Sikeston, Missouri - The SEMO Conference boys basketball seeds have been set! The Sikeston Bulldogs were chosed as this year's top seed in the nine-team tournament to be held at the Sikeston Field House December 5th - 9th.
The Poplar Bluff Mules received the #2 seed followed by #3 Jackson, #4 Charleston, #5 Cape Central, #6 Notre Dame, #7 Kennett, #8 Dexter, and #9 New Madrid County Central.
The Dexter Bearcats will face New Madrid County Central in a "play-in" game on Monday, December 5th at 5:30 p.m. Sikeston will then play the winner of that game at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6th.
Jackson will face Notre Dame on December 5th at 7:00 p.m. followed by Poplar Bluff and Kennett at 8:30 p.m.
Charleston will play Cape Central on Tuesday, December 6th at 5:30 p.m. The loser of the "play-in" game will play the loser of the Poplar Bluff-Kennett game on Tuesday, December 6th at 8:30 p.m. for an opportunity to remain in the SEMO Conference Tournament and play the loser of the Jackson/Notre Dame game in a consolation semifinal.
Complete Schedule:
Monday, December 5th
#8 Dexter vs #9 NMCC 5:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal #3 Jackson vs #6 Notre Dame 7:00 p.m.
Quarterfinal #2 Poplar Bluff vs #7 Kennett 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 6th
Quarterfinal #4 Charleston vs #5 Cape Central 5:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal #1 Sikeston vs either Dexter or NMCC 7:00 p.m.
Consolation Quarterfinal Poplar Bluff/Kennett vs Dexter/NMCC 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 7th
Consolation Semifinal 6:00 p.m.
Consolation Semifinal 7:30 p.m.
Friday, December 9th
Consolation 5:30 p.m.
Third Place 7:00 p.m.
Championship 8:30 p.m.
Shown in the photo above: #10 senior Jason Jarrell and #33 senior Ryan Mayo.
Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter Bearcats Boys Basketball Team was successful last season. They finished second at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament losing to Kennett in the Championship. They haven't been in that position in about five years. They were also able to go 500 in the SEMO Conference winning 4 games. They also won 15 games last season, all great accomplishments for the 'Cats.
"We are hoping to continue to push our program forward," stated Dexter head boys basketball coach Josh Dowdy. "There are quite a few guys that have laid the groundwork for our current group....Kronk, Pollock, Flowers, Heil, and Pedigo. If nothing else, we want those guys to know their hard work was noticed and we have a responsibility to keep pushing to improve."
Returning to the court this year are seniors Jason Jarrell, 6'0" guard and Ryan Mayo, 6'1" forward and 6'4" junior center Gabe jackson.
"Jason will again help us in many different roles. He is a three-year starter and will be expected to be a team leader for us this year," commented Dowdy. "Ryan was the first man off the bench last year and plays very hard. He has active hands and will provide a lot of energy for us this year."
"Gabe had a real nice sophomore season last year after he made some noise in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. We are expecting him to continue to be a focal point of our team."
There will also be a new face among the Bearcats. Clay Mullins moved in from East Carter County and will play the position of point guard. He is 6'1" junior forward wearing the number 24 jersey.
"Clay has joined our squad this year," continued Dowdy. "He will be running the point and also has the ability to put the ball in the hole. We are excited to have him on board."
Junior guards Ben Sindle, Kole Kelley, Chad Smith, and Alan Pippins will move up from the junior varsity team and add depth in the back court.
"All of these guys will assist in handling the ball and have the ability to score," stated Dowdy. "Dawson Kasting will also add some depth in the paint."
Sophomores Nate Gargas and Braxton Foster have also been promoted to the varsity team. Foster's three-pointer last year from mid-court in the last second boosted the Bearcats to a Junior Varsity SCAA victory over the Bernie Mules.
"We have some new pieces to put together after losing some key players off of our squad last year," Dowdy said of losing several. "As the season progresses, I feel that we have the ability to show some real growth once we learn how to play together. I am hoping to help put those pieces in place as soon as possible."
In the last few weeks they have been focused on defense and Dowdy said he had hoped to be further along than what they are, but that they will improve over the course of the season.
"The boys are trying to get better each day and are real coachable. We have some great kids on this team that exhibit high character on and off the court," continued Dowdy. "I am privileged to be able to work with them each day. I am confident this group will be able to turn the corner and realize the aching legs and long hours of practice will pay off!"
Playing for the Dexter Varsity Bearcats are #2 Kole Kelley, 5'9" junior guard; #10 Jason Jarrell, 6'0" senior guard; #12 Nate Gargas, 5'9" sophomore guard; #21 Alan Pippins, 5'9" junior forward; #22 Braxton Foster, 6'3" sophomore forward, #23, 5'9" junior guard; #24 Clay Mullins, 6'1" junior forward; #25 Dawson Kasting, 5'11" junior forward; #33 Ryan Mayo, 6'1" senior forward; #34 Chad Smith, 5'11" junior forward, and #35 Gabe Jackson, 6'4" junior center.
