Neelyville upsets Bernie, advances to C2D1 championship

HOLCOMB – Third-seeded Neelyville held off a last-minute effort by second-seeded Bernie Wednesday night to win 64-60 and advance to the Class 2 District 1 championship game at Holcomb High School.

“I have to commend my guys,” Neelyville head coach Brad Burdin said. “They worked their tails off and they did it. The coaching staff gave them an idea of what to execute but they ultimately came out and did it.”

Three Neelyville players put double-digit points in the scoring column, but the Tigers’ defense was the real game-changer in their bid for a district title. With the exception of Bernie shooter Tristan Johnson and his outlandish 40-point crusade, Neelyville held every other Bernie player to fewer than ten points.

Bernie’s high-tempo offense took control early, however, and Johnson’s ten points in the first quarter in addition to an extra three-pointer by Michia Schooley led the Mules to a 17-12 lead.

“We know that Bernie is known for scoring very high numbers,” Burdin said, “so our job tonight was to keep them in the 50s or 60s. We knew if we did that then we’d give ourselves a chance to win the game. If we didn’t, it would have been very difficult.”

Powered by eight points by Brock Davis and 14 by Casen Stephens, Neelyville outscored Bernie 26-15 in the second quarter and took a 38-32 lead at halftime. The Tigers’ offensive effort was pushed forth by rebounds after preventing every player from scoring except for Johnson, with the exception of a lay-in by Hunter Corzine.

Bernie's Tristan Johnson (2) attempts a shot around Neelyville defenders in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 1 tournament Wednesday night at Holcomb High School.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

“We were willing to take a gamble and keep some of their players from touching the ball,” Burdin said, “but Tristan Johnson is a stud. He came out and did what we knew he could do. We just tried to keep everyone else to as few points as possible.”

The Mules narrowly outscored Neelyville in the third quarter and cut their deficit to one point with a three-pointer by Landon Ellsworth, but the Tigers still led 50-46 entering the fourth quarter.

Bernie took the lead in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter with a lay-in and three-pointer by Johnson, but Neelyville went on an eight-point run to follow.

Johnson put in a layup to cut the gap to one point again with just a minute remaining in the game, but Neelyville’s six points from the free throw line in the final seconds of the game cemented the Tigers’ place in the district championship against Cooter, which will take place Friday night at 6 p.m., at Holcomb High School.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Burdin said. “We have to prepare for Cooter now, so the celebration is over. We’ll come out and give it a valiant effort and leave all cards on the table. Win or lose, I don’t want to leave any regrets on the floor. We want to learn to win.”

Casen Stephens scored 24 points to lead Neelyville while Brock Davis added 19. Grant Hale contributed 14 while Kye Wolfram added seven.

Tristan Johnson led Bernie for a game-high 40 points. Landon Ellsworth contributed eight, and both Michia Schooley and Tucker Anthony scored three.