Bernie, Missouri – It was a thriller game in the Bernie with the Mules kicking Twin Rivers in double overtime 66 – 64 Tuesday evening.
“Beating a good team three times is very tough thing to do,” Bernie coach Brad Botsch said in a press release to the ShowMe Times. “Twin Rivers came in here and played our butts off. They were more physical and really hurt us on the glass and just had more fire and desire overall. We were fortunate to hang on for the win.”
Matt Vernon recorded a game-high 31 points for the Mules including two 3-pointers.
Brandon Sparks finished with 23 points including three treys.
Caleb Ellenburg calculated 10 points.
“We’ve got some things to work on before the end of the year,” Botsch commented. “It is extremely important for our success that our kids are 100% bought in with heart and soul. I don’t think we have had that ‘epiphany’ yet where the sense of urgency that the end of the year is upon us. I hope we find that soon.”
Seth Snider tallied a team-high 20 points for Twin Rivers.
Andrew Mittelstadt recorded 16 points.
Chance Wilkerson finished with 14 points including a trey.
Bernie (19-2) will host the Notre Dame Bulldogs on Friday. Game time 6:00 p.m.
Final Score Bernie 66, Twin Rivers 64 Double Overtime
Twin Rivers 8 15 14 15 66 - 64
Bernie 13 13 13 13 68 - 66
Twin Rivers (64) – Jase Worley 5, Chance Wilkerson 14, Andrew Mittelstadt 16, Mason Douglas 9, Seth Snider 20. FG 27, FT 5/11, F 18. (3-pointers: Worley 1, Wilkerson 1, Douglas 3. Fouled Out: None).
Bernie (66) – Matt Vernon 31, Brandon Sparks 23, Caleb Ellenburg 10, Gavin smith 2. FG 22, FT 17/21, F 16. (3-pointers: Sparks 3, Vernon 2. Fouled Out: None).
Charleston, Missouri – The Lady ‘Cats traveled to Charleston on Saturday to participate in the annual Coaches vs Cancer Shootout hosted by the Lady Bluejays.
Dexter defeated Charleston 88 – 66 ending a perfect 3-0 week.
“It was definitely a high-scoring game,” commented Dexter head coach Chad Allen. “We tried to press early on and I thought Charleston did a good job of attacking and getting to the rim. We didn’t do so well containing the ball. They made us work so it was definitely a good game for us.”
The Lady ‘Cats scored the first 5 buckets leading 10-0. Charleston ran the ball back scoring 8 point in less than two minutes.
At the half it was Dexter leading 44 – 32.
“We jumped out and got a pretty good lead,” stated Allen. “Then we let them get back into it a little bit.”
Charleston's Sierra Frazier had a team-high 21 points including two 3-pointers. Cheyenne Randle finished with 19 points. Juwanna Walker and Alexis Hamilton each hit one trey for the Lady Jays.
Five Lady ‘Cats recorded double digits on Saturday.
Krysten Garrison was on fire scoring a game-high 33 points for the Bearcats. Garrison tallied 21 points in the first half and 12 in the second half for the probably her best performance at Dexter.
Hannah Thurmon recorded 15 points. Dakota Reynolds finished with 13 points including one trey.
Cheyenne Mosby shot 100% shooting 6 for 6 recording 12 points.
Melanie McKuin added 10 points.
Dexter (11-7) travels to Saxony Lutheran on Tuesday, February 3rd. Game time 6:00 p.m.
“Saxony just beat Neelyville in double overtime,” stated Allen. “The last time we went there it was a tough game and I expect it will be tough again on Tuesday.”
Final Score Dexter 88, Charleston 66
Bloomfield, Missouri – The Dexter Bearcats won in overtime ending the Woodland Cardinals quest for the SCAA Championship. Dexter and Woodland tied several times throughout the evening, but it was the Bearcats who came out victorious by a score of 72-65.
Garret Reynolds gave the Cards a 58-55 lead just under two minutes left in regulation. Ethan Flowers hit a 3-pointer to tie things up at 58-58 for the Bearcats.
“Ethan Flowers talks a lot about a shot he missed in the same tournament last year at the buzzer,” Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. “He did not quit practicing since. Tonight, he hit a clutch shot to help send us to overtime. Then Jarrell, Chesser, and Pedigo grinded out a big stop.”
The Bearcats made the best of their free throws in overtime. They shot 14 of the 16 free throws they attempted. Woodland hit a couple of three-pointers to cut the deficit, but Jarrell got us several points behind the charity stripe to seal the deal.
“We have been an outstanding free throw team all year long,” Dowdy stated. “We are shooting around 70% and I think we eclipsed that mark tonight. It was definitely the difference in the game.”
Jason Jarrell finished with a game-high 26 points.
“That was awesome,” Dowdy exclaimed about Jarrell finishing with 26 points. “Jason took over. He’s a kid that comes in at 7:00 a.m. in the morning with Coach Williamson and you love to see that kind of a kid perform in big games. He puts in the time and deserved that.”
Ethan Flowers recorded 14 points including three 3-pointers.
