Dexter, Missouri – The Dexter Bearcats varsity boys basketball program battled hard against the Charleston Bluejays after falling behind 12 – 0 in the first quarter. The Bluejays powerhouse Delfincko Bogan rallied them to victory with a final score of 76 – 47.
“We played vey soft man-to-man. Our goal was to keep them in front of us and make them shoot perimeter shots,” stated Dexter’s head basketball coach Josh Dowdy. “They just happen to make the first six. You have to make the decision to go out and pressure them or play soft. We thought it would be better to keep them in front of us. That is not what beat us in the end. Our lack of composure on offense was the factor in the game which allowed them to score in transition.”
Bogan came out strong for the Bluejays scoring a game-high 27 points including 4 treys. Charleston lead at the end of each period and at the half Charleston was still in the lead, up by nine.
“I thought we dug ourselves too big of a hole early on. We did battle back,” stated Dowdy. “We played them within six points after the first bucket in the second half and then we played way to quick on offense. Against a team with that much quickness and ability to score, you have to limit possessions and we did not do that very well tonight. We will improve and I was proud of our effort!”
“Our defense will take some time. It will look better in February. They scored half of their points in transition because of our lack of composer on offense,” continued Dowdy. “It was our first game and I believe in these kids.”
Ethan Flowers opened the second half with a 3-pointer putting Dexter within six. Only 3 more buckets would be put on the board by the Bearcats during the 3rd period. Charleston stood strong scoring and simple outscored them adding 22 points in the third period to secure their victory over Dexter. The Bluejays scored double digits in each of the four quarters.
“I was real proud of Ethan Flowers. He is a very heady player,” continued Dowdy. “I am also real proud of Austin Chesser. He plays without any fear and we will need both of them to continue our efforts each night.”
Austin Chesser recorded seven of the Bearcat’s first 10 points of the game tallying a team-high 19 points while Ethan Flowers scored 15 points including three 3-pointers.
Charleston’s Kelvondre Moore finished with 13 points. Demarcus Sharp tallied 10 points. Charleston now 2-1 on the season will return to the court on Friday when they host Notre Dame for their season home opener.
Dexter has its first road game traveling to Sikeston to take on the Bulldogs.
“Sikeston is a different team than Charleston in that they will pick you up in a full court zone defense that will look like a man because of their speed and athleticism,” continued Dowdy. “We will have to play with much better poise on offense to be competitive. We will work on it Wednesday and Thursday and go over there and give it a shot Friday night.”
Final score Varsity Charleston 76, Dexter 47
Charleston 12 11 22 20 - 76
Dexter 13 12 9 13 - 47
Charleston (76) – Kelvondre Moore 13, Dontarius Sharp 7, Delfincko Bogan 27, Deonte Clemons 2, Demarcus Sharp 10, Mardareyon Clark 5, Jeremy Tucker 6, Tenerrious Ewing 4, Darron Howard 2. FG 32, FT ¾, F 14. (3-pointers: Bogan 4, Demarcus Sharp 2, Moore 2, Donarius Sharp 1. Fouled Out None)
Dexter (47) – Noah Kronk 2, Jason Jarrell 2, Peyton Pollock 7, Austin Chesser 19, Ethan Flowers 15, Addison Moore 2. FG 19, FT 6/10, F 11 (3-pointers: Flowers 3. Fouled Out None)
“We would like to thank all of the community members for coming out tonight. It made the kids happy!”
Next game is slated for Friday, December 5th game time 6 p.m. at Sikeston. Come out and show your support for the Bearcats!
