Bedford holds off East Mills to win Corner tournament title

Bedford used a 14-4 second quarter run to blow open a tight ball game and held off East Mills over the final two and half quarters to capture the school’s first Corner Conference Boys Basketball Tournament title in its first season in the league Saturday in Tabor.
The Wolverines (12-4 overall, 4-2 in the conference) trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and while his team battled all night long, they could never quite dig out, said head coach Dan Stoakes.
“They’re a great team,” the coach said. “They have a lot of experience, they’re physical, they boxed us out and we couldn’t get any offensive rebounds and limited out second shot opportunities. Hats off to them, they’re the best team in the conference for a reason and they played it like it.”
The Bulldogs (15-0 overall, 8-0 in the conference), who took it to the Wolverines in a 57-36 win back in December, took a narrow 12-11 lead into the second quarter before figuring out the East Mills’ zone defense.
“It was working early but then they shot us out of it in the second quarter and we had to go away from it to stay with their shooters,” Stoakes said the Wolverines’ 2-3 zone.
“They have three or four guys who can really shoot the ball, and they started hitting and that’s what got them that lead at half.”
Brody King, one of those great shooters for the Bulldogs, hit back-to-back three-pointers to kick off a quick 9-1 run that ballooned to a 14-4 run on his third three pointer of the frame with less than four minutes to go in the opening half. The Bulldogs would lead 28-15 at the break.
However, East Mills kept chipping away in the third quarter. Jackson Embree’s layup and a three-pointer sandwiched around a Bulldog turnover cut the lead to 35-26 with just over three minutes to go. That lead would shrink to 36-30 heading into the final frame.
The teams would trade buckets and turnovers in a rugged fourth quarter. East Mills found itself within striking distance at 47-40 on Fletcher Proctor’s layup with just under two minutes to go but they could get no closer.
The Wolverines missed their final six shots of the game as the Bulldogs pulled away.
Bedford’s defense was tough on the Wolverines all night.
“We didn’t shoot it well that’s for sure,” Stoakes said. “They’re a longer team and that did bother us a little bit and maybe it was nerves playing in a championship game with some younger kids. You want to put together a good shooting game and a good defensive game against the best team in the conference and we didn’t do that.”
Embree finished with a game-high 19 points. Mason Camden, often facing a Bulldog defender face guarding the sophomore sharpshooter all night, finished with 14 hard-earned points.
Cal Peterman paced Bedford with 17 points and King finished with 15 on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

Third Place Game
Sidney 72,
Stanton 60
Michael Hensley and Braedon Godfread scored 17 points each to lead four Sidney players in double-figures in the Cowboys’ 72-60 win over Stanton in the third-place game at the Corner Conference Boys Tournament Saturday in Tabor.
The Cowboys (10-5 overall, 7-2 in the conference) led by as many as 16 points in the game before the Vikings cut that lead to 54-46 with a minute to go in the third quarter.
Sidney, however, was able to hold any comeback attempt off with a 7-0 burst to open the fourth quarter to push the lead back to 17 points at 65-48. Stanton would rally once more to cut the lead to seven with two minutes to go but the rally would end there.
The Cowboys hit 4-of-6 free throws in the final 58 seconds to seal the win.
Andrea Buttry and Grant Whitehead added 15 points each for Sidney.
Gavin Ford and Brody Gibbs each scored 17 points to lead Stanton.

Semifinals
Bedford 73,
Stanton 41
Brody King and Cal Peterman combined for 39 points for Bedford in a 73-41 win over Stanton in the Corner Conference Boys Basketball Tournament semifinals Thursday in Bedford.
King sunk 5-of-9 from behind the arc and led the way with 21 points. Peterman added 18 points.
Gavin Ford led Stanton with 13 points.

East Mills 80,
Sidney 57
East Mills notched its ninth straight win and a spot in the Corner Conference Boys Basketball Tournament finals with a 79-57 semifinal win over Sidney Thursday in Bedford.
    The Wolverines led 34-26 at the half but extended that lead with a 26-13 third thanks to its hot shooting. For the game they shot 51.9 percent from the field – 27-of-52 – and 19-of-24 at the free throw line. They also grabbed 17 steals among their 18 forced turnovers.
Jackson Embree scored a game-high 21 points and Mason Camden 20 to lead East Mills. Sheldon Vandenberg chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds.
Braedon Godfread, Andreas Buttry and Michael Hensley scored 15 points each to lead Sidney.

Hamburg 68,
Essex 55
Keith Thompson poured in a career-high 32 points for Hamburg in a 68-55 win over Essex in Corner Conference Boys Basketball consolation play Thursday.
Isaiah Sholes led Essex with 17 points and Kaden Buick added 16.

Griswold 71,
Fremont-Mills 44
Griswold outscored Fremont-Mills 37-23 after halftime in a 71-44 win in Corner Conference Boys Basketball consolation round action Thursday.
Peyton Cook paced Griswold with 17 points. Zane Johnson and Bode Wyman added 14 points each.
Sawyer Forney scored 19 points and Mason Reed eight to lead Fremont-Mills.

Quarterfinals
Stanton 54,
Griswold 48
Stanton outscored Griswold 17-9 in the fourth quarter to rally in a 54-48 victory over Griswold in the opening round of the Corner Conference Boys Basketball Tournament last Tuesday in Bedford.
Evan Gettler and Jacob Martin scored 15 points apiece to lead Stanton. Andrew Johnson chipped in 10 points.
Bode Wyman and Conner Bowers paced Griswold with 11 points each.

Sidney 68,
Fremont-Mills 34
Michael Hensley scored 21 points to lead three players in double figures for Sidney in a 68-34 win over Fremont-Mills in the quarterfinals of the Corner Conference Boys Basketball Tournament last Tuesday in Malvern.
Braedon Godfread chipped in 16 points and Grant Whitehead 14 for the Cowboys.
Mason Reed scored 12 points to pace Fremont-Mills.

East Mills 79,
Essex 36
East Mills outscored Essex 42-13 after halftime in 79-36 win over Essex in the opening round of the Corner Conference Boys Basketball Tournament last Tuesday in Malvern.
Jackson Embree led a balanced scoring effort with 17 points. Mason Camden added 16 points and Sheldon Vandenberg chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds.
Isaiah Sholes led Essex with 20 points.