Unbeaten South Callaway claims own title for first time since 2002

The South Callaway Bulldogs didn't have to depend on luck to end a 13-year drought.

Top-seeded South Callaway took command by outscoring No. 3 Harrisburg 39-29 in the second half as the Bulldogs locked up the title of their own South Callaway Invitational Tournament with a 70-59 win Saturday night.

South Callaway - which last captured its own tournament championship in 2002 - stayed undefeated at 14-0. The Bulldogs had previously defeated Harrisburg 80-70 on Dec. 18 in Mokane.

"This was a great atmosphere for our kids to play in," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said of Saturday night's triumph. "The community really came out and supported us well throughout the tournament, and it was nice to see a full gym Saturday night."

South Callaway was up 22-15 after one quarter, but Harrisburg outscored the Bulldogs 15-9 in the second quarter to close within 31-30 at the break. South Callaway responded by outscoring Harrisburg 17-9 in the third quarter to increase its advantage to 48-39.

The Bulldogs then clinched the victory by outscoring Harrisburg 22-20 in the fourth quarter.

"We got off to a hot start, which was good to see," Brandt said. "We got in foul trouble in the second quarter and really got out of sync offensively. Harrisburg made a nice run to close the half. In the third (quarter), we really got going as (senior guard) Dax (Helsel) hit three 3(-pointer)s.

"We were able to get out in transition and really open things up. Harrisburg made a nice run at the end, but we hit several free throws down the stretch to seal it."

Four players scored in double figures for South Callaway, which overcame 25 turnovers. Senior guard Cory Hanger connected for 18 points to spark the Bulldogs, while senior guards Dax Helsel and Troy Hentges provided 15 and 13, respectively.

Senior forward Jacob Smith added 10 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

"We didn't do a very good job of taking care of the ball, but played hard consistently and were able to knock down some big shots in the second half," Brandt said. "Again, we got contributions from several players."

Hentges was named the tournament's most valuable player and was joined on the all-tournament first team by senior guard Terry Miles. Helsel was a second-team choice.

Drew Ewens topped three players in double figures for Harrisburg with a game-high 21 points. Brendan Gray contributed 13 points and Bryan Bolton had 11. Ewens was an all-tournament first-team selection and Bolton was a second-team pick.

New Bloomfield junior guard Grant Nichols was also a first-team choice as the No. 5 seed Wildcats (7-6) bowed to No. 2 Hermann 50-45 in the third-place game Saturday afternoon.

South Callaway travels to Linn for a Show-Me Conference matchup at 5 p.m. Thursday.