Hard work, conditioning help Bernie advance to Class 2 Final Four

The Bernie Mules’ boys basketball team’s first trip to the Final Four in 11 years began in the gymnasium.

The seventh-ranked Mules (28-1) will begin the quest for their first state championship in boys basketball against fourth-ranked Putnam County (24-2) at 6 p.m. Friday at JQH Arena in Springfield.

The Mules have finished second in the state tournament four times, according to mshsaa.org. They were runners-up in 1963, 1989, 2010 and 2011.

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

The championship game is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at JQH Arena. The third-place game will be at noon Saturday at Hammons Student Center.

“I believe we’re in this position because of our practices this year,” third-year coach Jason Long said. “Our practices are long and hard. When you look at the size of our kids, (practices have) got to be long and hard for us to compete. I think that’s why we were able to find a way to have a chance to come through (Saturday), being tough enough to have that presence of mind.”

In their 51-49 overtime win over Alton in Saturday’s quarterfinal round, the lead changed hands six times and the score was tied on seven occasions, including at halftime, the end of regulation and with 35.3 seconds left in overtime.

Junior point guard Tristan Johnson sank the game-winning shot with 3 seconds left, but making shots isn’t what makes the Mules tick.

“All we practice is defense,” Johnson said. “Defense comes first — and our conditioning. We run a lot and that really helps us. We aren’t as tired as the other team.”

The Mules play an aggressive brand of defense, often utilizing a full-court, trapping strategy.

“With our kids’ competitive attitude, I feel like that it’s beneficial for me to put them in positions where we can be aggressive and see if we can make some plays,” Long said. “The focus is not giving up any layups because if you don’t give up any layups or open shots, you’re OK. You don’t have to (get) a turnover. You can apply some pressure, slow them down a little bit.”

Bernie demonstrated its ability play uptempo and half-court basketball during the Alton game. With 2:30 left in regulation, the Mules began passing the ball around the perimeter, running almost 1:30 off the block. They often practice that style of play at the end of quarters during the regular season.

“I know we can play fast, and if we have to play slow, we can make the adjustment and play slow,” senior John Nimmo said. “That’s all about game planning, which our coaches are really good at telling us what to do.”

The Mules dominated the competition this season with only five of their games being decided by 10 or fewer points.

Portageville handed the Mules their only loss (51-49) in the championship game of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. They beat Class 4 Dexter 67-63 in a regular-season matchup and Class 3 Saxony Lutheran 61-58 in their regular-season finale.

After rolling through the District 3 tournament, the Mules have competed in back-to-back tightly contested games: They beat Valle Catholic 71-67 in the sectional round before holding off Alton in the quarterfinals.

Nimmo credited his team’s mental toughness for its most recent victories.

“We were down last game, down this game,” Nimmo said. “We just never give up and we always find a way to win.”