By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BELL CITY - The Dexter Middle School Bearcats were in action Monday night in the second round of the SCAA Tournament.


Both the seventh and eighth grade squads drew the No. 2 seed, with the seventh grade having a bye in the first round and the eighth grade holding a big win over No. 7 Woodland in the first round.

The seventh grade squad faced off against the No. 3 Advance Hornets, and were eventually upset by a 34-25 final score.

Jason Jarrell had a solid defensive performance in the first quarter, coming up with a big block and getting great pressure on Dawson Mayo, Advance’s dominating middle man, in the paint. The ‘Cats held a narrow 6-4 lead after the first.

Brenden Crader hit a big three for Advance to open the second quarter and take a 7-6 lead. Advance’s defense really stepped up in the second quarter, forcing a lot of turnovers by the Bearcats. Despite a big run by the Hornets to open the quarter, the ‘Cats battled back within four points to trail 16-12 going into halftime.

Bryce Simmons picked up his defensive efforts in the third quarter, picking up several boards and getting great pressure in the paint. The Hornets held Dexter scoreless until the 2:05 mark, when Jarrell hit a 15-footer. Jackson Babb came up with a steal and bucket to cut the Hornets’ lead to 24-16 after the third.

The Hornets went on another big run to open the fourth quarter, but the Bearcats again battled back, aided by dominance on the offensive boards by Simmons and Jarrell. In the end, it was too little, too late for the ‘Cats, as they were upset by Advance with a 34-25 final score.


The seventh grade ‘Cats will face off against No. 4 Puxico in the third-place matchup, played Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.

In the eighth grade contest, Owen Flowers got things underway with a layup on the opening possession of the game. Austin Chessor came up with a big steal on the next play, and dumped the ball off to Flowers for a trey. Chandler Young continued the Bearcats’ steal frenzy, followed by another from Chessor that led to a three-pointer. Cole Renken dominated the boards throughout the entire contest, and played some outstanding defense in the paint. The ‘Cats went on a 12-0 run to open the game, and held a 14-9 lead after the first quarter.

Young took control of the Bearcat offense early in the second quarter, and showed great skill in penetrating the lane for 6 of his 10 points in the frame. Renken continued his dominance in the middle, coming up with 2 blocks and 6 rebounds in the quarter to help the ‘Cats to a 16-0 run and a 30-16 lead going into halftime.

Bell City’s Colton Siebert hit a trey early in the third quarter, but Harley Warren quickly answered with a three of his own on the ensuing possession. Renken had yet another block and 2 more rebounds in the quarter. Alex Whitehead hit a three in the last minute of the quarter to give the ‘Cats a 48-22 lead.


Dexter’s bench players good some time on the floor during the fourth quarter, with Noah Langley and Addison Moore both having solid performances in the paint. The Cubs were able to cut Dexter’s lead to 12, but the ‘Cats exploded on offense to close out the game with a 61-40 victory.


The eighth grade ‘Cats advance to the SCAA Championship game with the win, where they will face off against the No. 1 Bloomfield Wildcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. tonight.

BOLIVAR - The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats finished the 2011 season with some great performances from players returning next season, but came up short in the contest, 24-8. Nathan Mourik lead the Bearcats receiving core with 133 receiving yards on 11 receptions including the Bearcats only touchdown.


The Bulldogs jumped out early on the Bearcats, leading 24-0 in the fourth quarter before Dan Connors hit Mourik with a 20 yard touchdown pass to get SBU on the scoreboard. Connors would hit Derwyn Lauderdale for the 2-point conversion to bring the score 24-8. The Bearcats would continue to move the ball in the fourth quarter, but couldn't find the end zone as they ultimately came up short 24-8 in the game.


Connors once again topped the 300 yard passing mark, throwing for 318 yards and one touchdown. Mourik lead the SBU receivers with 11 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown, and Marcus Sullivan had a great final game as a Bearcat, hauling in four receptions for 115 yards and the 2-point conversion.


On the defensive side of the football the Bearcats Zach Moore was the leading tackler with 9 tackles, followed by Kourtney Bennett with 8, and 7 by Austin Otwell. Dexter native Glen Johnson had a solid final game for the Bearcats, seeing extensive time at his defensive end position and making several key plays throughout the game.



The Bearcats end the 2011 season with solid production from players returning next year in key positions as they are set to move back into the MIAA next season. The Bearcats will open up the 2012 season when they travel to Truman State for another match-up with the Bulldogs.

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Southwest Baptist University is a four-year evangelical Christian university that was established in 1878. The main campus is located about 30 minutes north of Springfield, Missouri, in Bolivar, a town of approximately 10,000 people.

