BCT Day 2: Fast start pushes Royals past Van Buren

Van Buren's Tyler Freeze (20) passes in front of Twin Rivers' Ryan Miller during the quarterfinal of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Saturday. (Daily American Republic/Alex Abate)

BLOOMFIELD -- After defeating Malden in the opening round, Twin Rivers picked up where it left off Saturday night in the 52nd annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.

The Royals scored the first 11 points of the game as they got an early lead and played solid throughout to get a 72-59 win.

"We came out with a lot of intensity, kind of like right where we left off (Friday) night," Twin Rivers coach Rob Brown said. "Our heads were on straight, we were ready to play.

"It seems to me we are getting a little more focused and a little more prepared."

The semifinal appearance for the Royals is much different than last season when they were upset by South Pemiscot in the first round.

"We always come over here to play four nights, that is always our goal," Brown said. "We are fortunate this year to be on the right side of the bracket. You want to play four nights, that last night with a packed gym."

Kyle Oberkramer was the high scorer for the Royals with 17 points while Garrett Stockton added 13 in the win. Tyler Freeze had 31 points for the Bulldogs while Michael Duncan and Corey Kennedy each had six.

After the Royals got the early lead on the Bulldogs, they extended it to 44-19 at the break. The lead was too big for the Bulldogs to come back from, Van Buren coach Wayne Jessen said.

"We dug ourselves too big of a hole," Jessen said. "We just have to come ready."

Brett Whitlock started the game for the Royals with five straight points and later in the quarter, the Royals took an 18-3 lead on a free throw from Ryan Miller with 2:19 left in the quarter.

"We controlled the boards and got our outlets and we ran well," Brown said. "You can't go anywhere if you don't have the ball and you have to get stops and get rebounds.

"Our kids are going to get out and run with it every chance they get."

The Royals' rebounds spelled disaster for the Bulldogs.

"I thought we gave up way too many second shots and easy buckets in the first half," Jessen said.

The Bulldogs just weren't doing a good job with movement in the first half, Jessen said.

"We had some missed rotations and that led to some easy buckets for them," Jessen said.

Van Buren came out much better in the second half. They outscored the Royals 18-14 in the third quarter, in large part to Freeze who scored 13 points in the third quarter including nine straight at one point.

"Van Buren -- they don't go away," Brown said. "They are well coached and I tip my hat to them, they don't quit and kept coming at us."

Van Buren outscored Twin Rivers in the final quarter 22-14, a positive spot for the Bulldogs, Jessen said.

"We did a better job of just keeping them in front of us and not letting them go around," Jessen said. "We made them earn it from 8-10 feet out and we had better block outs."

TWIN RIVERS -- Alford 0 0-0 0. Moore 0 0-1 0. Tinsley 2 2-3 4. Shearer 2(2) 0-0 6. Aldrich 0 0-0 0. Boyles 3(1) 0-0 7. Stockton 4(1) 4-5 13. KOberkramer 7 3-3 17. MOberkramer 0 0-0 0. Miller 2 3-4 7. Payne 2 1-2 5. McBroom 1 0-1 2. Totals: 27(4) 14-20 72.

VAN BUREN -- Betz 2 1-2 5. Duncan 2 2-2 6. Newberry 1 2-2 4. Dazey 0 0-0 0. Freeze 12(1) 6-6 31. Burke 1(1) 0-0 3. Simmons 2 0-0 4. Crawley 0 0-2 0. Kennedy 1 4-6 6. Totals: 21(2) 15-20 59.