By Andrew Cato
ShowMe Times Sports

BERNIE - Few basketball games in Stoddard County seem to draw as large and rowdy a crowd as any contest between Dexter and Bernie, and the scene was no different Friday night (Jan. 14).

The Bearcats came into the game on a 3-game winning streak, and winning eight of their last 10, but the Bernie Mules came out on top with a final score of 61-55.

Bernie senior Cameron Shipman opened the game with a deep three-pointer for the Mules, and was quickly followed by teammate Jordan McGowan with another three to help Bernie jump out to a quick 8-2 lead. Tyler Miller completed an old-fashioned three-point-play midway through the opening frame, but McGowan drained two more three-pointers to give the Mules a 17-12 advantage at the end of the first.

]The Bearcats put points on the board quickly in the second quarter, thanks to two 3-pointers from senior Alan Flannigan, but McGowan stayed hot from beyond the arc and drained an NBA-range three to keep the Mules in the lead, going into halftime with a score of 30-24.

Dexter went on a 8-0 run to start the third, aided by a three-pointer from junior Jordan Fitts, and giving the Bearcats their only lead of the evening. McGowan answered quickly for the Mules, draining another three-pointer, and ending the quarter with a 46-37 Bernie lead.

Flannigan two three-point-plays and a deep three in the fourth quarter, leaving the Bearcats trailing by only a point with two minutes left in the game. Bernie went on a 6-0 run and made key free-throws during Dexter’s foul spree in the last minute of the game, and ended the contest six points ahead, with a final score of 61-55.

Dexter head coach Rob Nichols didn’t seem pleased with the performance of the Bearcats after the game. “We made a lot of silly turnovers that led to run-out layups for those guys,” said Nichols. “I don’t feel like we had very good intensity on defense all night.”

He did, however, commend the Mules for their precision and preparedness. “They made us pay for every mistake we made. They were very well prepared; they handled the basketball very well and didn’t make very many turnovers, so, in the end, you have to give them credit.”

BERNIE (61) -- Jordan McGowan 22; Jesse Shelton 13; Matt Eaves 11; Cameron Shipman 4; Sammy Walker 4; Bryce Rodgers 2.

DEXTER (55) -- Alan Flannigan 28; Jake Cox 8; Jake Lee 6; Jordan Fitts 5; Tyler Miller 5; Bryn Hester

By Andrew Cato
ShowMe Times Sports

It was, as predicted by senior Alan Flannigan, a “hard-fought Stoddard County contest” for the Dexter Bearcats and the Bloomfield Wildcats. Every time it looked as if the Bearcats had put the game away, Bloomfield would find a way to come creeping back in, but, at the end of the game, the Bearcats came out on top.

With a final score of 61-52, Dexter has now won three games in a row, and 8 of the last 9 games have ended with a Bearcat victory.

Senior Jake Cox opened the scoring for the Bearcats, draining a 3-pointer on the first shot of the night, and helped Dexter jump out to a quick 6-0 lead. The Bearcats ended the first quarter with a 15-7 lead.

Bloomfield senior Dylan Bader almost completed the old-fashioned three-point play to open the third, but couldn’t connect. He could, however, hit his first 3-pointer of the night at around the 4:00 mark. Bearcat junior Jordan Fitts answered with a three of his own less than a minute later, and senior Logan Robey connected on a 3-pointer to give the Bearcats a 32-18 lead going into halftime.

The Wildcats found some of their starters in foul trouble in the third quarter, and made extensive use of their bench. Seth Hill hit his first three of the night for the Wildcats, and helped narrow Dexter’s lead to 40-39 at the end of the third quarter.

The Bearcats came out fired up, and seemingly more focused, to start the fourth period. Bader and Hill both hit threes for Bloomfield, but it was a case of too little, too late. Bader went on to foul out; Adam Flannigan and Tyler Miller came up with two key blocks to help seal the deal for the Bearcats.

“All-in-all, we played pretty well. They came out hard and physical, and we jumped out to a quick lead; we started out good in the second half, but they [Bloomfield] made some defensive adjustments and it kind of threw us off,” Dexter Head Coach Rob Nichols said. “We also got put to sleep a bit when they had to play backups in the later part of the third because of foul trouble.”

“I told the kids before the fourth that they were still in this ballgame, and then some of my leaders jumped in and told them ‘We aren’t going to lose this game,’ and we came out fired up,” Nichols said.

Before the night was over, seven Bearcats had contributed to the teams’ 61 points. Adam Flannigan led the way with 25 points, Tyler Miller had 11 points, Jake Lee put in 9, Jake Cox and Jordan Fitts had 5 points each, and Josh Sifford and Logan Robey both had 3 points.

Dylan Bader led the Wildcats with 29 points, Seth Hill had 18 points, Aron Henson and Mitchell Skaggs each wound up with 2 points, and Adam Vandiver had 1 point.

“We’re going to have to play four hard quarters of basketball Friday night,” said Coach Nichols of Dexter’s next opponent. “Bernie is a great basketball team, and we’re going to have to play well to beat them.”

Flannigan agreed with his coach that Friday’s game will pit two strong Stoddard County rivals.

“It’s going to be another very physical, very tough game,” said senior Alan Flannigan. “We’ll be going into a very hostile environment. It’s a great rivalry; they’ll be fired up to play us, as we will be to play them.”



The Bearcats move to 8-5 on the season with their victory Tuesday night, and will face the Bernie Mules at Bernie on Friday, Jan. 14.

By Andrew Cato
ShowMe Times Sports

After starting the year with a deficit in the victory column, many people could have considered the 2010-2011 season a bust.

But, after two blowout wins against Richland and Scott City, a second-place finish at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, and a huge win over Notre Dame, the Bearcats are starting to build up some momentum and hopefully turn their season around.

The Bearcats kept their momentum going and came out on top against the Woodland Cardinals, with a final score of 68-40.

Dexter senior Alan Flannigan felt that “we came out a little flat and never picked up the energy 100 percent, but that’s coming off a tough game last night (Notre Dame); we still played well enough to get the job done.”

The Bearcats came out energetic enough, and opened the game with a 16-4 run in the first quarter. Going into halftime, Dexter had a 39-15 lead.


In the third quarter, Bearcat juniors Jordan Fitts and Tyler Miller hit consecutive 3-pointers, but Woodland ended with an 8-4 run, topped off by a 3-pointer from senior David Gray as time expired.

During the fourth quarter, both teams’ benches were used extensively. The Cardinals were never able to pull within 25 points of the Bearcats, but were able to outscore Dexter 11-6 in the frame.

“Our kids came out and played with good intensity and we played hard right off the bat. We were sloppy in the second half at times, but part of that is when you’re subbing a whole lot, the kids can’t get into the flow of the game and they make sloppy mistakes,” Dexter head coach Rob Nichols said. “They tired pretty quickly, which we expected after last night’s game, but all-in-all, we played pretty well.”

Nichols seemed pretty pleased with the Bearcats’ turnaround, and hopes to put their 0-5 start in their rearview mirror.

“When you start 0-5, it’s a long climb to get back to .500. It’s good to get there, but there’s a lot of basketball left to be played, and the goal’s not to be (around) .500, it’s to be way above .500, so hopefully we can keep climbing.”

Nine Bearcats contributed at least one score on the night, with Flannigan leading the team with 22 points, 10 of which came in their big first quarter run. Jordan Fitts and Josh Sifford tied for second, each contributing nine points. For Woodland, seniors Martin Williams and Neil Johnson each had 12 points.