By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD - The Dexter Bearcats and the Doniphan Dons met in the third-place matchup of the 55th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. Both squads dropped close contests the night before, with the ‘Cats falling to top-seeded Kennet by one and the Dons being upset by Portageville by three. After four hard-fought quarters of basketball, the Doniphan Dons were able to pick up a 62-55 victory over the Bearcats.

Another common area in both team’s losses the night before was poor free-throw shooting - the Dons missed several late in the game that allowed Portageville to force OT.

“Down the stretch we were 5-6; if we did that last night, we would be playing now instead of at six o’clock,” Doniphan head coach Ray Stewart said after the game. “We talked about some of our habits and work ethic after the game last night, and in our shoot-around today I could tell they were ready to get back in here. It would have been easy to come over here and lay an egg; Dexter punched us in the mouth and we punched them right back. They’re a really physical team, and last year we wouldn’t have been able to get in there and get physical with them.”

“We ran a couple plays and got a couple layups there late, but I was more excited by our delay game there at the end. We ran 30 or 40 seconds off during two or three times down - we stepped up and made our free throws, and that was the difference in the game.”

The Bearcats were able to take a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Dons dominated the paint in the second and took a 28-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Derek Hutchins buried his third three of the night at the 6:15 mark of the third quarter to give the Dons a 34-27 lead. The ‘Cats battled back and tied the game at 38 on a Jake Lee layup; Brad Potts hit two free throws late in the last minute of the third to cut Doniphan’s lead to 43-42 at the end of the frame.

Both teams traded buckets early in the fourth, but Hutchins knocked down a pair of free throws to spark a quick 6-0 run to put the Dons up 55-49 at the 2:45 mark. The Bearcats trailed by 3 with :30 left in the game and were forced to foul to try to regain possession, but the Dons collectively drained five of six free throws down the stretch to seal the 62-55 win and take home Third Place in the tournament.

“We missed a ton of free throws again at critical times,” DHS head coach Rob Nichols said of the loss. “At the same time, I thought we guarded pretty well. Offensively, we had a few dry possessions there, but critical points where we needed a bucket we wound up on the free throw line and we didn’t convert.

“They’re a good free throw shooting team - those kids put in a ton of time,” Nichols said of the Dons. “Everywhere I went this summer, I saw Doniphan playing. They play a lot, and they’re a really good offensive team.”

“I think defensively we played well the whole tournament,” Nichols said,” and that’s what we’ve hung our hat on so far this season. We’ve been able to change defenses and do some different things, we just have to get more consistent offensively.”

Hutchins paced the Dons with 20 points, while Brian Patterson added 12. Lee and Cody Neldon led the ‘Cats with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette took a 7-0 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 69-54 victory over Monmouth on Wednesday evening at Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards held Monmouth to 31% shooting from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.

Jim Mower paced Lafayette with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 from the field, including five three pointers while Rob Delaney dished out a career-high 11 assists.

Lafayette (5-7) sprinted out to an early 7-0 lead on a pair of free throws from J.D. Pelham, a Ryan Willen lay-in and a left wing three-pointer by Seth Hinrichs. Holding a 12-4 lead, Mower drove the left baseline and threw down a right-handed slam, putting the home side ahead by double digits at the 14:21 mark.

Lafayette matched its largest lead (24-11) in the opening 20 minutes on a three by Joey Ptasinski with 9:22 showing, but Monmouth (2-11) responded with nine straight points, capped by Will Campbell's jumper at 4:44. Mower's three from the top of the key ended the 9-0 Monmouth run and the Leopards scored 11 of the final 16 first-half points to take a 35-25 advantage into the break.

In the second half Lafayette maintained control of the game and never relinquished its double-digit lead. A 10-3 spurt to begin the second half that included three pointers by Hinrichs and Nick Petkovich gave Lafayette a 17-point lead with 15:10 remaining.

Leading 47-33, Willen grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession and then connected on a right-wing trey, forcing a Monmouth timeout with 12:06 to play. On the night, Lafayette held the edge on the glass, 40-37, led by Petkovich's nine rips.

Lafayette took its largest lead with 4:30 remaining on a triple by Ptasinski, which put the Leopards up by 22. The three was one of 14 on the night for Lafayette and gave Ptasinski 11 points.

