Bernie

BERNIE – Eighteen years plus an extra day has traversed since former Bernie High School basketball player Marcus Massey sank a jump shot at the buzzer to knock off Stoddard County rival Dexter, which set off a wild celebration of Mules jumping all over each other.

ELLSINORE — Over the last several years, the annual battle of Carter County between the Van Buren Bulldogs and the East Carter Redbirds — also known as the Yellow Sucker game — has become one of Southeast Missouri’s premier rivalry basketball games...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Bernie and East Prairie left it all on the court Monday in an overtime classic that showcased everything great about the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.  In a game that feature eight lead changes and countless highlights, the fourth-seeded Mules (6-3) late-game execution secured a thrilling 67-66 overtime victory over the the second-seeded Eagles (7-2). ...

High school basketball throughout Southeast Missouri takes a backward approach to scheduling each winter.

It's been a long while since I've got to enjoy as much holiday basketball as I have this year. For the first time in a while, if ever, I got to attend the Poplar Bluff Showdown, Lady Royals Christmas Classic and the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament all in one five-day stretch. While I last covered the Showdown and Lady Royals Christmas Classic in 2019, this was my first time at Bloomfield in at least a decade...

BLOOMFIELD — The top-seeded Puxico Indians came from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the third-seeded Dexter Bearcats 64-60 in an overtime classic to win the championship title of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday night. It is the Indians’ first Bloomfield Christmas Tournament title since 1989...

BLOOMFIELD — Bernie High School varsity boys basketball coach Jason Long has been at this long enough to know that his team faced a tough test in upsetting top-seed Puxico in the championship semifinal round of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Saturday.

Bernie edges Kennett 41-40 in a thrilling comeback at the Bloomfield Christmas Classic.

BLOOMFIELD — Big wins were the order of the day on Thursday in the first four games of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. All four early games were decided by double digits, with only the Bernie-Portageville and Kennett-East Carter games being decided by less than 20 points...

BLOOMFIELD – Bernie High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Jason Long has been on the sidelines long enough to discern a solid level of defense being played, and he is seeing the foundations of such this season from his team. “We’ve been playing pretty good defense,” Long said recently following a win at Bell City. “We’ve been defensive rebounding pretty well.”

There are bound to be some surprising things to witness at this week’s 68th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, there always are. In the case of Bernie, fans may be surprised to see the emerging play of sophomore John Aycock. “He has grown about four inches,” veteran Mule coach Jason Long said of his young talent, “and he has really improved.”

Even after suffering their first loss season, the Puxico Indians are still riding high to start this season of boys basketball. Puxico suffered it first loss of the season Saturday evening when it lost 58-50 to Thayer in a battle of state-ranked teams — the Indians are tied for fifth in the most recent Class 2 coaches poll, while Thayer was fifth in Class 3...

BELL CITY –Bernie took advantage of a beleaguered Bell City squad on Thursday and came away with an impressive 64-51 road win in varsity boys basketball action at Bell City High School.

The Puxico Indians are the top seed at this year’s Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. The Indians are 5-0 this season and are winning their games by an average of 26.8 points. Three of Puxico's five wins are by 35 points or more. The East Prairie Eagles, who finished second at last year's Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, are the No. 2 seed, with Dexter, Bernie, Kennett, Risco, Van Buren and Richland rounding out the top eight seeds...

The Campbell Camels triumphed over Bernie Mules to win the 2024 Campbell Invitational Tournament.

NEW MADRID – The story of Campbell’s season-opening loss to this boy’s basketball season was a mixed one, as there were several positive things to take away from the Camels’ game against Overton (Tenn.) High School at the Riverbend Classic at New Madrid County Central High School. However, in the end, Campbell (0-1) fell 82-73, so there was also that.

Stoddard County volleyball players received a lion’s share of recognition with the release of postseason honors. Leading the way is a quartet of all-state players — the Advance trio of Addi Carlton, Emma Eilers and Brogan Hawkins, plus Bernie’s Bailey Henry — who helped their teams make deep postseason runs...

Here is a list of the area's statistical leaders in volleyball this season. The top 12 players in each category are listed. Kills: Angel Johnson, Clarkton, 533; Lilyan Landis, Scott City, 477; Katy St. John, Jackson, 467; Kate Nichols, Dexter, 466; Addison Carlton, Advance, 428; Reagan Howe, Oak Ridge, 421; Bailey Henry, Bernie, 410; Gloriaha Farmer, Portageville, 381; Piper Underwood, Cape Central, 369; Kate Rubel, St. ...

The evolution of Bernie High School girl’s cross country runner Ella Harris continued in the recent MSHSAA Class 1 State Finals at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

ADVANCE — The Advance Hornets volleyball team is headed back to its home away from home. At least that's what Cape Girardeau's Show-Me Center has got to feel like to the Hornets after six trips to the final four in the last seven seasons. The Hornets punched their tickets back to Cape Girardeau on Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought 28-26, 25-5, 24-26, 25-20 over the Bernie Mules in an all-Stoddard County Class 1 quarterfinal at Advance High School...

Following a one-year hiatus, the Bernie High School boy’s cross country squad is returning to the MSHSAA Class 1 Cross Country State Finals on Friday. The Mules advanced with a third-place finish in Saturday’s MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 Meet at the Arcadia Valley Sports Complex.

There is little doubt that the athletes on the Bernie High School volleyball squad are true “student-athletes.” However, it appears that the current group cares little about studying history if you assess the Mules’ recent postseason play.

Bernie Mules secured a win over Holcomb in a thrilling four-set match on Halloween, advancing in the MSHSAA Class 1 State Volleyball Tournament.