C2D3: Bernie takes control early in rout of Advance, captures second district title in three years

BLOOMFIELD — The top-seeded Bernie Mules’ efficient offense rolled through the first quarter.

The Mules went 8-for-9 from the field in the opening period and knocked down six 3-pointers in the first half en route to a 65-36 rout of second-seeded Advance in the championship game of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 3 Boys Basketball Tournament on Friday night at Bloomfield High School.

“Our kids wanted this badly,” Bernie coach Jason Long said. “Honestly, I’m really fortunate to be able to coach them.”

Bernie (26-1) stretched its win streak to 17 games and won its second district championship in three years.

“I got to experience it my sophomore year,” senior John Nimmo said about winning a district championship. “But it’s amazing to do it as a senior. Our pep club really came out. There were a ton of them over there. To be able to do that (in front of) what seemed like a home crowd — our community has really supported us — it’s just awesome.”

The Mules will face the winner of District 4 in a sectional playoff at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in Jackson. Top-seeded Valle Catholic and second-seeded New Haven will meet in the District 4 title game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Crystal City.

Bernie beat the Hornets three times this season: 71-52 to win the SCAA Basketball Tournament and 63-51 to wrap up the SCAA regular-season championship on its home court.

“They shot the ball really well,” Advance coach Bubba Wheetley said. “They played really good defense. We couldn’t penetrate through their zone defense. They just flat-out beat us. They’re a better team. They proved that. They beat us three times.”

Advance finished the season 22-6.

Bernie excelled on defense, too, shutting down Advance’s leading scorer and big man Jaren Schrader. Schrader scored only four points, well below his season average of 16.1.

“For the past 2 1/2 weeks since the last time we played them, it’s been a big focus in practice on trying to keep the ball out of the middle and trying to keep the ball out of (Schrader’s) hands because he’s so good at passing,” Nimmo said. “He’s what gets their offense going. When you keep the ball out of his hands, it’s harder for them to score.”

Unlike the teams’ two previous meetings, the Mules gained the upper hand from the start. They overcame eight-point and 12-point first-half half deficits, respectively, to win the previous matchups.

The Mules finished off Advance by adding to their lead in each of the four quarters.

“You’ve got to stay with it,” Long said. “It’s the district championship and Advance won 22 games. They’re a really good team. You can’t relax. That was the emphasis.”

Tristan Johnson scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter, as the Mules took a 10-4 lead. Johnson and Michia Schooley made late 3-pointers to give them an 18-8 lead heading to the second.

“I hate to single anybody out because this was a team effort, but Tristan really came out on fire. That gave us a nice jolt,” Long said.

Bernie sank four 3-pointers in 10 tries in the second quarter to push their lead to 36-16 at halftime. Johnson and Kamden Powell made two 3s each with Johnson’s second giving his team a 20-point halftime lead.

Both teams shot well from inside the arc in the third quarter, but the Mules increased their lead to 26 points on two free throws by Noah Foster, who finished with 19 points.

Nimmo scored six of his 12 points in the third quarter as the Mules shot 70% (7 of 10) from 2-point range.

Advance’s Hayden Laird scored nine of his team-high 15 points in the third where his team shot 75% (6 for 8) from inside the arc.

The Mules took a 55-29 lead into the fourth quarter where they extended their advantage to 30 near the 5-minute mark, activating the running clock for nearly all of the remaining minutes.

The Hornets will lose two seniors from this year's team: Hunter Tidwell and Schrader.

“They’ve been good (players),” Wheetley said. “I told them in the locker room that I enjoyed the four years with them. They’re good kids.”

Advance 8 8 13 7 — 36

Bernie 18 18 19 10 — 65

ADVANCE — Hayden Laird 15, Hayden Hitt 6, Hunter Tidwell 5, Jack Bailey 4, Jaren Schrader 4, Brayden Carlton 2. FG 16 FT 4-6 F 12. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.)

BERNIE — Tristan Johnson 23, Noah Foster 19, John Nimmo 12, Kamden Powell 6, Michia Schooley 3, Laterrence Robinson 2. FG 26

FT 7-10 F 11. (3-pointers: Johnson 3, Powell 2, Schooley. Fouled out: none.)