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No. 1 Bloomfield escapes host Campbell in district semifinal
CAMPBELL, Mo. -- Through 27 minutes, the biggest lead for either Bloomfield or Campbell was four points.
Even during the stretch that Campbell coach Steve Fowler called the turning point in the game, when Bloomfield scored 8 points in 90 seconds, including a pair of 3s, the margin was still four points or less.
Bloomfield eventually broke through that barrier to win 61-51 and advance to the Class 2, District 1 championship game on Thursday.
"The biggest thing, we finally got into our offense that we wanted to get into from the get go and get guys in the right spots," Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes said. "Once we got guys in the right spots, we got some good looks. Peyton (Bell) made some big shots, Tyler (Battles) made some big shots, post players went hard to the rim. Once we got guys in the right spots we were able to start stringing possessions together."
Campbell (16-9) last tied the game at 31 midway through the third quarter. In the closing minutes, Bell and Battles sank threes for the Wildcats and Bell added another long jumper for eight quick points on three straight possessions.
The Camels' Dakota Adams nearly matched the production at the other end with a spot-up three, followed by a quick bucket in transition.
Campbell was down by four midway through the fourth quarter when Bell, who led all scorers with 17 points, sank a three. It was the first time either team had been up by more than four points.
"I don't know if we did defensively what we wanted to do all night long. We finally got to the point where we got some rebounds, got some stops and were able to extend it a little bit," Karnes said.
It lasted five seconds.
Christian Deen immediately answered with a three to bring the Camels back within four. They were still within striking distance with just under two minutes to go when Bloomfield's Noah Vandiver drew a charging call against Dakota Adams that would have been Vandiver's fifth foul had the call gone the other way.
At the other end, Bloomfield (25-3) started killing the clock by passing the ball around the outside.
The Camels started fouling near the minute mark and soon, both Dakota and Dylan Adams had fouled out. They had 11 and seven points, respectively. Tommy Steward and Riley Peters both led Campbell with 12 points.
"When you lose two of your starting guards, that's a big part of your offense. That hurts down the stretch," Fowler said.
The Wildcats went 7 for 8 at the free-throw line in the final minutes and earned the games first and only double-digit lead with the final points of the game.
Both coaches thought their offenses played passively in the first half, which led to a 23-23 halftime score.
"We knew this game would be really tough, especially on their home floor," Karnes said. "They've been playing really good basketball here these last few weeks down the stretch."
Karnes said the Wildcats had trouble getting into and running the offense they wanted to run against Campbell's zone trap defense.
"Just slow out of the gates, but sometimes you've just got to grind one out," Karnes said.
There were eight ties and seven lead changes before Bloomfield went ahead for good on a bucket by Nathan Newell midway through the third quarter. The biggest unanswered run was six points.
Vandiver had 13 points for Bloomfield while Newell and Battles both got 11.
Campbell loses four seniors in Dakota and Dylan Adams, Deen and Justin Storey.
"A good group of seniors. We got four and every one of them brought it every day in practice," Fowler said. "Great effort every day in practice. The way they played the basketball game, they was a big part of what we was trying to do this year. Great group of kids."
Bloomfield will face third-seed Scott County Central in the district final Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
"Scott County is offensively one of the most gifted teams, if not the most gifted team, we will see all year," Karnes said. "At least we get to survive and see another day."
| Campbell | 10 | 13 | 15 | 13 | -- | 51 |
| Bloomfield | 9 | 14 | 18 | 20 | -- | 61 |
CAMPBELL (51) -- Chris Steward 3, Matt Gunter 1, Dakota Adams 11, Tommy Steward 12, Riley Peters 12, Dylan Adams 7, Christian Deen 3, Justin Storey 2. FG 17 FT 15-25 F 24. (3-pointers: Da. Adams 1, Deen 1. Fouled out: Gunter, Da. Adams, Dy. Adams.)
BLOOMFIELD (61) -- Jacob Hector 2, Peyton Bell 17, Nathan Newell 11, Austin Bond 2, Tyler Battles 11, Noah Vandiver 13, Alex Gibbs 7. FG 20 FT 15-25 F 19. (3-pointers: Bell 2, Newell 1, Battles 3. Fouled out: none.)