DHS alum Glen Johnson is a defensive lineman for the Bearcats.

For more information on SBU Bearcat Athletics, visit sbubearcats.com.

FULTON - The William Woods University women's basketball team survived a wild finish tonight, winning 65-62 over Culver-Stockton College. Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) had four points on the night but none were bigger than her two free throws with 3:28 left on the clock, as the senior won a tenacious battle for a loose ball that was the turning point in the game, as well as Dexter native Ashlee Taylor's big three-pointer to seal the victory.

The first half got off to a slow start, with each team stretching out a big lead before being reeled back in. Culver-Stockton's biggest margin came at the 15:16 mark, as they led 10-4.

William Woods answered with a 15-0 run to take a 19-10 lead, and they would hold the Wildcats at arm's length for most of the first half. The visitors would close out the stanza with nine unanswered points, however, to send the game into halftime deadlocked at 30-30.

The Wildcats came out of the locker room in the second half a bit sharper than the Owls, jumping out to a 48-38 lead with 12:31 to go.

Dan Chapla's squad would pull back into the game with three buckets in the space of 30 seconds, however, and Ciara Tatum (Columbia, Mo.) would eventually knot the game at 57-57 with just under four to go.

On the ensuing inbounds play, the ball came loose and Loesch came up with the ball, drawing a foul as CSC's Aneshia Starks fell on top of her. The Owls senior stepped to the line and calmly sank the front end of a one-and-one before draining the second.

WWU held on to the lead for all but one possession down the stretch, but then Taylor banked a trey with 14 ticks to snatch the victory back.

Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) led the Owls with 15 points and eight rebounds on the night, with Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) and Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) also finishing in double figures. Starks led all scorers in the game with 22 points for the Wildcats.

WWU moves to 3-2 on the season and will return to action next Tuesday night as they travel to Kansas City, Mo., to take on Avila University. Tipoff for the game - the first of a doubleheader with the Owls men - is set for 5:30 p.m.

For a full breakdown of the game's stats, click here.

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William Woods University is a four-year, NAIA school located in Fulton, Mo., and is a member of the American Midwest Conference.

DHS Alum Ashlee Taylor is a member of the women’s basketball team.

For more information on everything regarding Owls Athletics, check out wwuowls.com.

The basketball season will get an "unofficial" start Monday at Richland High School.

Link of Interest

BOLIVAR - The Bearcats will be hosting the Truman State University Bulldogs this weekend, and will look to avenge a heartbreaking 33-30 loss last season. The Bearcats will be looking for their fourth straight senior day victory.

The SBU offense is lead by junior quarterback Dan Connors who has thrown for 1861 yards with 13 touchdowns this season. Connors has a completion percentage of 63.6% and is averaging 206.8 yards passing per game this season. Thad Everson leads all Bearcat rushers with 514 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while averaging 51.4 yards per game, and Charles Johnson leads the Bearcat receivers with 605 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 60.5 yards per game.

The Bearcat defense is lead by Zach Moore who has recorded team highs in tackles (87) and tackles for loss (7.5) this season. As a team, the Bearcats have wrapped up 18 sacks, picked off 12 passes, recovered 12 fumbles, and blocked 7 kicks on the season.

The Bearcats will look for a senior day victory, with the game set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. from Bolivar, Missouri.

The Coaches

Keith Allen has already engineered a significant turnaround at SBU, moving the ‘Cats from 0-11 his first year as interim coach, to 5-6 in 2008, to the winning record of 6-5 in 2009, and followed up with a 7-4 record in 2010. Allen served as defensive and recruiting coordinator before being named SBU head coach in 2007. His past coaching experience has included stops at San Jose State, Quincy, TCU and Oklahoma.

Gregg Nesbitt is in his 2nd season as the head coach at Truman State University. Last season Nesbitt lead the Bulldogs to a 4-7 record.

Scouting the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs enter into this weekend with a 3-7 record, coming off of a 54-0 shutout victory against Lincoln University.

TSU is lead in passing by J.B. Clark who averages 210.2 passing yards per game, lead in rushing by Harnish Ayora who averages 49.6 rushing yards per game, and lead in receiving by Anthony Brown who averages 82.6 receiving yards per game.

Defensively, Richie Schumacher with 117 total tackles and two interceptions.

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Southwest Baptist University is a four-year evangelical Christian university that was established in 1878. The main campus is located about 30 minutes north of Springfield, Missouri, in Bolivar, a town of approximately 10,000 people.

DHS alum Glen Johnson is a defensive lineman for the Bearcats.

For more information on SBU Bearcat Athletics, visit sbubearcats.com.