By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Bernie Mules once again found themselves playing for another chance at the State Title Thursday (March 17) afternoon. The Mules (27-4, ranked #4 in the state) just had to get by Wellington-Napoleon Tigers (26-1, ranked #1 in the state) to earn their second consecutive shot at the Class 2 State Championship. After a a double-overtime thriller, the Mules came out victorious, winning 73-66.

Wellington-Napoleon’s defense was geared towards stopping Bernie standout Jordan McGowan early, but teammates Sammy Walker and Cameron Shipman stepped up for the Mules during the contest. Walker was able to put up 24 points on the night, as well as hauling in eight boards. Shipman, who hit six-of-nine three pointers in the contest, added 21 points to the Mules’ tally.

McGowan was still able to chip in 15 points during the game, but only shot four-of-13 from the floor during the game. Most of McGowan’s contributions came on the defensive side of the court - six of his seven rebounds were defensive - as well as coming up with two steals and two blocks.

The Tigers had a slight edge in rebounds - 39 compared to 36 for the Mules - and doubled Bernie’s takeaway total - eight compared to four for the Mules - but still came up short.


The Mules held a 30-20 lead going into the locker room at halftime, but the Tigers came out in the second half fired up and took over the game. Bernie’s lead was cut to four (38-34) after the third quarter, and Wellington-Napoleon exchanged leads with the Mules during the fourth. Blake Seitz had a great opportunity to secure the win for the Tigers - he stole the ball with less than 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter - and took the ball to the hoop, but missed a wide open layup to send the game into overtime tied at 56.


 
Shipman hit a deep three to give the Mules a 61-58 lead with 2:00 left in the first overtime, but he was quickly answered by Taylor Bryant. Matt Eaves completed a three-point play to put Bernie back on top - 64-62 - with 33 seconds left in the overtime period, but Bryant hit two clutch free-throws to send the game to its second overtime.


Eaves hit another clutch layup for the Mules to give them a 66-64 lead with 3:00 left in the second overtime. The Mules held that lead until McGowan hit two free throws to increase the lead to four with just under a minute left. Shipman hit three of four free-throws in the final minute of the game to push Bernie to a seven-point advantage at the final buzzer.

The Mules will move on to face the Crane Pirates for the Class 2 State Championship. The game will be held Saturday (March 19) at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.




Tipoff is scheduled for 6:50 p.m.

The ShowMe Times will be at the Championship game Saturday night. If you can't make it, make sure to check our Facebook or Twitter page for periodic score updates, and the games will also be broadcast online by Fox Sports Midwest at http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/pages/mshsaa_championship_alt/0.

JACKSON, Tenn. (3/15/11) - Senior Warren Hood tied for sixth place to lead the Arkansas State men's golf team to a fifth place finish out of 15 teams at the Grover Page Classic, marking the second consecutive tournament the Red Wolves have finished among the top five teams.

The Red Wolves shot a three-round 900, which included a low round of 288 posted for the second 18 holes. After close to a four-hour rain delay Monday, A-State shot an opening round 302 to complete the day in ninth place.

The second 18 holes were suspended due to darkness, but the Red Wolves came back Tuesday to complete the round with a 14-stroke improvement to move up to fifth place in the standings. ASU's second-round 288 was the fourth lowest round among all teams at the tournament.

While the Red Wolves shot a 310 to close the tournament, it was enough to edge Tennessee State, Union University and Jackson State by one stroke and hold their standing at fifth place.

"We obviously didn't put our best foot forward, but I was proud of the guys for rallying in the second round," said ASU head coach Steve Johnson. "Still, we've got to work on some things through spring break and perform better our next time out."

The Red Wolves collected their sixth top-10 finish of the year. Murray State claimed the title with an 862, while Morehead State finished second with an 884 and Tennessee Tech third with an 885.

Hood's finish was his best since tying for fifth place at the Memphis Intercollegiate his sophomore season. He posted a combined 219, which matched his lowest three-round score of the season. His 219 included a second-round 70 that was not only the lowest score by an ASU player at the tournament, but also tied his lowest round this season.

Competing as an individual, freshman Chance Holden tied for 20th place to join Hood among the top-25 individual finishers. While Holden's combined 223 wasn't his lowest three-round score of the season, he picked up his best finish of his young career.

"I'm real proud of Warren and Chance for the way they played," said Johnson.  "Just a freshman, Chance got his first top-20 finish and that shows signs of improvement."

Also competing for A-State, Lloyd du Preez finished tied for 28th place with a 226, Chris Pledger and Cory Williamson tied for 36th with a 228 and Matt Howton tied for 61st place with a 234.

"Chris Pledger has fought back problems the last two tournaments and he easily could've pulled up and sat this one out, but I'm extremely proud of him for choosing to play and carry his bag all 54 holes," said Johnson.

The Red Wolves return to action March 24-25 at the Barona Cup, hosted by San Diego State, in San Diego, Calif.

ARKANSAS STATE RESULTS
Place, Name (RD1-RD2-RD3--TOTAL)
5, Arkansas State (302-288-310--900)
T6, Warren Hood (74-70-75--219)
T20, *Chance Holden (72-72-79--223)
T28, Lloyd du Preez (76-71-79--226)
T36, Chris Pledger (76-73-79--228)
T36, Cory Williamson (77-74-77--228)
T61, Matt Howton (76-79-79--234)
*Competing as an individual

Story and picture care of Arkansas State University Sports Information.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

With spring already upon us, many sports teams are beginning to practice and prepare for their first competitions of the year. The Dexter High School track team is no exception, and head coach Jill King seemed very excited about her team this year.

