BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Bernie won each of the first two quarters by five points to build a 25-15 lead by halftime and hung on to beat Kennett 52-47 in a championship quarterfinal of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.
"This one was a real grind for us," Bernie coach Brad Botsch said. "Some of the shots we normally make didn't fall and we really had to grind it out. Kennett made a run at the end but we were able to do enough to pull out a victory."
Things got interesting in the closing minutes of regulation when seventh-seeded Kennett made four consecutive field goals to cut a 51-38 deficit as close as 51-47 with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"We waited and waited and finally started to show some toughness in the last three minutes," Kennett coach Andrew Halford said. "But we needed that much earlier in the game."
Second-seeded Bernie broke Kennett's momentum a few seconds later when it pushed the ball past the Indians' full-court press and hit Blake Harty for a transition layup. Harty added a free throw after the layup to set the final score.
"We hope to learn from our mistakes in this game," Botsch said. "We feel fortunate we came out on top. We just want to keep getting better and be ready to play moving forward."
Weston Zoll paced the Mules with 14 points. No other Bernie player scored in double digits but four additional players contributed at least seven points.
Hayti 66, Van Buren 50
Top-seeded Hayti had to weather a third-quarter surge from the Bulldogs, and it did so with a resounding run. After a 20-point halftime lead was cut to eight points, the Indians rattled off a 12-0 run to put its lead right back to 20 in the fourth quarter, finishing with a 66-50 win over Van Buren.
Ivory Winters had a big day for Hayti, scoring a game-high 31 points, 19 of which came in the first half.
Van Buren's Conner Jackson had a big second half in an attempt to knock off the top seed. He scored all 16 of his points in the second half, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to pull Van Buren within single digits late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. Then, the shots stopped falling for the Bulldogs, and it was a costly swing in the momentum.
Nakwon Harris scored a couple of clutch baskets to start the game-clinching run for Hayti. After the lead was cut to eight points, Harris pulled down an offensive rebound and banked home a putback to get the lead up to double digits once again.
Consolation Bracket
Malden 64, Richland 39
Malden (1-7) earned its first win of the season in the first round of the consolation bracket in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. Sientez Lerma led the Green Wave with 17 points on eight made shots, propelling Malden to a 64-39 win. Nine of Lerma's points came in the third quarter. Tye Miller scored 14 as the second Green Wave player in double figures.
The Green Wave put on a consistent performance, outscoring Richland (5-4) in every quarter on the way to the win, holding a 15-point lead at halftime.
Bloomfield 49, Gideon 43
Travis McCollough put on a scoring clinic in the third quarter in Bloomfield's win over Gideon. McCollough scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the third as the Bloomfield rebounded from a close loss against Doniphan with a 49-43 win over Gideon (4-7). No other Bloomfield player scored more than four points as McCollough carried the offensive load.
Sam Williams was the only Gideon player in double figures with 18 points on eight baskets.
South Pemiscot 75, Puxico 61
Jamarea Rogers led South Pemiscot (3-4) to the semifinal of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament consolation bracket with 22 points and five made 3-pointers in a 75-61 win. Rogers scored 12 of his points during an offensive explosion in the third quarter for South Pemiscot, which scored 30 total points in the third to take control of the game.
Portageville 96, Holcomb 41
Twelve different players scored for Portageville (7-2), which bounced back from a loss against Van Buren with a 96-41 rout of Holcomb (0-9) in the quarterfinal of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament consolation bracket. Bub Lance led the game with 25 points on 12 makes while sitting out the fourth quarter with the game already decided.
Terry Kirkwood boosted the offesne with 16 points on seven makes and a pair of free throws.