HERMANN - Senior guard Terry Miles responded with a game-high 23 points to help carry the unbeaten South Callaway Bulldogs to a pivotal 65-51 road victory over the Hermann Bearcats on Friday night.
"All of our guys played well, but it was especially nice to see Terry Miles come out strong," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said. "He hit several shots and played solid defense all night.
"When we get that kind of contribution from him, we really are tough to defend."
The Bulldogs (11-0) trailed 11-9 after one quarter, but righted themselves by outscoring Hermann 22-14 in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 31-25 edge. South Callaway took a 45-36 lead into the fourth quarter and preserved its perfect status by outscoring the Bearcats 20-15 over the last 8 minutes.
Miles was one of three players to achieve double figures for the Bulldogs. Senior guard Troy Hentges was next with 13 points, while senior forward Jacob Smith provided 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Senior guard Dax Helsel and junior guard Logan Taylor also passed out six and five assists, respectively, for South Callaway.
"This was an important game for our team," Brandt said. "We have been at home for the majority of the season, so to play a solid team on the road was a good test.
"We started off with cold shooting in the first quarter, but got things going in the second quarter. Our defense really was solid and provided the pressure needed to create the tempo we wanted."
Josh Oetterer paced Hermann with 17 points and Garrett Leimkuehler chipped in with 15.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' junior varsity suffered its first loss of the season in a 52-48 setback to the Bearcats. Freshman guard Kaden Helsel sparked South Callaway (9-1) with 20 points.
The Bulldogs have earned the top seed for their own South Callaway Invitational Tournament this week and will face No. 8 North Callaway in the first round at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be played at the high school.
The Bulldogs escaped with a 58-56 win over the Thunderbirds on Jan. 5 in Kingdom City.
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(Editor's note: The final score in Sunday's print edition was incorrectly reported as 64-51.)