Bloomfield, Missouri – The Bernie Mules sealed a win against the Portageville Bulldogs 53-50 at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament quarterfinals.  The Bulldogs made a last attempt to tie the game at the buzzer as the 3-pointer fell short of the basket.

B.J. Jennings was successful with four 3-pointers for Bernie in the first seven minutes of the game, giving the Mules a 20-6 lead.  However by the second quarter the Bulldogs began to build strength with a 10-1 run and by halftime only trailed by 3 points.

Portageville head coach Jason Irby said, “The first eight minutes ended up being decisive tonight, I really can’t explain why we fell flat.”

With only about two minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs tied the game 45-45 with a 3-pointer by A.V. Banks.  The Bulldogs missed a few key shots and the Mules were able to pull ahead.  With only 18 seconds remaining A.V. Banks made a great basket for the Bulldogs closing the gap within a score.

Then with just 7 seconds on the clock the Bulldogs made one last defensive move to force a turnover by the Mules.  The Bulldogs were unsuccessful.  “It looked good where I stood,” Irby said of the final 3 shot attempt, “It was straight on.  It just didn’t go down.”

The Bernie Mules were led by David Baker with 20 points on the night and Jennings finished with 15 points, of which were all 3-pointers.  The Portageville Bulldogs were lead by Dominique Walker who had a team high of 15 points.

Bernie advances to the semifinals, where they will play Holcomb on Saturday night at 8:30 pm