“I just have an all-around good group this year, we’re just pretty young,” King commented. “They work hard everyday and I haven’t, knock on wood, had to get onto any of them. [Assistant Coach] Greg Lummukka helps out with keeping the kids in line - its springtime, so you have to let them have some fun, but you still have to get work done.”

King was excited about what she’s seen from the girls squad, but hasn’t had much time with the whole team yet due to tryouts for other sports.

“We’ve had cheerleading tryouts last week, and dance team this week, so I really haven’t seen all the girls together,” King said.


King was, however, already able to spot some ladies standing out from the crowd.

“Raezheem Miller is one of our new ones out this year,” King continued. “She’s a senior from Louisiana, and she by far has impressed me with both her work ethic and speed. I just wish I could have had her all four years. Raezheem and Taylor Martin, I expect good things from them in the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays. She [Miller] and Taylor [Martin] will definitely be my fastest, but I still don’t know who will be the other two. I’ve had quite a few look pretty good, so I’m anxious to see what happens.”


Also noted was senior Lizzy Kohlbaker - a distance runner that is pulling some collegiate attention.

“Lizzy wants to run at Rolla (Missouri S&T) next year, so she’s working really hard for a scholarship,” King said. “Katie Justice, a freshman, stayed in shape all winter long, and should also be a pretty good distance runner for us. Chandler Crowley has also impressed me in the hurdles - she was practicing for it even before the season started.”

“Madison Pixley and Raezheem [Miller],” King said of her two senior jumpers, “I’m looking for them to both score some points in the triple-jump and high-jump.”



The girls nearly double the boys on the team this year, but King has already noted the leaders on the boys squad.



“We’re just low on the number of boys this year, but the ones that are out there work really hard. Daniel McCoy and Dylan Hardin are both good senior leaders,” King commented. “[They both] work hard every day.”




“Austin Richardson and Zach Comstock are jumping for the boys,” King continued. “Austin is competing in the high jump, and I expect Zach to do pretty good in the triple and long jump.”


 Rounding out the group are the throwers. King expects seniors McCoy and Dylan Sandlin to do great things for the team in the pit.

“Daniel McCoy and Dylan Sandlin should both be great throwing for the guys, and Sarah Langley for the girls,” King commented. “Coach Lummakka has been working with them the most, so I’m not sure how the younger ones are doing, but Brandon Grimm seems like he’s doing well.”

The team starts the season with two meets at Notre Dame in Cape Girardeau, Mo.


“Our first meet is Tuesday (March 22) - the Notre Dame Open,” King said. “Then we go back to Notre Dame Saturday (March 26) for the Notre Dame Relays, but I’ll be missing the choir and band kids (State Music Contest is the same day on Mizzou’s campus in Columbia, Mo.), but we’ll see how it goes. A lot of them can get there later, so they’ll miss the morning events, but hopefully they’ll be able to make it for some events later in the day.” The ‘Cats will be at home one time this year - Tuesday, April 19 - for the Dexter open. Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for updates on the track team throughout the season!


Photos above Top Photo: Daniel McCoy instructs his teammates on proper discus technique.
Middle photo: Raezheem Miller practices the high jump.
Bottom photo: Austin Richardson takes a turn in the high jump pit.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

The DMS seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams are both off to great starts.

The seventh grade squad competed in the Poplar Bluff Classic on Saturday, March 12. They faced stiff competition from Bloomfield, Poplar Bluff, and Advance. The Lady 'Cats beat Advance in two sets in the championship game to bring home the first place trophy!

The eighth grade squad saw their first action of the season Monday (March 15) night against Bloomfield at home, and were able to defeat the Wildcats in two sets (25-2, 25-13). Courtney Potts was the top scorer in both sets, scoring 20 and six points, respectively.

The seventh grade squad was also able to win in two sets against Bloomfield (25-9, 25-12). Lauren Thrower scored 10 for the Lady 'Cats in the first set, and teammate Julia Hahn put up seven in the second.



Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for updates as the season progresses!







Photos above Top Photo: DMS' seventh grade volleyball team consists of (front row, from left): Madison Bishop, Lauren Thrower, Julia Hahn, Mary Kate Miller, and Paige Chasteen - (back row, from left): Kaylee Howard, Ashlyn Werneck, Kendell Adams, Delaney Pullam, Alyssa Pixley, Matney Davis, and Amber Spence.
Bottom photo: The eighth grade team consists of (front row, from left): Miranda Rogers, Mackinlee Rogers, Shyann Jines, Courtney Potts, and Jessie Gott - (back row, from left): Manager Carley Jameson, Kelci Wood, Alexis Smith, Jessica Lindsey, Breanna Bowers, Madison Christian, and Afton Harris (not pictured: Breanna Walker.)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

Dexter native Marcus Greer, the son of Matt and Lisa Greer, is doing great things on the basketball court at his new home in St. Louis.

Marcus' team, the Titans, recently won the Midwest March Madness Youth Basketball Tournament, held in Indiana.

Marcus (kneeling, far left on front row) is currently in fifth grade, and is attending school at Our Lady of the Pillar School in Ladue, Mo.