Bernie, Missouri - The Bearcats did not fear the superstitious Friday the 13th traveling to the Mule Barn on Friday night to take SCAA rival Bernie. The Dexter varsity boys basketball team beat the Bernie Mules 62 - 59.
"Tonight was a typical Bernie/Dexter game. You know when these two teams get on the floor with one another that you might as well throw the records out the window because you know it is going to a battle," commented Dexter boys basketball coach Josh Dowdy. "Tonight was no different. We feel very fortunate that we are going to walk out of here with a victory."
The Bearcats were in control the first three quarters, but Nate Dillinger's massive 19-point effort in the fourth quarter kept Bernie within striking distance of a victory.
Dillinger his a two free throws with a little over 5 1/2 minutes left to play giving the Mules their first lead since the opening seconds of the game 45 - 44. He tallied a game-high 31 points and scored the final 16 points of the game for the Mules. He also hit three of eight treys attempted and had nine rebounds.
"Nate Dillinger was terrific," commented Dexter's Coach Dowdy. "We mixed our defenses all night long and to be honest none of them really slowed him down. He has a special knack of putting the ball in the hole for Bernie."
Weston Comstock contributed 11 points for the Mules while Dalton Hobgood finished with 8 points.
Jayce Burk and Hobgood recorded two 3-pointers. Alex Guzman had one trey and Dillinger tallied three treys.
"I am not one to take moral victories, but I thought our kids competed their butts off tonight," commented Bernie boys basketball coach Brad Botsch. "Dexter is a really good basketball team and is very well-coached. Our kids had to really dig deep to compete with them and I thought we did that."
"We hope to build on the positive aspects of this game and apply it to upcoming games," continued Botsch. "Even though we didn't come out on top, I am really proud of our team tonight."
Dexter's Clay Mullins, Gabe Jackson, Jason Jarrell and Ben Sindle all finished in double digits.
Junior Clay Mullins tallied a team-high 15 points. Gabe Jackson also a junior tallied 13 points and Ben Sindle another junior Bearcat recorded 10 points. Senior Jason Jarrell tallied 12 points.
Alan Pippins recorded two 3-pointers. Sindle hit two treys and Mullins finished with one 3-pointer for Dexter.
"We had four guys in double figures again tonight," stated Dowdy. "When you get contributions from 4 of 5 guys, it makes our team more difficult to guard."
"Bernie played a combination defense throughout the game that did throw our kids off balance, but I felt like we made some good plays to counter what they were trying to do," continued Dowdy. "Coach Botsch and Coach Long had their kids ready to play tonight and they were very well prepared. I thought both teams played a real hard. It was a hard fought high school basketball game. A good game to be a part of, but I am glad we don't have to play again tomorrow."
Final Score Bernie 59, Dexter 62
Bernie 13 12 12 21 - 59
Dexter 18 11 15 18 - 62
Bernie (59) - Jayce Burk 6, Alex Guzman 3, Weston Comstock 11, Nate Dillinger 31, Dalton Hobgood 8. FG 20, FT 11/16, F 17. (3-pointers: Jayce Burk 2, Alex Guzman 1, Nate Dillinger 3, Dalton Hobgood 2. Fouled Out: None).
Dexter (62) - Jason Jarrell 12, Alan Pippins 6, Ben Sindle 10, Clay Mullins 15, Ryan Mayo 6, Gabe Jackson 13. FT 25, FT 6/17, F 13. (3-pointers: Alan Pippins 2, Ben Sindle 3, Clay Mullins 1. Fouled Out: None).
"I was real proud of how our guys competed tonight," stated Dowdy. "It was not the prettiest game we have played this season, but when the opposition plays that hard it is not going to be."
Bernie (7-8) will host the Bloomfield Wildcats on Tuesday, January 17th in another SCAA rival game. Game time 6:00 p.m.
Dexter is now (9-5) overall and (3-0) in the Stoddard County Activities Association (SCAA) play. They will play on Tuesday as well at the Bearcat Event Center against SCAA rival Puxico. Game time 6:00 p.m.
The SCAA Tournament seedings have been set. Games begin Monday, January 23, 2017. Article and brackets can be viewed at www.showmetimes.com under the heading SPORTS!
Bloomfield, Missouri - The Bernie Mules take down the Puxico Indians in a SCAA battle at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament 73-56 to reach the Consolation Title Game!
Nate Dillinger led the Mules with 33 points hitting 13 buckets, 1 trey and was 4/6 at the charity stripe.
Michael Suiter recorded 19 points on 9 buckets and one from the free throw line.
Jayce Burke tallied one 3-pointer.
Levi Woods was the leading scorer for the Puxico Indians with 23 points. He was perfect at the charity stripe 4/4 and added one 3-pointer to his 8 field goals.
Dalton King and Braiden Jones tallied 14 and 12 points respectively for the Indians.
Final Score Bernie 73, Puxico 56
Bernie 17 12 22 22 - 73
Puxico 11 13 17 15 - 56
Bernie (73) - Jayce Burk 5, Ridge Littleton 8, Michael Suiter 19, Josh Ellenburg 4, Nate Dillinger 33, Dalton Hobgood 4. FG 32, FT 7/11, F 15. (3-pointers: Burk 1, Dillinger 1. Fouled Out: None).