Campbell led Monmouth with 12 points and Jesse Steele scored 11 as the only two Hawks in double figures.

Lafayette concludes the 2011 calendar year on Friday, Dec. 30, when it travels to New York, N.Y. to take on Columbia at 7 p.m.

Photo Above: Dexter's Alan Flannigan and other members of the Lafayette team gather for a pre-game huddle. (Lafayette College Photo)

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Marland Smith scored a game-high 14 points to lead five players in double figures, as Southeast Missouri (6-7, 1-0) opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a commanding 67-51 win over Morehead State (6-8, 0-1) Wednesday night at the Show Me Center.

Southeast dominated from start to finish en route to its first conference-opening victory since 2006-07.

"It was a super win for us," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "Our shot selection was excellent and we really set the tone defensively. I thought everyone added something to our team tonight."

Morehead State went scoreless for the first 8:13 of the game. The Eagles missed their first 10 field goals and turned the ball over three times in that span.
 
Southeast capitalized on Morehead's cold shooting by going on a 15-0 run with Nick Niemczyk scoring eight points -- including six from three-point range -- to lead the way.
 
Leon Powell also recorded two blocks and threw down a monstrous dunk off a Smith miss to send an early charge into the home crowd.
 
Kahlil Owens finally snapped the Eagles drought with a layup at the 11:47 mark, but Southeast didn't let up.
 
Smith's three-pointer capped a 9-0 run to give Southeast a 17-point advantage (30-13) with 4:10 remaining before the Redhawks built a 33-19 lead at the break.
 
Southeast held Morehead State to its lowest point total in the first half of an OVC game since the Eagles scored 18 points vs. Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 10, 2008. The 14-point halftime lead marked the Redhawks largest of the season.

The Redhawks continued to pour it on in the second half, extending their lead to 22 points on two occasions in the last 10:30 of the game.

Corey Wilford, who scored 10 points in the final period, made a jumper to give Southeast a 49-27 advantage at the 10:23 mark, before Niemczyk nailed a three-pointer to make it 52-30 two possessions later.

The Redhawks polished off their second-straight win by shooting 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the field with five of their field goals coming from behind the arc in the second half.

Smith shot 4-of-11 from the field, 3-of-8 from three-point range and 3-of-3 at the free throw line to lead all Southeast scorers. He added seven rebounds, two assists and a game-high three steals, as well.

Niemczyk and Wilford followed with 13 points and added three 3-pointers each.

Meanwhile, Powell and Stone rounded out the Redhawks double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Stone also had a game-high nine rebounds.

Combined, those five players outscored the entire Eagles team.

In addition, Southeast turned the ball over just 11 times against a Morehead team which forced more than 20 turnovers in back-to-back games prior to tonight.

The Eagles, who entered the night as the OVC's second-best three-point shooting team, shot a mere 20 percent (4-of-20) from downtown.

"Our defense set the tempo," said Powell. "We had been struggling defensively, but everything came together tonight. We never let up."

Owens and Terrance Hill led Morehead State with nine points apiece.

Southeast, which shot 50 percent or better from the field for the fourth time this year, put a halt to an eight-game losing streak in its all-time series against Morehead State.

The Redhawks return to action after the New Year when they host Jacksonville State on Jan. 2. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 12.29.2011

Games planed Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011

 

Bloomfield Christmas Tournament

• Kennett 49, Dexter 48
• Holcomb 50, Hayti 44
• Malden 70, Puxico 37
• Bloomfield 67, Twin Rivers 53 

SEMissourian Christmas Tournament

• Oran 73, Bell City 65
• Delta 62, Kelly 47
• Oak Ridge 67, Woodland 47
• Chaffee 85, Meadow Heights 29
• Charleston 83, Scott City 76
• Notre Dame 72, Advance 59
• Scott County Central 72, Leopold  53
• Cape Central 78, Jackson 76

NCAA Women

• Morehead State 61, SEMO 57
• Tennessee – Martin 57, Louisville 70
• Maryland 84, Lafayette 36
• Notre Dame 92, Longwood 26
• Tennessee 90, Old Dominion 37
• Mid Tennessee 70, Kentucky 58

NJCAA Men

• Three Rivers 80, Salt Lake 69 

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD - Sophomore Cody Neldon drove the lane and attempted a layup with under 10 seconds left on the clock and the ‘Cats down by one; Adam Grantham bear-hugged the Dexter guard under the basket, and Neldon’s shot missed the backboard completely and fell to the ground.

