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)
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.
Dexter, Missouri - The Lady Bearcats open their 2016 season in St. Louis on Friday, November 25th at 2:00 p.m. against St. Joseph's Academy, a private school located on Lindbergh Boulevard.
Class 4, District 1 Lady Cats have two veteran seniors, #33 Harley Allen, and #23 Cheyenne Mosby as they will try to win their 7th straight District Championship.
Playing for Dexter Varsity Girls Basketball team are 5'6" junior guard #5 Daphane Ahrens, 5'9" senior forward #33 Harley Allen, 6'1" sophomore center #4 Rylee Allen, 5'5" junior forward #22 Madyson Crockett, 5'4" junior forward #42 Lauryn Davis, 5'11" junior forward #32 Krysten Garrison, 5'5" sophomore guard #35 Chaylea Mosby, 5'5" senior forward #23 Cheyenne Mosby, 5'2" sophomore guard #10 Natalie Sitze, 6'0" junior forward #25 Hannah Thurmon, and 5'4" junior guard #12 Trout Megan.
The schedule has been released for the first ever SEMO Conference varsity girls basketball tournament. Dexter has earned the #1 seed in the SEMO Conference Girls Basketball Tournament slated to begin on Monday, November 28th in Poplar Bluff. Teams competing are Dexter, Cape Central, Sikeston, Kennett, Jackson, Poplar Bluff, Notre Dame, and Saxony Lutheran.
Another new tournament this year will be the Battle at the Border to be held at Dexter, December 8th - 10th. Teams playing are Dexter, Lewisburg High School, Mississippi, Neelyville, Earle High School from Arkansas, Poplar Bluff, and Ingomar High School from Mississippi.
The Lady Cats will once again compete in the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic slated for December 17th - 21st.
2016 - 2017 Lady Bearcats Basketball Schedule
Friday, November 25th vs St. Joseph's Academy 2:00 p.m. (A)
Saturday, November 26th vs Kirkwood High School 1:00 p.m. (A)
November 28th - December 2nd SEMO Conference Tournament at Poplar Bluff
December 8th - December 10th Battle At the Border at Bearcat Event Center
December 17th - December 21st Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic (A)
Thursday, January 5th vs Farmington (H)
Monday, January 9th at Kennett (A)
Thursday, January 12th at Neelyville (A)
Saturday, January 14th at Jackson Lady Indians Shootout (TBA)
Monday, January 16th at Park Hills (A)
Thursday, January 26th vs Sikeston (H)
Saturday, January 28th Coaches vs Cancer - Incarnate Word High School (TBA)
Tuesday, January 31st at Saxony Lutheran (A)
Thursday, February 2nd vs Naylor (H)
Monday, February 6th vs Notre Dame (H)
Thursday, February 9th at Cape Central (A)
Monday, February 13th at Poplar Bluff (A)
Wednesday, February 15th vs Oran (H) Senior Night
Monday, February 20th at Jackson (A)
February 27th - March 3rd Districts (TBA)
Dexter, Missouri - More than 1,000 people came out for the T.S. Hill Jr Beta Club's annual Chili and Cinnamon Roll fundraiser held prior to the start of the Dexter boys basketball game against the Jackson Indians on Tuesday evening. The gym was packed wall to wall with fans!
The Bearcats came out on top defeating the Indians 61 - 36 in the 8th grade competition.
Andrew Ellinghouse had a game-high 16 points for the Bearcats. He finished with 3 buckets, 7 from the charity stripe and 1 trey.
Jackson Allen tallied 4 treys and two from the charity stripe.
Carter Dorton contributed two 3-pointers.
Final Score Dexter 61, Jackson 36
Dexter 15 16 13 17 - 61
Jackson 7 9 10 10 - 36
Dexter (61) - Ryder Boles 8, Jackson Allen 14, Carter Dorton 9, Andrew Ellinghouse 16, Peyton Driskil 4, Austin Daniels 4, Riley Slusher 6. FG 20, FT 15/24, F 17 (3-pointers: Jackson Allen 4, Carter Dorton 2, Andrew Ellinghouse 1, Fouled Out: None)
Jackson (36) - Austin Buck 3, Zavier Sykes 12, Nate Schlitt 4, Rhet Liley 4, Randol McDowell 1, Steeler Bass 4, Riley Hester 6, Connor Tollison 2, Ty Moran 2. FG 13, FT 12/16 (3-pointers: Xavier Sykes 2, Fouled Out: Connor Tollison)
The Dexter Bearcats will be back in action on Monday, November 18th at Kennett. Game time is 6:00 p.m.