Puxico (56) - Levi Woods 23, Braiden Jones 12, Dalton King 14, Brady Hart 3, Andrew Geohagan 4. FG 19, FT 13/16, F 16. (3-pointers: Woods 1, Jones 1, King 2, Hart 1. Fouled Out: None).
Bernie will play Twin Rivers for the Consolation Title on Thursday, December 29th at 4:00 p.m.
Bloomfield, Missouri - The No. 10 seeded Bernie Mules easily advanced to the consolation semifinal at the 60th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament over the Holcomb Hornets 87-55.
The Hornets shot 39 of their 55 points were made on 13 treys, but it was not enough to make up for Bernie's Nate Dillinger who led the Mules with 30 points. He hit 13 buckets and was 4/5 at the free throw line.
Michael Suite recorded 14 points and Gavin Brown tallied 10 points to ensure a victory over the Holcomb Hornets.
Ty Neldon was Holcomb's top scorer with 15 on 5 buckets. Gabe Roso added 11 including his three 3-poimters of the morning.
Final Score Bernie 87, Holcomb 55
Bernie 21 19 28 19 - 87
Holcomb 9 16 13 19 - 55
Bernie (87) - Jayce Burck 3, Littleton 9, Michael Suiter 14, Weston Comstock 5, Josh Ellenburg 8, Nate Dillinger 30, Riley Wells 4, Gavin Brown 10, Dalton Hobgood 4. FG 38, FT 9/15, F 8. (3-pointers Burk 1, Comstock 1. Fouled Out: None)
Holcomb (55) - Ty Neldon 6, Alec McDaniel 15, Gabe Roso 11, Johnny Maynard 8, Dillon Mize 8, Noah Hobbs 7. FG 20, FT 2/4, F 16. (3-pointers: Neldon 2, McDaniel 5, Roso 3, Maynard 1, Mize 2. Fouled Out: Korben Tucker).
Bernie will play Puxico in a consolation semifinal on Wednesday, December 28th at 2:30 p.m.
Bloomfield, Missouri - One of the closest games thus far in the 60th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, the Bernie Mules almost upset the Portageville Bulldogs. With the game tied at 29-29 and 2.3 seconds left on the clock, Ian Torrey hit one from the left corner sealing their victory and advancing to the the quarterfinals Tuesday, December 27th.
Torrey tallied a game-high 17 points against the Mules. He was the only Bulldog in double digits.
Nate Dillinger recorded 13 points for Bernie, six buckets and one from the charity stripe.
Final Score Portageville 31, Bernie 29
Portageville 2 10 7 12 - 31
Bernie 4 5 12 8 - 29
Bernie (29) - Jayce Burk 3, Michael Suiter 8, Josh Ellenburg 3, Nate Dillinger 13, Dalton Hobgood 2. FG 12, FT 4/10, F 15 (3-pointers: Jayce Burk 1, Fouled Out: None)
Portageville (31) - Ian Torrey 17, Chris Garmon 3, Bub Lance 3, Alex Riddle 6. FG 11, FT 4/10, F 12. (3-pointers: Bub Lance 1, Alex Riddle 2, Fouled Out: Chris Garmon)
Bernie will play Holcomb in a consolation quarterfinal game on Tuesday, December 27th at 11:30 a.m.
Portageville will play Dexter at 7:00 p.m. in quarterfinal action on Tuesday, December 27th at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament!
Bell City, Missouri - The Bernie Mules were on the road on Friday, December 16, 2016 traveling to Bell City.
Bernie's Nate Dillinger had an impressive game-high 33 points on 8 buckets, 5 treys and 2/2 at the charity stripe.
Michael Suiter also finished in double digits hitting 10 buckets and 5 from the charity stripe.
Dalton Hobgood completed 11 points for the Mules completing 5 buckets and 1/1 at the line.
"We had a really nice defensive first half and a really nice offensive second half," commented Bernie boys basketball head coach Brad Botsch. "It was good to see some of our guys step up and get in a rhythm offensively. We've been pushing the kids hard in practice and we want to keep seeing improvements"
"Bell City is never an easy place to play and the Nichols kid is a really nice player. It was good to get a solid road win," continued Botsch.
Final Score Bernie 88, Bell City 55
Bernie (88) -Jayce Burk 8, Michael Suiter 25, Josh Ellenburg 7, Nate Dillinger 23, Gavin Brown 4, Dalton Hobgood 11. FG 28, Ft 11/14, F 18. (3-pointers: Jayce Burk 2, Nate Dillinger 5. Fouled Out: None).
Bell City (55) - Cole Nichols 34, Austin Hicks 7, Bobby Wright 14. FG 15, FT 17/21, F 13. (3-pointers: Cole Nichols 4, Bobby Wright 4, Fouled Out: None).
Bernie (4-2) will host Neelyville on Tuesday, December 20th. Game time 6:00 p.m.
