CALIFORNIA, Mo. - The St. Elizabeth Hornets finished strong in both halves of a 75-60 win Wednesday against the California Pintos in the loser's bracket semifinals of the California Tournament.
The Hornets fell behind 20-12 after one quarter, then outscored the Pintos 25-10 in the second quarter to lead 37-30 at halftime.
California battled back to close the gap to 51-48 by the end of the third quarter, but St. Elizabeth won the scoring battle 24-12 in the final eight minutes to pull away for the win.
Ross Struemph led the Hornets with 21 points, while Mason Kemna finished with 17 points.
St. Elizabeth (8-8), the No. 7 seed, plays fourth-seeded Boonville at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the fifth-place game. California (4-9) plays next Tuesday at School of the Osage.