of which were converted to points for the Bulldogs, cutting the Dons’ double-digit lead to 58-50 at the end of the third quarter.

Black said he wasn’t worried about how far his team was down.

“Frustrated is a better word than being worried,” he said. “I trust them, and I believe in them. I told them we needed a few steals and pick up our tempo a little bit. We got that going, and they put a lot of points on the quick.”

Lowery’s triple with 4:25 left in the fourth gave Doniphan a 65-57 lead, but the Bulldogs pulled to within one point at 65-64 with three minutes left to play.

Hagood was fouled with 40 seconds left in regulation and made both shots to extend Doniphan’s lead to five points, but Van Buren’s Elijah Van Wagner hit a 3 on the Bulldogs' next possession to cut the lead to two points.

Lowery was fouled with 15 seconds left in the fourth period, but missed both his shots, then Van Buren’s Carter Freeze tied the game at 69 to send the game into overtime.

“The whole fourth quarter, we had opportunities and missed free throws,” Dilbeck said. “We didn’t execute — execution killed us.”

Doniphan’s Jones was fouled at 1:51 of overtime, but only made one of his shots, while Van Wagner made a layup to put Van Buren back on top 71-70, its first lead since the second quarter.

Nathan Smith gave the Bulldogs a two-point lead by making one of two foul shots, but Doniphan’s Miken Pigg hit a baseline 3-pointer to put the Dons back up 73-72 with 50 seconds left in overtime.

The Dons’ Cooper Jackson intercepted a Van Buren pass and was fouled, but he missed both his shots, giving the Bulldogs another chance to win the game. Van Wagner made a layup on an inbounds pass to give Van Buren the come-from-behind win.

Van Buren moves forward to the second round, where it will take on second-seeded East Prairie at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Doniphan will enter the consolation bracket, where the Dons will play 15th-seeded Holcomb at 1 p.m. on Friday.

“We can hang our heads or we can get up and come in and play and run through this,” Dilbeck said. “I think we could do it — I’ve just got to make sure that boys are mentally ready.”

EAST PRAIRIE 79, HOLCOMB 25

The East Prairie Eagles, the No. 2 seed in the Bloomfield Christmas tournament, had an easy time disposing the 15th-seeded Holcomb Hornets on Thursday.

The Eagles (6-0) led 37-10 at halftime and outscored the Hornets (2-7) 42-15 in the second half.

East Prairie’s leading scorer was Noah Johnson, with a game-high 27 points.

Holcomb was led by Landon Smith, who scored seven points.

DEXTER 66, MALDEN 33

The third-seeded Dexter Bearcats scored an easy victory over the 14th-seeded Malden Green Wave in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Thursday.

Dexter put the game away in the first half, going into halftime with a 51-14 lead.

The Bearcats improved to 4-5, while Malden remains winless at 0-7.

Dexter’s leading scorer was Elijah Ibrahim with a game-high 16 points, while three other Bearcats players scored in double figures.

Malden was led by Dyentez Dobbins, who scored 13.

Dexter moves ahead to take on Risco at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the second round, while Malden will face tournament host Bloomfield in the consolation bracket at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

RISCO 51, BLOOMFIELD 31

The sixth-seeded Risco Tigers had their hands full taking on the 11th-seeded Bloomfield Wildcats in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, but they managed to do enough to earn a victory in the final game of the night on Thursday.

Risco (8-1) is averaging 74 points per game, but cold shooting and determined defense from Bloomfield (5-3) kept the host team in the game and the Tigers well below their average.

The Tigers outscored the Wildcats 19-12 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory and close out the opening round of the tournament.

Risco’s leading scorer was Sammy Smith with a game-high 14 points.

Bloomfield was led by Caleb Upchurch, who scored 13.