MOKANE, Mo. - The No. 3 seed New Bloomfield Wildcats scored the final four points of the first half and started the third quarter with a 14-0 run to ease past the No. 6 North Callaway Thunderbirds in first-round play at the South Callaway Tournament on Tuesday night.
New Bloomfield (8-4) went into the break with a 28-22 edge and then used its third-quarter outburst to open up a 50-33 lead.
Junior forward Jak Kitchens produced a game-high 29 points - reaching the 1,000-point career mark with a free throw late in the second quarter - to direct the Wildcats. Kitchens was solely responsible for New Bloomfield's output at the foul line, making 15-of-22 attempts.
Junior guard Nick Hamman added 14 points for the Wildcats.
Freshman guard Gabe Cash countered with 21 points to lead North Callaway (2-8), scoring the Thunderbirds' first nine points of the game. Freshman forward Tully Thomsen was next with 12 points for North Callaway and junior forward Tanner Pezold pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
"That one stretch (at end of first half and start of third quarter), you can't allow that and have a chance to win," Thunderbirds head coach Matt Miller said. "Other than that, I thought we played well."
New Bloomfield tangled with No. 2 seed Montgomery County in the semifinals late Wednesday night, while North Callaway faced No. 7 Missouri Military Academy in the consolation semifinals. Results from both games were not immediately available.