By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

BLOOMFIELD -- The No. 12 seed Puxico Indians pulled off another upset Thursday night and will have to keep it going as they face Hayti today at 7 p.m.

"Anytime you face the No. 1 seed, I don't care what seed you are, you are going to have a challenge on your hands," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "We are up for the challenge and we haven't had a lot of respect from anyone all year long -- we are still trying to prove how good of a team we are."

The other semifinal features Malden and third-seeded Doniphan in a rematch of last year's championship game.

The winners advance to Saturday's championship.

Puxico is just trying to get better every time it hits the floor, Dowdy said.

"We didn't even look at the seeds," Dowdy said. "We wanted to have a good showing in this Christmas tournament and obviously play in that late game Saturday night."

Hayti is coming off a 69-50 win over Portageville in which it was led by Jamestic Gooden who scored 20 points in the victory. Senior post man William Cooper had 15 points in the win and will be relied upon against Puxico for an inside scoring threat.

Hayti will look to spread the ball around as it had four players in double figures in the win over Portageville. Hayti also had solid defense in the win as Dometric Trotter was the lone scorer in double figures with 11 points Thursday night. They will need that against Puxico as the Indians can step out and drain the 3-pointer.

Malden edged Bernie on Thursday and will look to keep it going against the Dons, which features the duo of twins Chandler and Charles Wilson. Chandler was the leading scorer in Doniphan's win over South Pemiscot with 22 points while Charles added 21.

Malden coach Rob Ison knows he will have his hands full against the Dons, he said.

"They are going to apply pressure and be quick and get on the boards," Ison said. "They aren't going to be a cakewalk."

The Green Wave will have to play solid defense on the perimeter and guard against the drive, Ison said.

"You want to check the 3-point shooters because they put the ball on the floor extremely well and get to the basket," Ison said. "You also want to rebound because if you don't Charles Wilson will have 50 rebounds."

The Green Wave will want to have solid defensive pressure like it did in the win over Bernie, Ison said.

"If we can put on pressure and then get in our half-court trap, we will be OK," Ison said.

After winning the tournament last year, the Green Wave builds off this year's seven seeding.

"(The lower seeding) motivates them," Ison said. "You have to go out and compete, regardless of what seed you get."