Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Bloomfield, Missouri – The 57th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament has been exciting and a few surprises to say the least. The final game of the evening had Bernie fans on their feet. Trailing 54-53 to Hayti Indians and with just a little over 3 seconds left on the clock, Brad Botsch called a time-out. It was strategy time and the Mules knew they would only have one shot at winning.
It was Bernie's ball and once inbound, Caleb Ellenburg #50 hit a jumper at the buzzer for a Bernie win and a trip to the final championship game against Kennett. This is the first time since 2009 that Bernie has had a chance to play in the championship. Final Score 55-54.
“It’s awesome to play for any championship no matter what tournament,” stated coach Botsch. “But there is something special this time of the year to complete in a 16-team tournament and be in the final two. We know we have a huge task in front of us.”
Talk about a nail-biter of a game. It was evenly matched in each of the four quarters. Bernie led the first quarter 16 – 14 and still only by two at the half. The Indians were only able to gain on the Mules by one point in the 3rd quarter, but continued to trail 39 – 38. Each team scored 16 points in the 4th quarter. Making this a very close one point game!
B.J. Jennings #12 had the game-high score of 21 points with all of his points coming from treys, a total of 7 for Jennings. He will be a big threat to Kennett tonight if he continues to shoot from the 3-point line.
Caleb Ellenburg #50 who had the game-winning bucket, tallied 15 points for the Mules.
Jake Wagner #5 had two treys for Bernie.
Demetrius Luster recorded a team-high of 16 points including one trey for the Kennett Indians. He’ll be the one the Mules will have to stop tonight along with Frankie Burden Jr. who tallied 14 points.
Both Cedric Harris and Devan Riddick added a trey each for the Indians.
Final Score #3 Bernie 55, #2 Hayti 54
Bernie Mules 16 13 10 16 - 55
Hayti Indians 14 13 11 16 - 54
Bernie (55) - Jake Wagner 6, B.J. Jennings 21, Bubby Schwent 4, Joey Walker 9, Caleb Ellenburg 15. FG 20, FT 6/8, F 18. (3-pointers: Jennings 7 Wagner 2. Fouled Out: J.R. Pregel)
Hayti (54) - Kenyatte Brooks 4, Devan Riddick 5, Cedric Harris 3, Indaquel Presberry 4, Brandon Burden 8, Demetrius Luster 16, Frankie Burden Jr. 14. FG 21, FT 9/19, F 10. (3-pointers: Riddick 1, Harris 1, Luster 1. Fouled out: none)
Tonight’s game will begin at 8:30 p.m. with the Kennett Indians and the Bernie Mules bidding for the championship and bragging rights as the winner of the 57th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.
“Coach Vaughan at Kennett has an outstanding program and he does a great job down there. We know it’s a tall task with the personnel they have. We are going to do everything we can to compete and let the chips fall where they may,” commented Botsch.
