Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Bernie, Missouri – The Holcomb Hornets traveled to Bernie to sting the Mules on Tuesday, January 29th. Instead the Mules kicked the Hornets pretty hard causing them to end their 13 game winning streak.
“I thought both teams came out flat in the first half,” stated Bernie’s Head Coach Brad Botsch. “Massey really had his way with us in the beginning and I thought our kids were really trying to stop him. He is a very good player.”
Jamie Massey #32 for the Hornets scored 17 points for the Hornets as he dominated the court most of the first half.
David Baker #31 for the Mules was the leading scorer with 23 points. he had 19 of those points in the first half. B.J. Jennings #12 had 16 points along with Sam Turner #45 who had 10 points in the game.
“We struggled offensively and Holcomb did a good job on our guards. In the second half, we started finding our groove,” stated Botsch.
“I thought we valued each offensive possession much better and guarded every possession with focus and intent, explained Coach Botsch. “I didn’t start any of the seniors to begin the 2nd half, and hoped they would get the message. We depend on their leadership and experience to propel us, and they stepped up to the challenge in the 2nd half.”
Holcomb is a very good team and on any given day the tables could have been turned. They are extremely well-coached. “This was a good win for us tonight, but we will continue to push and work hard,” Botsch stated.
"They executed," Holcomb Coach Seth McBroom said. "You just have to tip your hat to them. They executed in the second half and we struggled shooting. We weren't very good defensively after we started missing shots and everything snowballed at the start of the third quarter."
The Bernie Mules and the Holcomb Hornets currently support the best records in each of their nine teams in Class 2, District 1, which Hayti won last season. Bernie is 2-1 against Holcomb, beating them in the championship of the Campbell Invitational Tournament and in the championship semifinal of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.
Final Score Bernie Mules 60, Holcomb Hornets 38 Bernie’s Varsity Record now stands at 18-3.
The Bernie JV team also did very well on Tuesday night. Ellenburg had an awesome night leading the JV team to victory with 33 points. Three players; Smith, Sparks and Trammell each had 6 points for the game.
The JV Mules have had an impressive year only losing one game to date. Their record stands at 18-1 on the season. Final Score Bernie JV Mules 60, Holcomb Hornets 40
Next round of action for the Bernie Mules is Friday night, February 1st when they will be celebrating “Homecoming”. They will be hosting the Notre Dame Regional High School Bulldogs.
