Bernie, Missouri - The Bernie Mules continued their excellent season on Friday night by defeating the Dexter Bearcats by a score of 53 - 48.  It was the meeting of a great rivalry, but also the meeting of two very talented basketball teams.  The win improved the junior varisity Mules to an overall 12-1 season record while moving the Bearcats to a record of 8 - 5. 

With all the fanfare that accompanies a great rival school, the JV Bearcats knew they had their work cut out for them as they entered the  Bernie gymnasium.  Digs of "they are a 'bigger school' school" and "all they have is basketball" all vanish at the start of the game because hope and possibilities of a win rule thinking on both sides.

First quarter action did not dash the hopes of the Bearcat fans as the 'Cats were able to hang within two points of the Mules 8-6.  Blake Horton, Austin Chesser and Chandler Young were all able to drop in a field goal for the 'Cats, while David Trammel rained down a 3-point shot.  Trammel was helped by two points each by Matt Vernon and Caleb Ellenburg.

Blake Horton launched and drained a three-pointer of his own in the 2nd quarter to boost the Bearcats.  Cole Renken and Jacob Pedigo each added fields goals.  Unfortunately for the Bearcats, the 13-points in the first half would not hold water with the impending performance of Bernie's Caleb Ellenburg.

Most Bernie fans knew that Ellenburg's first quarter field goal was only a start to his typical night.  Averaging well over 25-points, Ellenburg has dominated opponents offensively stacking up a high of 40-points against the Bell City Cubs earlier in the season.  And the curtains pulled back on the "Mule Barn" stage and Ellenburg entered posting 12 of Bernie's 14 second quarter points.  Bernie went in at halftime with a 9-point lead with the score 22-13.

"Ellenburg is a great player and we just didn't do a good job finding him on defense," noted JV coach Shawn Guethle.

The Bearcats were unable to slowdown the offensive game of the Mules in the third quarter as Matt Vernon and Ellenburg each dropped a 3-bomber.  Ellenburg also tossed in three additional field goals expanding the lead to 15 points.

The Bearcats were able to mount a scoring drive in the final quarter adding 17-points to their side of the scoreboard.  Austin Chesser combined a 3-point shot with 2 free throws for 5-points.  Bearcats Ethan Flowers (5 Pts), Blake Horton (4 Pts), Cole Renken (2 Pts) and Noah Kronk (2 Pts) all contributed offensively for a total of 17-points. 

Bernie's Devin Trammel, Matt Vernon and Austin Beck joined with Ellenburg to match the Bearcat's offensive performance in the final quarter.  Bernie maintained their lead to win the game by a score of 53-38. 

Though you will find Caleb Ellenburg at the top of the scoring box most nights, no one should be confused by the fact that the Bernie Mules junior varsity team is a team.  As typical to the Brad Botsch teams of the past, the Bernie Mules program is never built on an individual but on the basis that everyone contributes to make championship teams.

The Mules were led in scoring by Caleb Ellingburg with 31-points.  That was followed by Devin Trammel with 9-points, Matt Vernon with 8-points, Austin Beck with 3-points, and Gavin Smith with 2-points. 

The Bearcats' leading scorer was Blake Horton with 9-points and Austin Chesser with 7-points.  Jacob Pedigo and Cole Rankin each had 6-points, followed by Chandler Young (4), Ethan Flowers (4), and Noah Kronk (2).

"Bernie played really well," added Coach Guethle.  "They (Bernie) pressured us out of a lot of what we wanted to do and sped us up a lot."

"We'll keep working and hopefully see them again in the county tournament," said Guethle. 

Typical to all good sporting matches, there is always a winner and always one that doesn't win.  A strong rivalry such as the one that exists between Dexter and Bernie (or Bernie and Dexter, depending on your team) is a healthy exchange of passion, love and excitement for our kids.  But at the end of the game, the court is filled with good young men and the fans are filled with good people from both Bernie and Dexter.

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