Dexter, Missouri - Coming off an extraordinary and emotional win on Friday night the Bernie Mules played Dexter close in the first period of game four of SCAA Varsity Tournament on Monday evening.
If it hadn’t been for Tyler Heil hitting 9 points early on for Dexter, the Mules would have ran off with quit a lead. At the end of the first period it was all tied at 15 points each.
“Tyler Heil kept us in the game early by working real hard on the offensive glass and some key buckets. He was playing hard and rebounding well,” stated Dexter head basketball coach Josh Dowdy. “He continues to improve each game.”
“The first quarter the last time we played them we had 14 and they had 6. We scored one point better this time, but we didn’t defend well," commented Dowdy.
The Mules utilizing their 3-point shooters hit their target four times in the first quarter. Alex Whitehead and Gavin Brown recorded one each and Dalton Hobgood hit two of his own.
“Bernie came out early and had a great plan offensively trying to isolate Gavin Brown on Gabe Jackson,” continued Dowdy. “He hit one thee early, but overall Gabe did a great job stepping out there and guarding. Gabe does not get enough credit on the defensive end of the floor.”
The second quarter proved to be a little more lopsided with Dexter’s defense taking over holding Bernie to just four points while the Bearcat's offense tallied 23 points. The stretch consisted of a 17-0 run by Dexter to close out the second period. Half-time score was 38 -19.
“We were just not buckling down on defense in the first quarter, but had a real nice second quarter to give us a comfortable lead at the half,” said Dowdy.
“Coach Botsch had an excellent scheme tonight and those underclassman will be a handful for the next couple of years,” continued Dowdy.
Dexter’s Gabe Jackson recorded a game-high 20 points hitting 10 buckets. Jacob Pedigo tallied 15 points, 6 buckets and 1 trey. Ethan Flowers also finished in double digits contributing 14 points including three treys and was 3 for 4 at the charity stripe.
Gavin Beasley moved up to varsity for the tournament since he is a junior and had an awesome moment just before the buzzer in the fourth with a 3-point shot. Way to go Gavin!
Bernie’s Dalton Hobgood finished with a team-high 14 points including an impressive four 3-pointers. Nate Dillinger tallied 13 points.
Dexter seeded #2 will be back in action on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when they play the winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal game between #3 Bloomfield and #6 Puxico.
Final Score Dexter 80, Bernie 53
Dexter 15 23 17 25 - 80
Bernie 15 4 11 24 - 54
Dexter (80) - Jason Jarrell 7, Jacob Crumley 2, Jacob Pedigo 15, Gavin Beasley 3, Ethan Flowers 14, Tyler Heil 9, Ryan Mayo 8, Adam Webb 2, Gabe Jackson 20. FG 33, FT 7/14, F 9. (3-pointers: Jacob Pedigo 1, Gavin Beasley 1, Ethan Flowers 3, Ryan Mayo 1. Fouled Out: None).
Bernie (54) - Jayce Burk 9, Alex Guzman 2, Nate Dillinger 13, Riley Wells 2, Alex Whitehead 7, Gavin Brown 7, Dalton Hobgood 14. FG 21, FT 3/4, F 13. (3-pointers: Jayce Burk 3, Alex Whitehead 1, Gavin Brown 1, Dalton Hobgood 4. Fouled Out: None).
