ShowMe Scoreboard, 12.21.2011

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SCOTT CITY - Poor free throw shooting has been the deciding factor in basketball games throughout the sport’s history. One of the newest addition to the list can be the Bearcats’ performance against the Scott City Rams on Tuesday (Dec. 21) night, where the ‘Cats were an abysmal 8 for 23 (0 for 6 in the fourth quarter alone) from the charity stripe in a 65-62 loss.

“We got in a free throw shooting contest with them, and we aren’t going to win many of those at this point,” head coach Rob Nichols said after the game. “Did we play well? No. Were we ready to play? No. Mentally, I don’t think we were. We got beat by the better team tonight.”


The ‘Cats jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead midway through the first quarter before the Rams clawed back within three at the end of the frame. The game was closely officiated, with each team having players in foul trouble and being in double-bonus at the end of the first quarter.

Brad Potts hit a quick jumper to open the second quarter, but Ryan Brock completed an old-fashioned three point play at the 5:30 mark to give the Rams their first lead of the contest.

The Rams went on to score 14 unanswered points until Tyler Miller dropped in a layup at the 1:40 mark. Miller went on to hit a three in the last minute of the quarter to bring the score to 39-30 in favor of the Rams heading into halftime.

The Bearcats’ outside shooting picked up during the third quarter, with Chase Young and Cody Neldon knocking down threes to pull Dexter within six at the 2:00 mark. Miller picked up his fourth foul early in the frame, and didn’t play for the majority of the third. The Rams were able to hold on to a six point, 52-46 lead after the third quarter.

The Rams opened the fourth with a 8-2 run before Miller knocked down a three at the 3:00 mark. Jake Lee drew a charge to help the Bearcats chip the Rams’ lead down to 60-57 with 2:00 left in the game.

Miller hit another trey at the 1:20 mark, followed quickly by a 10-footer from Jordan Fitts to bring the score to 64-62. Nichols called a timeout with :15 left in the contest to draw up the Bearcats’ last play.

Lee was fouled on the next play to send him to the line for a pair of free throws. After missing the first, Lee rebounded his own miss on the second shot and was fouled for two more free throws. After missing both shots, the ‘Cats quickly had to foul Zach Cotner to stop the clock with two seconds left. Cotner knocked down one of his two free throws to seal the 65-62 win for the Rams.

“At this point, I”m not even worried about [the loss]; I’m more disappointed in our lack of composure, and I want to apologize for some of the things I saw out on the court,” Nichols said of his squad. “I don’t know if everyone else saw it, but that’s not the way we need to act out on the court. Win or lose, that’s the biggest thing I’m disappointed in.”

The JV squad was able to pick up their first regulation win of the season with a 47-26 victory. Stevie Payne paced the young ‘Cats with 19 points, while Jacob Murdock finished with six and Blake Horton with five.


The ‘Cats won’t be in action again until the 55th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, where the earned the No. 5 seed, when they take on No. 12 South Pemiscot on Monday (Dec. 26).

“Right now I just hope we can go out and be positive people on the floor; play hard, not show negative emotion,” Nichols said of the upcoming matchup. “If we can do that, maybe wins and losses can start to take care of itself, but at this point, I’m more worried about that.”


Tip is set for 2:30 p.m. from Bloomfield High School.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 12.21.2011

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BROSELEY - Paige Patterson and Brittany Harris’ pure domination in the paint was enough to lift the Lady Bearcats to a 78-22 win over the Doniphan Donettes in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic.


The duo combined for 34 points, 18 boards, nine blocks, and eight steals in the Lady Bearcats’ fifth-straight victory, all of which had an at least 30-point margin of victory.

“We definitely outsized them a little bit in the paint with Paige and Brittany,” LBB head coach Chad Allen said. “We did a good job of getting the ball inside to them and they had a big night because of it.”

The Bearcats had a ‘perfect storm’ during the big win: they shot 57% from the floor, held the Donettes to just 22%, and forced 31 turnovers in the contest.

“I think we shot around 57%, and we held them to 20-something,” LBB head coach Chad Allen said after the game. “I thought our girls did a tremendous job defensively tonight. Not only in our full-court in the first half, but in our half-court in the second half, I thought it was probably the best we played all year.”


The Bearcats opened the contest with a 20-0 run, aided by six point efforts by Harris and Mollie Whitehead. The press was executed to near-perfection throughout the first half, as the Lady ‘Cats were shutting out the Donettes until the 1:10 mark in the first quarter.

The Donettes fought back in the second quarter with a six point run early, but Whitehead knocked down a three at the 4:00 mark to spark a 29 point second quarter for the Lady ‘Cats. Dexter held a commanding 49-16 lead at the half.

Hannah Noe had an old-fashioned three point play midway through the third that was quickly followed by another Whitehead three. The ‘Cats put up 15 unanswered to open the second half, and held a 72-21 lead at the end of the third.

Katie Reiker and Brianna Bowers got more valuable playing time in the fourth quarter. The Lady ‘Cats held the Donettes to just one point in the fourth to take the 78-22 victory and advance to the semifinals of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic.

The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Wednesday (Dec. 21) night, when they face Neelyville.

“Coach Hale always does a good job with them. They have great pride in their program, and they have good teams all the way down into middle school,” Allen said. “We played them in middle school ball this year, and they’re always tough to play against. I know they lost some players from last year, but they’ve moved some girls up that have been successful in the past. They’ll always bring a tough, competitive ball club over.”


Tipoff for the semifinal contest is set for 6:00 p.m.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 12.20.2011

Games played Monday, 12.19.2011

High School Girls

Lady Royals Classic

• Dexter 78, Doniphan 22
• Neelyville 56, Naylor 48
• Kennett 45, Twin Rivers 39 OT
• NMCC 63, Sikeston 48

NCAA Women

• Mizzou 74, Evansville 52
• Southeast Missouri State 53, Wright State 74
• Alabama A&M 42, Florida tate 86
• Ole Miss 64, Murrary State  59
• Arkansas 81, Morgan State 50

NCAA Men

• Mizzou 94, William & Mary 56 (Sunday game)
• Southeast Missouri State 64, SMU 84
• Davidson 8-. Kansas 74
• LSU 67, Marquette 59
• Florida 82, Miss. Valley State 54
• Michigan State 89, UMKC 54
• Indiana 107, Howard 50
• Memphis 85, Lipscomb 75
• Missouri State 66, Texas A&M-CC 53