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Bell City routs Bernie
BERNIE -- As University of Memphis coach John Calipari and two of his assistant coaches looked on, Bell City center William Bogan put on a show.
Bogan scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half -- including a pair of dunks -- and pulled down 15 rebounds as the Cubs ran past the Bernie Mules, 82-59, Thursday in a Stoddard County Activities Association game.
"We didn't have much way of stopping him did we?" Bernie coach Morris Karnes said. "I hadn't seen them play. I had never seen him play, of course, (since) this is the first year he's played. He's everything they say he is.
"I told our guys after the game I thought we played hard. I hope we don't take this as a moral (victory) ... because they're an awfully talented team. Beyond him, they'd be talented even without him, but with him, he takes them to another level."
Bernie (3-3, 1-1 SCAA) hung with Bell City the first half, but a 21-2 Cubs' run in the third quarter turned the game into a rout.
"One of the problems was -- I told (assistant) coach (Brad) Botsch this at halftime -- they had substituted a lot," Karnes said. "They were running a lot of people in and out, putting pressure on us fullcourt.
"We're not as deep as they are, not as athletic as they are, and I was afraid -- which kind of happened -- they just started finally just pushing it up and down the floor on us and rebounding, getting stickbacks and then especially just going inside to Bogan."
The Mules trailed 39-30 after Arthur Lopez drained a 3-pointer with 6:09 left in the third quarter, but Bell City (6-1, 2-0) began to take control, getting a 3-point play from Phillip Gross at the 5:58 mark and getting a one-handed dunk from Bogan 20 seconds later to ignite a 9-0 spurt.
"We adjusted well at halftime," Bell City coach Brian Brandtner said. "We really focused on contesting all shots in the second half, getting all the rebounds and just really picking up the pace. We were looking more at skip passes in that second half which were open and then that'd free up the post as well."
Nolan Blevins' bucket with 4:19 left in the third stopped the bleeding, but a Jeff Liggins trey sparked a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach.
"I told the guys in the locker room after the game that shows what a little bit of running down the floor will do," Brandtner said. "You get down there before the defense and you're going to get a lot more open looks. We're going to get better running, but for starters, I'm not too unhappy with tonight's effort."
Bernie led just twice in the game -- the last time on a triple from Doug Johnson midway through the first quarter -- but managed to stay close behind solid games from Johnson and Marcus Massey.
"I think overall our kids played hard," Karnes said. "I thought Marcus Massey -- that's probably the hardest he's played all year. The only problem is he's trying to play against somebody that's eight inches taller and weighs 150 pounds more than what he does."
A 3-point play by Massey pulled the Mules within two points early in the second quarter, but Bell City answered with a bucket by Gross and a trey from Liggins to open a 23-16 lead with five minutes to go before halftime.
"I think early we didn't contest enough shots like we needed to," Brandtner said. "To give Bernie credit, they ran good offense and knocked down their open shots. We're trying to run a little bit more in our transition game. Tonight, you can tell that we're not there yet, but we're showing signs of getting down the floor quicker before the defense can all pile in on Will."
The Mules held Bogan to 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half, but the big man dominated after the break, scoring 10 straight points for the Cubs at one point.
"Whether we fronted him or backed him, it didn't matter -- he was scoring over the top of us, underneath us or from the free-throw line," Karnes said. "It didn't really matter where we were playing him, he was still scoring on us."
NCAA rules prohibit Calipari from commenting about either Bogan or any high school player, but he did have something to say for his introduction to SCAA basketball.
"It's not that far from Memphis and to come out and see a high school game," Calipari said. "It was enjoyable."
Bogan did not let the added pressure of having a Division I coach in attendance affect him.
"Basically they just came out here just to see what I was looking like," Bogan said. "I have to do what I have to do just in order to play ball."
Brandtner was excited to have Calipari in attendance Thursday.
"I'd like them here every night if that's what motivated Will, but I'd like to think it was because he was running a little bit harder down the floor like we've been practicing. But having Coach Calipari in attendance at Bernie, that's pretty special for the area. That's pretty cool."
Both schools are off until Dec. 26 when Bernie faces Malden at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament and Bell City takes on Oran at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament in Cape Girardeau.