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Vandiver recognized for milestone, gets double-double in Bloomfield's win over East Prairie
BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- He walked to the middle of the court and looked a bit uncomfortable doing so. He kept brushing his hand down his hair, even though it didn't need it and stood with a sheepish grin as Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes read aloud his current accomplishment.
Once the clapping began and his teammates brought out the surprise, Noah Vandiver sunk his head and hid behind the warmup top he continued to pull to his eyes.
The unexpected recognition for scoring his 1,000th career point was a lot to take in for the senior, who was given a decorative ball commemorating his feat before Bloomfield's game against East Prairie on Friday in Bloomfield, Mo.
"I was a little nervous because I wasn't really expecting anything," Vandiver said. "It was all a little secret. I kind of got teary-eyed there."
Vandiver turned his surprise celebration into a predictable performance on the court when he led Bloomfield to a 61-50 win with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The 6-3 forward became the seventh player in school history to clip the 1,000-point mark and was the first since 2010 when Leighton Hensley did the same. Vandiver eclipsed the milestone in a game against Advance Dec. 18.
He currently sits at sixth all-time in points scored at Bloomfield.
"The last two years, including this year, he's anywhere from 15-20 a game for us," Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes said. "He's a solid and consistent scorer as I've ever really been around. He's not a guy that's going to get you 30 or 40 a night, but he does a great job of putting the ball in the hole when you need him to. That's what he's always done."
Vandiver began the game a little on the shaky side. After making his first shot around the rim, he missed four of his next five for four points in the first half. He admitted the ceremony before the game had him a bit flummoxed.
He calmed down afterwards missing just two of his seven shots in the second half. He also went 5 of 7 from the free throw line for 14 points in the second half.
"It kind of did, but I knew I couldn't let it get to me too much," he said. "We've got great fans and they support us."
The Wildcats tied twice with East Prairie early in the first quarter, but never trailed. They went ahead 14-10 after the first quarter and went ahead by as many as nine before a free throw from Luke Marcum pulled East Prairie to within eight, 23-15, at the end of their slow-paced first half.
Each team shot 22 times with Bloomfield making 10 shots from the field and East Prairie six.
"We had to grind this one out," Karnes said. "Sometimes you need to do that. You might want it to be a little pretty than it was, but we'll take a win any time."
A basket by East Prairie's Brett Ellis pulled the Eagles within five at the 5:06 mark in the third quarter. A three from Tim Hector and buckets by Vandiver and Alex Gibbs put the Wildcats back on top 33-21 just two minutes later.
East Prairie never got back within seven the rest of the way.
"We knew they were a good team," Vandiver said about East Prairie. "They were going to execute. We saw them play in the Christmas Tournament and they were a pretty solid team. I thought we executed and played pretty well."
Bloomfield (12-1) had a distinct advantage on the glass out-rebounding East Prairie 31-22. On top of Vandiver's 11, Gibbs and Hector each added five rebounds.
"We're going to struggle rebounding. We're not real big," Knight said. "That's just a given. That's the team we are, but we have to make up for that on the defensive end."
East Prairie (7-5) suffered from Bloomfield's slower pace struggling to force turnovers. The Wildcats had 10 turnovers with six coming in the first half. They had four in the fourth.
"We're more of an offensive, up-tempo, push the ball club," Knight said. "Tonight, we wanted to value the basketball, be efficient and get the most out of our possessions. Bloomfield's a team that's not going to turn the ball over and I told our guys to not play quick and don't take bad shots. They started passing the ball around, but quit attacking. We wanted to play patient but we still have to attack."
Derez Tipler, a freshman, led East Prairie with 14 points. Marcum and Deverence Jones each scored seven.
Bloomfield shot 12 of 14 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Gibbs added 14 points while Austin Bond chipped in 10 for the Wildcats, who continued its balanced scoring attack the same as it has all season.
"That helps us out a lot," Vandiver said. "If we're having problems in the post we've got guys who can knock down shots. We're just an all-around great team and I couldn't ask for a better group of teammates. We play real well together."
| East Prairie | 10 | 5 | 17 | 18 | -- | 50 |
| Bloomfield | 14 | 9 | 18 | 20 | -- | 61 |
EAST PRAIRIE (50) -- Luke Marcum 7, Deverence Jones 7, Dylan Lingle 2, Derez Tipler 14, Brett Ellis 6, Jon Ross Slayden 4, Cade Douglas 4, Alex Cowgill 6. FG 21 FT 5-9 F 18. (3-pointers: Marcum 1, Tipler 2. Fouled out: Tipler.)
BLOOMFIELD (61) -- Tim Hector 7, Caleb Pulley 2, Peyton Bell 6, Austin Bond 10, Tyler Battles 4, Noah Vandiver 18, Alex Gibbs 14. FG 22 FT 16-23 F 14. (3-pointers: Hector 1. Fouled out: none.)