Bell City, Puxico advance to Stoddard County finals

Standard Democrat ~ sd_sports@yahoo.com

BLOOMFIELD -- The Bell City Cubs used a strong third quarter to defeat Bloomfield 81-71 and move into the championship game of the Stoddard County Tournament Thursday night.

Trailing 35-34 at the half, the top-seeded Cubs exploded out of the locker rooms, outscoring Bloomfield 31-13 in the third quarter.

Leading 65-47, Bell City held off a Bloomfield rally in the fourth to move into the championship game against Puxico.

Nick Niemczyk led Bell City with a game-high 36 points while Phillip Gross added 18 and Ethan Watkins 14.

Kyle Williamson led Bloomfield with 29 while Blake Harris chipped in 15. In the other semifinal game, Puxico defeated Bernie 65-52. The Indians started strong, taking a 17-8 lead after one quarter and put the game away in the third quarter by outscoring the Mules 16-6. David Crain led Puxico with 22 points while Matt Allison chipped in 14. John Smith and Kerry McClure also scored in double figures with 12 and 10 respectively. Bernie was led by Silas Dill's 14 points while Jake Owens had 10.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Delta 63, Chaffee 22

CHAFFEE -- The Bobcats enjoyed a commanding 24-point lead going into halftime as they rolled to victory. Jodi Menz led Delta with 17 points. Amber Kirk led the Red Devils with six points.

Meadow Heights 51, East Prairie 46

EAST PRAIRIE -- The Panthers scored the last 10 points of the game to come from behind and claim the road victory. Amanda Hendrickson led Meadow Heights (7-10) with 19 points and 16 rebounds.