Written by

Jessica Snider, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri - Friday night the Dexter Bearcats traveled to Advance for what they knew would be a tough match-up. The Bearcats walked into the home of the Hornets on homecoming ready for the strong competition.

After losing to Advance in the Stoddard County Tournament and the inury of starter Chase Young also during the tournament, the Dexter Bearcats had to get back in the gym for a few days of practice to adjust some things.

The Advance crowd was fired up and the pressure was on for the Bearcats. The Dexter team picked up the momentum close to half-time and gained some points to descrease Advance's lead. At the half, the Bearcats were within two points of the Advance Hornets.

Dexter's head coach Rob Nichols went in at half-time and must've said the right things to his Bearcat team, because the third quarter was a very strong point for Dexter.

After missing a lot of very small shots right underneath the goal in the first quarter, Dexter started running some plays to get the person under the basket open and it worked flawlessly for a few possessions. The Bearcats struggled from the free-throw line Friday night, however.

In the 4th quarter, the chance of victory started slipping away from the Dexter Bearcats. Throughout the third quarter, many Bearcat fans just knew Dexter would walk away with a victory, but something happened in the fourth quarter and it got too far away for the Cats.

Many turnovers were made by the Bearcats, and the Advance offense was almost unstoppable. Advance's Ethan Barr posted 29 points during Friday night's match-up.

After a game full of many ups and downs, the Dexter Bearcats ultimately fell 65-43 to the Advance Hornets.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Bell City for a Junior Varsity game at 6:00 P.M. and a Varsity match-up directly following.