STURGEON - Senior forwards Jacob Smith and Luke Horstman combined for 36 points in the No. 2 seed South Callaway Bulldogs' 87-57 first-round throttling of the No. 7 New Bloomfield Wildcats on Tuesday night at the 31st-annual Sturgeon Tournament.
Smith was responsible for 21 points and 11 rebounds to guide South Callaway (15-1), which got back on track after suffering its first loss of the season at Linn on Jan. 22. Horstman added 15 points Tuesday night.
"I thought we got a lot more production from our inside guys," Bulldogs head coach Tony Brandt said. "Our guards fed the ball (to them), and our post players were able to finish at the rim. That was good to see."
South Callaway - defeating New Bloomfield for the third time this season - led 21-15 after one quarter and took a 44-31 advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs carried a 65-50 edge into the fourth quarter before turning the game into a romp by outscoring the Wildcats 22-7 over the final 8 minutes.
"I really liked our defensive intensity," Brandt said. "We took more chances with our traps in the fullcourt and we were pretty focused in the halfcourt and guarding what they do.
"We were getting better rotation out of our traps."
Senior guards Troy Hentges and Terry Miles rounded out South Callaway's double-figure scoring with 19 points apiece, while senior guard Cory Hanger distributed a team-high six assists.
The Bulldogs advance to face No. 3 seed Community R-6 in the semifinals at 7:30 tonight at the high school. The Trojans - ranked No. 5 in Class 1 - sidestepped an upset bid by No. 6 seed Westran in holding on for a 58-55 overtime win in Tuesday night's first round.
"(Community) has nice size and their guard play is pretty solid," Brandt said. "We have to dictate the tempo; we can't allow them to slow the game down.
"They're methodical and like to walk the ball up the floor. We need to be able to speed them up and get them out of their comfort zone."
Junior guard Grant Nichols topped New Bloomfield (8-8) with a game-high 23 points Tuesday night, while freshman forward Jak Kitchens contributed 14 and junior forward Leo Ramirez had 10. The Wildcats square off against Westran in the consolation semifinals at 7:30 tonight at the middle school.