MOKANE - Junior guard Grant Nichols connected for a team-high 18 points as New Bloomfield triumphed over Montgomery County 63-59 in a clash between Wildcats in first-round play Tuesday night at the South Callaway Invitational Tournament.
No. 5 seed New Bloomfield (7-4) - picking up its third straight victory - was in front 17-11 after one quarter and carried a 36-27 edge into halftime. New Bloomfield owned a 48-41 advantage entering the fourth quarter and held on for the win despite being outscored 18-15 over the last 8 minutes.
Freshman forward Jak Kitchens also supplied 16 points and pulled down a remarkable 18 rebounds for New Bloomfield.
Chase Parrish sparked No. 4 seed Montgomery County with a game-high 25 points.
New Bloomfield moves on to a semifinal confrontation with unbeaten and top-seeded South Callaway at 6 tonight. The Bulldogs (12-0) advanced by throttling No. 8 seed North Callaway 68-29 in a first-round blitz Tuesday night.
New Bloomfield will be seeking to avenge an 89-58 Show-Me Conference home loss to South Callaway on Dec. 12.