By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DEXTER, Mo. - The last time the Bearcats faced the Kennett Indians this year was in the finals of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, where the Indians beat Dexter by ten points. The scene was no different Friday (Feb. 12) night at the Bearcat Event Center, as the ‘Cats were blown out at the hands of the Indians on Senior Night.

Jake Cox snagged a loose ball with 6:45 left in the first quarter, took it the length of the court and was fouled on his layup attempt, but was unable to hit either of his two free-throws. Fred Garmon picked off a Dexter inbounds pass a minute later and dropped in Kennett’s first two points of the evening; the Indians never gave up the lead for the rest of the contest. Bryn Hester completed a three-point play for the ‘Cats at the 4:30 mark, but was quickly answered with a three by Kennett’s Randrick Caruthers. Tyler Miller was called for goaltending on an Andy Lack layup attempt with 2:00 left in the frame, increasing Kennett’s lead to 10. Lack hit a three for the Indians with 35 seconds left in the first, and pushed the Indians to a 23-9 advantage at the end of the frame.

The ‘Cats put up a quick 6-0 run to open the second quarter, but Lack and Caruthers both connected from beyond the arc to keep Kennett in the lead. Taylor Jarrell made a big offensive rebound and putback with 1:45 left in the half. Luck again hit a three with less than a minute left on the clock for the Indians. Hester hit two free-throws for the ‘Cats with six seconds remaining in the frame, but Kennett had a commanding 17 point lead going into halftime.

Cameron Wallace connected from three-point land ten seconds into the third quarter, pushing Kennett’s lead to 20 points. Hester completed another three-point play for the ‘Cats at the 6:15 mark. Garmon hit a deep three for the Indians on the ensuing possession. Miller nabbed an errant pass by Jack Walls, got fouled on his shot, and completed the three-point play. Logan Robey hit a three with eight seconds left in the third, but Kennet still held a 22 point lead.

Hester and Cox were both perfect from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter for the Bearcats. Lack hit another three for Kennet at the 1:30 mark, but Robey answered, hitting his second three of the game. Cameron Wallace scooped a loose ball and put in two points with 15 seconds left in the game, pushing Kennett to a 22 point routing of the Bearcats.

“We just closed out people and didn’t give up uncontested shots,” Kennett head coach Jim Vaughan said after the game. “Our kids are buying into our defense and guarding as a whole right now.”

Vaughan seemed very pleased with his team’s defense, especially with regards to Flannigan, who was held to just 14 points on the contest.

“We had the same game plan for [Alan] Flannigan going into tonight as we did last time,” Vaughan continued. “We did a better job of denying him the basketball, sometimes having three people on him.”

“He does merit that much attention; he obviously has a size advantage over us, but he’s just that skilled of a player.”

The Bearcats will be in action again on Tuesday (Feb. 15) night at Poplar Bluff.

“They play really slow and move the ball a lot,” Miller said. “They try to lull you to sleep on defense and get an open look. It’ll probably be a low-scoring game.”

Tipoff for the JV game is scheduled for 5 p.m., followed by the Varsity Girls, and Boys action to close out the evening.

Photos above Top Photo: Jake Lee puts up a shot over Adam Grantham.
Bottom photo:Jake Bollinger puts a move on Kennett’s Fred Garmon during Dexter’s loss to the Indians on Friday.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
DEXTER	9	16	16	9	50
KENNETT	23	20	20	9	72

                                                                                                                                                                                  

DEXTER	FG	3s	FT	TOTAL
Cox	1	--	2-4	4
Hester	3	--	6-6	12
Flannigan	6	--	2-2	14
Robey	1	2	1-2	9
Lee	--	--	1-2	1
Miller	1	0	3-4	5
Fitts	1	--	--	2
Jarrell	1	--	1-2	3

                                                                                                                                                                                  

KENNETT	FG	3s	FT	TOTAL
Shaverss	1	--	4-4	6
Carthers	6	2	2-2	20
C. Wallace	2	1	0-2	7
Garmon	1	1	1-2	6
Walls	2	--	3-4	7
Grantham	1	--	--	2
Lack	3	4	0-2	18
J. Wallace	3	--	--	6