There was no whistle, no signal from the baseline referee.

“[The baseline official] had a better angle than I did; it definitely looked like one to me,” DHS head coach Rob Nichols said of the no-call. “They didn’t call it, so I guess it wasn’t a foul.”

Regardless of any controversy surrounding the finale of the contest, for the second time in nine days, the Dexter Bearcats lost a game that could have easily been won if they were able to simply make a free throw.

In the first semifinal contest of Wednesday night, the ‘Cats shot an abysmal 37% from the charity stripe in a 49-48 loss to the top-seeded Kennett Indians.

Despite the 'doom and gloom' surrounding the controversial finale of the would-be upset, the 'Cats actually performed well in the contest. Nichols noted that his team performed well in his key areas of concern, but silly mistakes early the second half, coupled with pathetic free throw shooting, would eventually be the Bearcats’ folly.

“I thought we did everything we had to do to win. We knew if we could guard them and not turn the basketball over then they would have trouble scoring,” Nichols said. “We knew [we had to] rebound it well, and they did.”

The ‘Cats were able to open a 6-2 lead early in the first quarter thanks to a blocked shot and three pointer from Tyler Miller; Brad Potts picked up a steal and several key boards in the opening frame, and Neldon completed a three point play to keep the ‘Cats tied with the Tribe at 14 after the first quarter.

Divante Taylor dropped in a layup to push the Indians ahead by six at the 6:30 mark. Miller came up with a steal and layup to cut Kennett’s lead to two at 5:40, and Jordan Fitts picked off the ensuing inbounds pass before dishing the ball to Neldon for a quick two to tie the game at 20. Threes from Miller and D.J. Dowdy late in the second were enough to propel Dexter to a 29-22 lead at halftime.

The Indians quickly took control of the game early in the third quarter and tied the contest at 29 at the 6:30 mark. The Bearcats went on a quick 7-0 run to bring the score to 37-30 before Kevante Mitchell picked up loose balls on two consecutive possessions and tied the game at 37 at the end of the third.

Jake Lee, who was 3-10 in the contest, connected on a free throw to pull the ‘Cats within one at the 5:00 mark of the fourth quarter; the senior post came up with a steal a minute later and handed the ball off to Miller for another three to take a 45-43 lead. Kennett quickly responded and got up 47-46 at the 1:45 mark, but Lee had an offensive board and putback on the next trip down the floor to turn the score back in the Bearcats’ favor.

The Indians dropped in a quick bucket, but Neldon connected on one of two free throws with 50 seconds left in the contest to put the ‘Cats down by one. Potts snagged a crucial defensive board and dumped the ball to Neldon before the controversial no-call under the basket; the ‘Cats were forced to quickly foul and give the Tribe a bonus chance from the charity stripe. Miller got the rebound on the second free throw and chunked the ball from half court as the buzzer sounded, but his shot bounced around in the framework of the goal as the buzzer sounded.

“We had a seven point lead in the third quarter, then three straight turnovers at half court that were basically unforced and led to layups for them, and that ate up our lead,” Nichols continued. “Turnovers are what got us. I thought the kids played great defense, and we executed every step we called out of a timeout. Everything we talked about during timeouts, they went out and executed.”

“We were up one when we turned it over, there were about 18 seconds left. We were midcourt, getting into our delay game,” Nichols said when asked why he didn’t call a timeout to set up a play late in the game. “The way Kennett was scrambling and running two guys across the court, I thought it would be better to not call a timeout because we might have gotten a layup and that would keep it from being a free-throw shooting contest - at that point we were seven for 19 from the line, and I’d rather get a layup than try to shoot free throws.” Miller led the ‘Cats with 17 points; Mitchell paced the Indians with 20.

The Indians will advance to the Championship Bracket Finals, where they will attempt to claim their third-straight tournament title. If successful, the Tribe will be the first team to win three straight BCT Titles since Paul Hale and Eric Sitze led the Bearcats to seven straight titles in 1998-2004.