STURGEON - No. 6 seed South Callaway was outscored by No. 3 New Franklin 35-20 in the second half of Tuesday night's 70-55 first-round loss in a matchup between Bulldogs at the 32nd-annual Sturgeon Tournament.
South Callaway fell behind 11-2 but scrambled back within 21-17 after one quarter, then outscored New Franklin 18-14 in the second quarter to tie the game at 35-all at the break. New Franklin took a slim 47-45 lead into the fourth quarter and pulled away by outscoring South Callaway 23-10 over the last 8 minutes.
Sophomore guard Kaden Helsel and freshman guard Peyton Leeper produced 13 points apiece to guide South Callaway.
"Our kids did a great job of fighting back to tie the game at the half," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said. "We took an early lead in the third quarter, but had a long stretch where we struggled to get scores and stops."
South Callaway meets No. 7 seed Paris in the consolation semifinals at 7:30 tonight in the middle school gym. Paris was pummeled by No. 2 seed New Bloomfield 76-43 in Tuesday night's first round.