TIPTON - New Bloomfield senior guard Grant Nichols and sophomore forward Jak Kitchens responded with 22 points apiece to steer the top-seeded Wildcats to a 74-50 semifinal win over the No. 4 Eagles on Thursday night at the 77th-annual Tipton Tournament.
New Bloomfield (3-0) - which took third place at Tipton last year - will play for the title against the winner of Thursday night's late semifinal between No. 3 seed Smithton and No. 7 Macks Creek. The championship is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
"Both teams play pretty fast and like to press," Wildcats head coach Tim Gilmore said. "We have to keep control of the ball and not have any dumb turnovers.
"It's not about one player, it's about all five, and getting that team balance. That's what we're emphasizing this year. We need to feel this pressure of a championship game - I'm excited for the kids."
Senior guard Jacob Brown also registered 15 points for New Bloomfield, which bolted to a 27-11 advantage after one quarter and went into the break with a 43-20 lead. The Wildcats knocked down eight of their 10 3-pointers in the first half.
"Offensively, we got off to a fast start and that was the key; we shot the ball well from the outside," Gilmore said. "That extended (Jamestown) out and then Jak was able to work in the post."
Garrett Wolfe answered with a game-high 24 points for Jamestown and Trent Barbour had 14.