Bloomfield, Missouri - The Bernie Mules had a great start to their Class 2, District 1, Boys Basketball Tournament on Monday night beating #7 seeded Senath-Hornersville.

The #2 seeded Mules were behind in the first quarter with two minutes left; however Bernie pushed forward and was able to hold the Lions back.  They were tied going into the locker room at the half 26 to 26.

After locker room chatter and coaching encouragement, the Bernie Mules were fired up when they hit the court and opened the second half with a 10-0 run and never trailed again. 

"I thought they had more intensity than we did in the first half and played a lot harder than us," commented Bernie Coach Brad Botsch.  "Out struggles had to do with how hard they were playing, but I think our guys didn't want to see their season come to an end and they started playing more fundamental basketball.  We got some better looks and some of them went down for us in the second half."

Troy Kirkpatrick hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter leading the Mules with 28 points.  David Baker scored 17 points for Bernie along with Landon Woods and B.J. Jennings who tallied 11 points each.

"Troy really got hot and things started opening up in the 3rd quarter.  He is a streaky guy and tonight he was on!  I hope that continues because he is a hard working kid and he deserves it,"  stated Coach Botsch.

The Senath-Hornersville Lions finish their season with a record of 8-16.  Coach David Heeb said, "It was a rebuilding year for our program.  I am really proud of my kids.  We had one goal all year and that was to win a game in our district because to win a game in our district you are going to have to beat one of the top 10 teams in the state."

"And what can I say about Kirkpatrick?  He just caught fire tonight!"  continued Coach Heeb.

Final score Bernie 73, Senath-Hornersville 53.  A great win for the Mules!

Bernie (21-6) will play its District Semifinal on Wednesday, February 20th at 7:30 p.m. against #3 seeded Holcomb Hornets.  This should be a great game between these two schools.  Come out and cheer for the Mules!  Show your school spirit for Bernie and wear your blue!