Behind Johnson's big shots, Bernie outlasts Alton in 51-49 overtime victory, earns spot in Class 2 Final Four

SIKESTON — Junior Tristan Johnson responded to the challenge of his coach at the end of regulation Saturday at the Sikeston Field House.

Johnson made the game-tying basket and the game-winner in the Bernie Mules’ 51-49 overtime victory over Alton in the MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal.

The Mules (28-1) will meet Putnam County (24-2) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday at JQH Arena in Springfield. Putnam County beat Sacred Heart 70-65 in overtime in the quarterfinals.

Norwood (29-1) and Bishop LeBlond (20-10) will meet in the other semifinal at 8 p.m. Friday.

Bernie coach Jason Long didn’t like the way his team’s final possession of the fourth quarter ended. With the score tied at 47 with 24.4 seconds remaining, Long called a timeout. He wanted the Mules to run down the clock for a final shot, but the best attempt they could find was a 3-point try by Kamden Powell along the left baseline.

“I’m on Tristan hard,” Long said. “He’s our point guard. I’m a pretty firm believer that the point guard has got to be coached super hard. In between regulation and the overtime, (after) he stood out there and dribbled the clock out, I got on him hard. In overtime, he did what he’s done all year, which is respond. He’s a tough kid.”

After Alton took a 49-47 lead on Chanler Sisco’s jumper from the left elbow 1:25 into overtime, Johnson sank a jumper near the free-throw line with 35.3 seconds remaining.

Almost 5 seconds later, Johnson came up with a loose ball, and 27 seconds later, he made a shot from almost the same spot he hit the game-tying shot for the game-winning basket.

Johnson said he scored a lot of baskets from that spot on the court during the season.

“I penetrate around the top defender and shoot it,” Johnson said. “That’s there a lot, especially when we have Peanut (Laterrence Robinson) and Michia (Schooley), our two shooters, out (there). The defense is real spread out, opening it up for me.”

Long was proud of his junior floor leader.

“He was wide-open. He made a great move. It was very headsy,” Long said. “It was very smart and he made the shot. I would think the same thing if he missed the shot.”

Senior John Nimmo expected a tough overtime period.

“I knew in overtime, it was going to be even harder (than in regulation),” Nimmo said. “I was gassed and I knew when we went to overtime and their fans were going crazy, they had a team full of seniors and they weren’t going to back down, so I knew it was going to be tough.”

Johnson finished with a game-high 17 points with teammates Foster and Schooley scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Sisco paced Alton with 14 points, Brandon Dewolf had 13 and 6-foot-6 Christian Orr had 11.

Orr made life difficult for his counterpart, Nimmo.

“He’s almost impossible to post-up with my back to the basket and be able to shoot over him and even harder to box out and rebound,” Nimmo said. “He definitely played a role in me not doing as well tonight.”

Nimmo finished with five points after averaging almost 15 a game during the season and scoring 14 in the Mules’ 71-67 sectional win against Valle Catholic.

The Mules advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2011 when they finished second in the state.

“I’ve wanted to go to the state championships since I was a kid,” Johnson said “It’s always been a big dream of mine. It’s an amazing feeling to get to do it.”

The Comets finished the season 24-6 after their season ended on a last-second shot for a second-straight year. Eventual state champion Campbell beat them 52-50 in the sectional round last season.

The lead changed hands three times in a well-played first quarter. Each team committed only one turnover and the teams combined to shoot 50% from the field.

The Mules took the early advantage on Nimmo’s baseline jumper and the teams exchanged baskets and free throws before Alton scored five-straight to take a 9-6 advantage on a 3-pointer by Rylan Steele.

The Comets maintained the lead until Schooley made a 3-pointer with 1:50 to play for a 16-15 Bernie lead.

Brandon Dewolf drove the baseline to restore Alton’s lead, Jacob Smith followed with a 3-pointer and Sisco scored on an inbounds pass to give Alton a 22-16 lead after one quarter.

The Comets never trailed in the second, but Bernie fought back to tie the score by halftime.

Kamden Powell’s 3-pointer and Nimmo’s putback cut the lead to 22-21, but the Comets answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead to nine.

Dewolf made a 3-pointer and scored on a steal and layup, and Steele made two free throws for a 29-21 lead.

During the rally, the Comets lost Orr to an ankle injury. He sat out the remainder of the half while having his ankle examined and wrapped. He returned in the third quarter.

With Orr out of the game, the Mules closed the half with a 10-2 run. Schooley contributed a 3-point play and converted a steal into a layup, and Foster scored on a fast break and sank a 3 at the buzzer to tie the score at 31 at halftime.

“We needed to have a good second quarter,” Long said. “They really came out first quarter and they’ve got four seniors. They won their district last year. I expected them to come out and play well and be aggressive. … We’re not going to beat anybody in the Elite Eight by 30 points. They’re a good team. They are going to make runs, and you’ve got to weather it, dig in and be able to compete for the entire game.”

The Mules held Alton to two points in a low-scoring third quarter and built a seven-point lead.

After Hunter Corzine drew a charge, Johnson sank a jumper 3:20 into the second half for a 33-31 lead. Johnson and Orr alternated baskets before Robinson made a 3 and Johnson scored on a fast break, giving Bernie a 40-33 lead going into the final quarter.

The Comets cut the lead to 40-39 behind a pair of baskets by Orr and a driving layup by Sisco, but Foster answered with a 3-pointer to maintain Bernie’s lead.

Cisco’s pull-up jumper cut the lead to 43-41, but Foster responded with another 3-pointer. Dewolf scored on a fast break to decrease the lead to 46-43.

Orr sank a free throw with 3:39 to play, slicing his team’s deficit to 47-44.

Near the 2:30 mark, the Mules began passing the ball around the perimeter, running almost 1:30 off the block.

“They’re bigger, they’re faster, they’re stronger and they have one kid in particular that is real tough,” Long said. “I felt like once we got to 2 1/2 minutes, we needed to shorten the game. We’ve done a good job of that this year because I feel like we’re pretty tough.”

Alton had to foul the Mules three times before they reached the bonus situation. However, they missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Alton snared the rebound.

With 40 seconds remaining, freshman Devin Harrington sank a 3 near the baseline on the left side to tie the score.

“That kid stepped up. He came off the bench. That was a big shot,” Long said. “I told them, ‘It’s the state quarterfinals. You can’t leave anybody open.’ ”

The Mules ran down the remainder of the fourth-quarter clock, hoping to get an open look before the final buzzer. Foster’s 3-point try at the buzzer bounced off the rim, leaving the score tied at 47.

Alton 22 9 2 14 2 — 49

Bernie 16 15 9 7 4 — 51

ALTON — Chanler Sisco 14, Brandon Dewolf 13, Christian Orr 11, Rylan Steele 5, Devin Harrington 3, Jacob Smith 3. FG 19 FT 7-11. F 14. (3-pointers: Dewolf, Harrington, Smith, Steele. Fouled out: none.)

BERNIE — Tristan Johnson 17, Noah Foster 12, Michia Schooley 11, John Nimmo 5, Kamden Powell 3, Laterrence Robinson 3. FG 20 FT 3-6 F 16. (3-pointers: Foster 3, Schooley 2, Johnson, Powell, Robinson. Fouled out: none.)