Jacob Pedigo and Austin Chesser both added 12 points each with Pedigo hitting one trey.
“They really had to chase us around a bit tonight. I was trying to spread them out,” continued Dowdy. “I knew they had some big kids and I wanted them to come and guard our guards. They did and actually forced turnovers off of traps, but we did just enough to hold on and win the game by making those free throws down the stretch.”
Dexter will meet Bernie at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night in the 2015 SCAA Tournament championship game.
Final Score in Overtime: Dexter 72, Woodland 65
Dexter 13 13 19 13 14 - 72
Woodland 13 11 13 21 7 - 65
Dexter (72) – Noah Kronk 2, Jason Jarrell 26, Peyton Pollock 6, Jacob Pedigo 12, Austin Chesser 12, Ethan Flowers 14. FG 22, FT 24/31, F 14. (3-pointers: Pedigo 1, Flowers 3, Fouled Out: None).
Woodland (65) – Garret Reynolds 20, Cole Schlief 7, Zach Bell 20, devon Gramlisch 3, Micahel McCormick 15. FG 26, FT 5/8, F 24. (3-pointers: Reynolds 3, McCormick 3, Schlief 1. Fouled Out: Reynolds, Bell)
Bloomfield, Missouri – In the first semifinal game of the evening the #1 ranked Bernie Mules outlasted #5 seeded Bloomfield Wildcats by a score of 44-40.
Noah Vandiver paced the Wildcats with 14 points. Austin Bond recorded 11 points and Tyler Battles finished with 10 points.
The Wildcats took their first lead of the game at 24-22 with 5:23 left in the third period. Bernie’s Caleb Ellenburg hit four points to put the Mules back on top.
"Our kids really battled and competed hard against a very good Bernie team, we just couldn’t find a way to pull one out," stated Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes. "Just need to bounce back and be ready to go again tomorrow against a good Woodland team."
Matt Vernon and Alex Whitehead paced the Mules with 11 points each. Whitehead hit three 3-pointers against the Wildcats. Caleb Ellenburg and Devin Trammell each contributed 8 points with Trammell hitting two treys.
“Brandon’s got pneumonia and the flue,” explained Bernie’s coach Brad Botsch. “He wasn’t at school yesterday and he was hurting. Somebody had to step up and Alex did that in a big way and he deserved for those shots to go down.”
“Anytime you get to play for a championship you have got to feel good about it,” Botsch said. “I think we will be fired up and ready to go and I am Dexter will be as well. We will be as ready as we can and get out here and compete.”
Bernie will play Dexter in the Championship game on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
Bloomfield will play Woodland at 5:30 p.m. for 3rd place.
Final Score Bernie 44, Bloomfield 40
Bloomfield 9 9 11 11 - 40
Bernie 9 11 11 13 - 44
Bloomfield (40) – Nathan Newell 5, Austin Bond 11, Tyler Battles 10, Noah Vandiver 14. FG 17, FT 4/6, F 10. (3-pointers: Newell 1, Battles 1. Fouled Out: None)
Bernie (44) – Matt Vernon 11, Brandon Sparks 2, Caleb Ellenburg 8, Alex Whitehead 11, Devin Trammell 8, Gavin Smith 4. FG 16, FT 7/10, F 11. (3-pointers: Alex Whitehead 3, Trammell 2. Fouled Out: None)
Dexter, Missouri – The Lady ‘Cats knew it was going to be a tough game. Thoughts raced through their heads….could they really beat the #1 ranked team in Missouri? That’s exactly what happened tonight! The state-ranked St. James was in shock by the powerhouse Lady ‘Cats of Dexter, Missouri.
Krysten Garrison paced the Bearcats with a gram-high 25 points. She recorded one trey.
Melanie McKuin finished with 23 points including three 3-pointers.
Dakota Reynolds recorded 12 points including two 3-pointers.
Hannah Thurmon came out strong in the first period recording five straight points before finishing with a total of six points, 11 rebounds, and one trey.
The Lady Bearcats only trailed in the first minute of the game when Alexis Uffmann hit a bucket to tie the game 2-2. Thurmon sank a 3-pointer to give the Lady ‘Cats the lead and they never looked back at the #1 ranked team in the state.
Dexter and St. James recorded double digits in each of the four quarters.
Final score Dexter 74, St. James 63
St. James 13 20 15 15 - 63
Dexter 20 16 21 17 - 74
St. James (63) – Alexis Uffman 16, Devin Fuhring 14, Kenzie Guese 8, Ashlee Marlatt 13, Shauna Rinehart 12. FG 19, FT 16/20, F 22. (3-pointers: Fuhring 2, Marlatt 1, Rinehart 2. Fouled Out: None)
Dexter (74) – Dakota Reynolds 12, Melanie McKuin 23, Sydney Rogers 3, Cheyenne Mosby 2, Hannah Thurmon 6, Krysten Garrison 25, Harley Allen 3. FG 23, FT 19/27, F 14. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2, McKuin 3, Rogers 1, Thurmon 1, Garrison 1, Allen 1. Fouled Out: None)