2016 - 2017 Dexter Varsity Boys Basketball Schedule
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 29th vs Charleston at BEC
6:00 p.m. Friday, December 2nd @ Sikeston
December 5th - 9th SEMO Conference Tournament (TBA)
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 13th vs Jackson at BEC
6:00 p.m. Thursday, December 15th vs Richland at BEC
December 26th - 29th Bloomfield Christmas Tournament (TBA)
6:00 p.m. Friday, January 6th vs Woodland at BEC (Winter Homecoming)
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 10th vs Bloomfield at BEC
6:00 p.m. Friday, January 13th @ Bernie
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 17th vs Puxico at BEC
6:00 p.m. Friday, January 20th @ NMCC
TBA January 23rd - 27th SCAA Tournament
6:00 p.m. Friday, February 3rd @ Advance
6:00 p.m. Monday, February 6th @ Perryville
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 7th @ Bell City
6:00 p.m. Friday, February 10th vs Kennett at BEC (Senior Night)
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 14th @ Poplar Bluff
6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 21st @ Notre Dame
6:00 p.m. Thursday, February 23rd @ Cape Central
February 25th - March 3rd Districts (TBA)
Top harvest counties were Howell, Franklin, and Texas.
Missouri - Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 185,066 deer during the November portion of fall firearms deer season, Nov. 12-22. Of the 185,066 deer harvested, 95,383 were antlered bucks, 18,889 were button bucks, and 70,794 were does. Top harvest counties were Howell with 3,910 deer checked, Franklin with 3,738, and Texas with 3,562.
Last year, hunters checked 186,542 deer during the 2015 November portion of firearms deer season with 90,094 being antlered bucks, 20,911 being button bucks, and 75,537 being does.
MDC reported three firearms-related hunting incidents during the fall firearms November portion. Two of the three incidents involved self-inflicted firearm wounds and occurred in Barry and Camden counties. The third involved one hunter in a party in Grundy County wounding another while shooting at a deer.
Deer hunting in Missouri continues with archery deer hunting from Nov. 23 through Jan. 15, firearms late youth portion Nov. 25-27, firearms antlerless portion Dec. 2-4, and firearms alternative methods portion Dec. 24 through Jan. 3.
Dexter, Missouri - The only home girls basketball games before the new year will be at the "Battle at the Border Tournament" slated for December 8th - 10th at the Bearcat Event Center.
This will be the first of it's kind held at the Bearcat Event Center. The Lady Cats dropped the McDonald's Shootout in Paragould this year and will host this new tournament.
Teams participating in the tournament are Dexter, Lewisburg High School from Mississippi, Neelyville, Earle High School from Arkansas, Poplar Bluff, and Ingomar High School from Mississippi. This will be a great opportunity to see some teams out of Mississippi and Arkansas at the Bearcat Event Center.
2016 Battle at the Border Tournament
Thursday, December 8, 2016
5:00 p.m. Lewisburg High School, Mississippi vs Neelyville
6:30 p.m. Earle High School, Arkansas vs Poplar Bluff
8:00 p.m. Ingomar High School, Mississippi vs Dexter
Friday, December 9, 2016
5:00 p.m. Neelyville vs Ingomar
6:30 p.m. Poplar Bluff vs Lewsburg
8:00 p.m. Dexter vs Earle
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Noon Earle vs Neelyville
1:30 p.m. Ingomar vs Poplar Bluff
3:00 p.m. Lewisburg vs Dexter
The tournament will be played in a classics format with each local team playing an out of state team. Every team will play three games. The Champion will be determined in this order: 1. Win/Loss Record, 2. Head to head match-up, 3. Points with a +/-15 point cap, and 4. Coin Flip.
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Eight high school girls basketball teams will battle it out for the first ever SEMO Girls Basketball Tournament crown scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving.
Teams competing are Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Cape Central, Jackson, Notre Dame, Sikeston, Saxony Lutheran, and Kennett.
The Dexter Lady Cats have earned the #1 seed and will play the #8 seeded Cape Central Lady Tigers on Monday, November 28th at 4:00 p.m.
Jackson Lady Indians are ranked #2 and will play the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 28th.
The Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs seeded #3 will play Saxony Lutheran at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, November 28th and the #4 seeded Sikeston Lady Bulldogs will play #5 seeded Kennett Lady Indians at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 28th.
Semifinal Games slated for Tuesday, November 29th are at 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Consolation semifinals are scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Seventh place is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., consolation game is at 5:30 p.m., Third Place is at 7:00 p.m. and Championship is at 8:30 p.m. all on Thursday, December 1, 2016.
