SCAA Tournament: Mules 'Advance' to title game with smart W over Hornets

DEXTER – In a rematch of the 2022 Stoddard County Athletic Association Boy’s Basketball Tournament championship game on Thursday at the Bearcat Event Center, Bernie got the best of Advance – again – this time by making smart plays down the stretch and winning 81-75.

The Mules (14-5) got revenge on the Hornets (17-3), who had beaten Bernie earlier this month 74-70 in Advance.

“The first time we played,” Bernie coach Jason Long said, “they killed us on the offensive glass and we had 16 turnovers. Tonight, they still killed us on the offensive glass, but we didn’t turn it over.”

The Mules return to the tournament championship game after winning the 2022 title with a 71-52 throttling of the Hornets a year ago in that game.

On Thursday, Bernie turned a slim lead early in the second quarter into a 34-26 margin entering the third period. However, the Mules never really could shake the Hornets.

With one minute remaining in the game, Advance senior Hayden Hitt buried a 3-pointer to pull his team to within 74-70, but the Mules spread the half-court and worked the ball to senior guard Tristan Johnson, who drew a foul and canned both free throws for a 76-70 game with 46 seconds on the clock.

“We want (Tristan) to get the ball because he is our best ballhandler,” Long said, “but we want our other guys to handle it too because we’re trying to develop confidence in them towards the end of the year.”

Hitt hurt the Mules again following Johnson’s free throws, as he grabbed an offensive board and scored to make it a 76-72 difference with 30 seconds remaining, but once again, Johnson hit free throws to stretch the margin to 78-72.

When Bernie senior Landon Ellsworth made a steal and a lay-in with 14 seconds on the clock, that sealed the win.

“We needed to defend a lot better,” Hirnet coach Bubba Wheetley said. “We couldn’t stop (Tristan Johnson). He drove and did whatever he wanted to do.”

Johnson had 13 points at halftime, but Long wasn’t satisfied with his game.

“I appreciate Tristan,” Long said. “But I had to get him going (at halftime). Tristan is a good player, but he has to play off two feet and use fakes because he is 5-9, and he wasn’t doing that early.”

The halftime talk worked because Johnson had 25 second-half points and finished with 38 points. He connected on 13 of 16 free throws, including 7 of 8 in the final period.

“When you are the undersized kid,” Long explained, “and you go off one foot, it’s not going to work out for you. He adjusted that at halftime and had a really big second half for us.”

Mule senior Michia Schooley added 14 points in the win, while Ellsworth had 18.

Hitt led Advance with 24 points, while senior Colten Silman had 18 and senior Hayden laird added 14.

The Hornets will face Woodland (14-6) in the third-place game today at 5:30 p.m.

Bernie will play for its second straight tournament championship against host Dexter (14-5) at 8:30 p.m.

“We have nothing to lose,” Long said. “Dexter is the one-seed and we’re the three-seed. Dexter is an excellent team. They have bigger, stronger, and faster athletes, who are also good basketball players.

“We just need to come out and do the best that we can and try to get better.”