BELLE, Mo. - Kaden Helsel remains on a remarkable scoring run.
South Callaway's junior guard tallied a game-high 34 points Tuesday night and the No. 4 seed Bulldogs tripped top-seeded Wright County Homeschool 61-58 in the semifinals of the first-ever Belle Tournament.
Helsel scored at least 30 points for the third consecutive game as South Callaway (4-10) advanced to a championship matchup against the No. 2 seed Chamois Pirates at 8 tonight. Chamois reached the title game with a 59-45 win over No. 3 seed Missouri Military Academy in Tuesday night's other semifinal.
The Bulldogs will be seeking to avenge a 49-45 Show-Me Conference loss to the Pirates on Jan. 5 at Mokane.
South Callaway trailed Wright County 16-15 after one quarter Tuesday night, but outscored the Warriors 15-13 in the second quarter and took a 30-29 edge into halftime. The Bulldogs were down 44-41 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored Wright County 20-14 over the final 8 minutes to rally for the victory.
"It was a hard-fought game till the end - we went back and forth with several lead changes," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said. "We were finally able to get a few shots to fall in the fourth quarter that helped us get a lead.
"Our defense in the fourth also was able to come up with some big stops at the end of the game to seal it. (Junior guard) Dylan Lepper was able to hit two big 3s late and got to the line for two free throws down the stretch to help ice the game."
Lepper finished with 11 points and senior guard Blake Parker provided 10 for the Bulldogs.
Austin Fleetwood connected for 18 points to guide three players in double figures for Wright County. Sid James and Ben Martin both had 15 points.
"Blake Parker did a great job defensively holding their primary scorer to 15 (James came into Tuesday night averaging 29 points)," Brandt said. "Kaden had another big offensive night that helped carry us on the offensive end."