Bernie, Missouri - The final brackets were set and exciting Stoddard County middle school basketball was played at the Bernie High School gymnasium last night with the Bloomfield Wildcats Eighth Grade and the Bernie Mules Seventh Grade teams crowned the 2012 SCAA Junior High Tournament champions. 

This tournament sets the stage for future years of great basketball in the county area.  There are several tremendous athletes currently and many who are in the development stages of their athletic career. 

The Bernie Public Schools did an outstanding job hosting the event this year.  The crowds were large and excited about supporting their teams.  The spirit of competition was high, but everyone enjoyed the tournament action on the whole.

8th Grade Championship

It was nail biting action throughout the entire basketball game as the rematch between the Advance Hornets and Bloomfield Wildcats was slated to be a competitive battle.  Advance was favored as the number one seed in the tournament but everyone was aware that the Bloomfield Wildcats should not be taken lightly. 

Bloomfield's overtime victory over the Dexter Bearcats the night before proved the team had inspired hope for winning a championship.  That inspired hope was evident as they held the Advance team scoreless in the final period to win the championship by a score of 37 to 34.

Every sports fan loves a barn burner and that was exactly what was on tap  in this see-saw scoring battle.  Advances' Brendon Crader helped the Hornets grab an early lead with his smooth 3-point shooting ability, putting up 13 first quarter points compared to the only 12 by the Wildcats. 

The one point deficit did not take the spirit away from Bloomfield as they tightened their defense in the second quarter matching the Hornets action 6 to 6. 

Dawson Mayo, the big 6' 3" eighth grade center for Advance has been a dominant force all season.  He incurred an injury during the 1st half that sidelined him for parts of the second quarter.  Bloomfield was quick to take advantage of Mayo's absence to cling to their 1-point deficit at halftime. 

Advance came out of the locker room with renewed passion, fired up and ready for action in the second half.  Dawson Mayo was sporting a new bandage and a full throttle attitude about dominating the inside game.  Coupling with teammates Brandon Sokolowski and Brendon Crader's 10-point run, the Hornets opened up their lead to 8-points over the Wildcats.  It appeared at one moment that the game might be slipping from the hands of Bloomfield.

The Bloomfield Wildcats displayed tremendous poise throughout the game and Bloomfield's Alex Gibbs, Timmy Hector and Austin Phillips had a different plan for the outcome of this game and it spelled ...


The Wildcats Brandon Massingill was powerful in the middle against Mayo, but was able to control the boards against Advance, holding them scoreless in the final quarter.  Key back court steals and transitions from Alex Gibbs to Timmy Hector also played a turning point in the game.

Alex Gibbs nailed a free throw with seconds remaining in the game to capture the win and the championship for the Wildcats by a final score of 37 to 34. 

Overall scoring in the game by the Bloomfield Wildcats had Alex Gibbs (10), Austin Phillips (9), Timmy Hector (8), Brad Massingill (6) and Jacob Hector (4).  The Hornets were lead in scoring by Brandon Sokolowski (12), followed by Brendon Crader (7).

7th Grade Championship Game

The seventh grade action started with a hopeful Dexter Bearcat team matched up against the strong and successful Bernie Mules.  The Mules have shown a great quickness and excellent shooting skills throughout the 2012 season and earned the number one seed in the 7th grade division of the tournament.

The Mules quickly jumped out to a commanding lead in the first quarter with 3-pointers by both Zach Eaves and Ridge Littleton. Littleton was not done as he dumped in two additional 3-pointers and 3 field goals in the 2nd quarter to give the Mules a 33 to 7 halftime lead. 

After a half-time visit with Coach Josh Dowdy, the 7th grade Bearcats sparked new life into their game.  Defensive improved drastically, holding Bernie to only 2 points in the third quarter of play.  The Bearcats were able to drum up some offense as well during the quarter and cut the score to more respectable 35 to 22. 

Gabe Jackson began to dominate in the middle for the Bearcats as he took teammate's feeds inside from the outside perimeter.  Jackson posted 7-points during the quarter to add to his game total of 9-points.  Ben Sindle, Nick Trout and Spencer Owns all contributed two-points each during the 3rd quarter.

The Bernie team gained back their composure in the fourth outscoring the Bearcats 13 to 8, making the final score of the contest 48 to 30.  The seventh grade team continues to improve their skills and play as a team.  They will continue to make progress as the season goes forward.