MOKANE, Mo. - Junior guard Kaden Helsel erupted for a game-high 31 points as the No. 4 seed South Callaway Bulldogs easily conquered the No. 3 New Bloomfield Wildcats in the third-place game of the South Callaway Tournament on Thursday night.
South Callaway (3-9) - which defeated the Wildcats 62-55 in a Show-Me Conference game at New Bloomfield on Dec. 9 - bolted to an 18-4 lead after the first quarter Thursday night and carried a 34-22 advantage into the break. The Bulldogs took command by outscoring the Wildcats 21-5 in the third quarter, padding their lead to 55-27.
"It was tough playing three games in three days, but our kids really responded well," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said. "They came out with a lot of energy to start the game and again to start the second half, which I felt was the difference in the game."
Junior guard Dylan Lepper and senior guard Blake Parker also supplied 14 points apiece for the Bulldogs. Helsel was selected to the all-tournament first team.
Junior forward Jak Kitchens - named the tournament's most valuable player - led New Bloomfield (8-6) with 15 points. Junior guard Kyle Emerson came up with eight.
"This was one of our best defensive games of the year," Brandt said. "We really rotated and played well as a team on the defensive end. Offensively, we had some of our best performances as well. We were able to finish shots around the basket and hit some 3s to get us started."
South Callaway bowed to the top-seeded Hermann Bearcats 52-41 in the semifinals Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs - who lost at Hermann 62-54 on Jan. 6 - trailed 12-7 after the first quarter Wednesday night and faced a 24-15 halftime deficit. Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter as the Bearcats protected a 37-28 advantage.
Helsel guided South Callaway with 14 points and Lepper was next with 13.
"We really struggled to score early," Brandt said. "In the second half we hit a few more shots, but weren't able to get enough stops to let us catch back up.
"We have played them twice now and both times really competed well. (Hermann) is a very solid team with a solid core of seniors."
Senior guard Garrett Leimkuehler topped the Bearcats with a game-high 19 points.
New Bloomfield was roughed up by No. 2 seed Montgomery County 76-44 in Wednesday night's other semifinal. Further details were not available.
The Bulldogs are the No. 4 seed in this week's first-ever Belle Tournament and face No. 3 Missouri Military Academy in the first round at 5 p.m. Monday.
New Bloomfield hosts a non-conference matchup against Wellsville at 6 p.m. Monday.