Farmington, Missouri - It’s been 50 years in the making, but the Bloomfield Wildcats are once again headed to the Show-Me Showdown in Columbia, Missouri! For the first time since 1966 they earn a trip to the Final Four beating Clopton in the Class 2 quarterfinal on Saturday night by a score of 63-41!
“It is amazing! First time since 1965-1966, and the biggest game of my life,” stated Bloomfield player Tim Hector. “It has went through our mind, but coming into this game, we were thinking about nothing but this game and this game only. But now that we have accomplished winning this game, I think we can think about it a little more.”
“It is pretty special,” commented Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes. “I told the guys before the game, this is almost like a home game. We had that whole side, plus the student section which has been awesome all year.”
Clopton came out strong in the first period leading Bloomfield by just two points, but the Wildcats owned the second quarter scoring 23 points and holding the Hawks to just 6 points.
It seemed like the turning point of the game was when Kevin Hammett of Clopton was called for a technical foul halfway through the second quarter. There had been several lead changes, but the Wildcats were up by one.
Tim Hector went to the charity stripe and recorded 3 of 4 free throws. Bloomfield received the ball and added a bucket quickly giving them a 6-point lead, the largest up to this point in the game.
“Once e kind of found our rhythm and started getting stops and started moving the ball and doing the things that we can do, that’s when we get into a lot more of a rhythm,” Karnes said.
Clopton’s only field goal in the second quarter came from a 3-pointer by Meshawn Marshall. The other three points were from the charity stripe.
After giving up the first two points of the second half, Bloomfield recorded 12 straight points.
“I thought we did a good job in the second half when they started to really amp up the pressure. I thought we did a good job of getting it inside to our post players and them going and finishing,” Karnes said.
Bloomfield will play Iberia (27-4) in the semifinals on March 10th at noon at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri
Final Score Bloomfield 63, Clopton 41
Bloomfield 9 23 14 17 - 63
Clopton 11 6 12 12 - 41
Bloomfield (63) – Tim Hector 18, Nathan Newell 7, Austin Bond 9, Tyler Battles 6, Noah Vandiver 15, Caleb Pulley 1, Peyton Bell 5, Joe Clary 1, Alex Gibbs 1. FG 21, Ft 16/25, F 19. (3-pointers: Tim Hector 4, Noah Vandiver 1. Fouled Out: None).
Clopton (41) – Hammett 1, Adams 9, Marshall 4, Goaham 4, Talbert 16, Eivins 5. FG 14, FT 7/16, F 41 (3-pointers: Adams 3, Talbert 1, Eivins 1. Fouled Out: Adams, Eivins).
Shown in the photo is Tim Hector shooting a free-throw in Saturday night's battle against Clopton. Photo credit to Dee Loflin, ShowMe Times manager/editor.
