By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

"The Presidents and Chancellors of the Southeastern Conference are pleased to welcome the University of Missouri to the SEC," said Dr. Bernie Machen, president of the University of Florida on Nov. 6.


Much to the joy (or chagrin, depending on your motivations) of Mizzou fans across the state, the long-awaited move to the SEC is happening.


Bye, bye Kansas and Oklahoma; see you later Texas.


The face of the Big XII is changing - Colorado left for the PAC-12, Nebraska jumped to the Big 10. Texas A&M, tired of always playing second fiddle to big brother Texas, has gone to the SEC, and now so has Mizzou - and the ShowMe Times Sports team wants to know how you feel about it.


We’ve put together a quick survey regarding NCAA Conference Realignment - click here to take the survey and let us know what you think!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CHARLESTON - The Bearcats battled hard for four quarters in the season opener against Charleston on Tuesday night, but fell victim to a 77-49 loss.


The final score didn’t reflect the Bearcats’ effort in the contest - they fought hard all night, and pulled within a point of the Blue Jays several times, but Charleston’s sheer athleticism and deep bench proved too much for the Bearcats.

“I’m disappointed the way the score ended up, because the kids played better than that,” head coach Rob Nichols said after the game. “Fatigue got us there in the end - we played six deep tonight, and when Charleston’s going nine or 10 deep off the bench over the course of the game, that pressure is going to get to you and it got us tonight.”


Jake Lee had an outstanding performance in his senior season opener, leading the Bearcats with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Tyler Miller chipped in 10 points and 7 boards, while Chase Young had eight points. Sophomores D.J. Dowdy and Cody Neldon both saw extensive time in the contest, and did a pretty good job of adjusting to the tempo of the varsity level.

“Jake [Lee] played great tonight, but our guards will need to play better as the year goes on,” Nichols said. “It’s one of those things, you’ve got young kids playing and having to learn their roles, and trying to learn that against Charleston, Sikeston, and Sikeston again [in the SEMO Tournament], it’s a brick wall for them to learn against.”

The ‘Cats were right there with the Blue Jays throughout the entire first half, never trailing by more than 5 points in the opening two frames. Some great defense by Miller and pure dominance on the defensive boards by Lee helped the ‘Cats stay within three at the end of the first and five at the end of the half.

The ‘Cats were able to hit a few quick buckets to pull within one at the beginning of the third quarter, but Charleston’s dangerous offense quickly rattled off 12 points, aided by a three point play from Gregory Tucker at the 5:45 mark.


The Blue Jays also transitioned into a full-court press in the second half, and Nichols felt his team didn’t do a great job against it.

“The press hurt, but we had kids open in the back of it, we just couldn't see it,” he said. “Charleston’s a good basketball team - they don’t go to the final four and finish third last year by luck or happenstance.”

Dowdy hit a big bucket to kill the Charleston run with 4:15 left in the third, but the Jays still held a commanding 53-38 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Ryan Parham hit back to back threes to open the fourth quarter for the Blue Jays, but the Bearcats kept fighting despite trailing by 20-plus. Lee and Neldon each had a steal, while Miller picked up three offensive boards in the closing frame, and Young showed improvement in his defensive performance in the final quarter.

Despite the lopsided final score, Nichols thought there were still some positive things for the team to take out of the game.

“I saw a lot of good things - we played well all night, and in the first half executed in the half court pretty good,” Nichols said. “I had two sophomores out there tonight, and its probably a one point game at the half if we didn’t have that technical there at the end of the second. Fatigue got us in the third quarter, and [Charleston] really ramped the pressure up after that.”

In the JV contest, the young Bearcats' struggles continued as they dropped a 62-23 decision. Nick Noble and Stevie Payne led the 'Cats with seven points, while Cody Gibson chipped in six. The JV squad is now 0-4 on the year.


The Bearcats will be in action again on Friday night when they host the Sikeston Bulldogs in the season opener.


Tipoff is set with JV action at 6:00 p.m., and Varsity action immediately following.

The snow that fell last night is quickly becoming slushy water on the side of the road, and athletic events scheduled in the area schools for Tuesday night are being played.

The ShowMe Times has received word from Dexter Athletic Director Chuck Powers that games and matches will be played as scheduled.

The Dexter Bearcats will take on the Bluejays of Charleston on the Bluejays home court. Both the junior varsity and varsity teams will play this evening, with the JV matchup beginning at 6 p.m. in Charleston.

In addition the Dexter Middle School basketball boys will play the Sikeston Bulldogs tonight. The middle school games will begin at 6 p.m. and the Bearcat Event Center on Grant Street.

In addition, the middle school wrestling squad will be on the road tonight to take on Sikeston. The matchup will begin at 6 p.m. in the Sikeston High School Field House.

Bernie Tournament

Action in the Bernie Tournament will continue tonight after a delay on Monday night due to the weather.

According the Bernie Athletic Director Brad Botsch, the Bernie Mules will take on the Campbell Camels at p.m., followed by Holcomb Hornets and Puxico Indians game at 7:30. Games will be played at Bernie High School.

Photo Above: The Dexter Junior Variety squad is ready for Tuesday night's matchup against the Bluejays in Charleston. Watch the Wednesday ShowMe Times for complete game report! (SMT Photo by Andrew Cato)

EASTON, Penn. - The Leopards are hovering at .500 and will venture to Princeton for a Wednesday matchup. In its last outing, Lafayette erased a 14-point second-half deficit before Delaware drilled a three in the closing minute to brush away a comeback attempt.

Princeton (2-5) is coming off a three-game swing in the TicketCity Legends Classic in Lewisburg, Pa. during which the Tigers went 1-2.

In personnel news, senior guard Jim Mower and freshman guard Seth Hinrichs earned Patriot League weekly honors.

In the first game of the week, Mower made a school-record 10 three-pointers in a win over FDU, shooting 10-of-13 from beyond the arc and finishing with a career-high 37 points. At Delaware, Mower had 19 points, including 7-of-8 at the line, and a season-high seven rebounds. It is the second honor of Mower's career.

Hinrichs becomes the first Lafayette player to garner Rookie of the Week accolades in two straight weeks since Bilal Abdullah '08 accomplished the feat in 2004-05. Hinrichs was in the starting lineup for both games and averaged 10 ppg, including a career-high 13 points at Delaware. He is shooting 57.1 percent from downtown (8-14) and ranks second in the league in that category. The last time two Lafayette players swept the weekly awards was Dec. 26, 2007, when Andrew Brown '09 and Deirunas Visockas '11 were named Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Dexter, Missouri native Alan Flannigan has had success coming of the bench for the Leopards this season, despite missing two weeks with injuries earlier in the year. Flannigan has shown great promise on the boards, as well as some ability to score in the paint.


Princeton, an NCAA Tournament team in 2011, comes into the game with a 2-5 mark, last competing in the TicketCity Legends Classic. The Tigers were 1-2 in those three games, losing to Bucknell and Morehead State before beating West Alabama. Princeton also claims Buffalo as a win on Nov. 19, but has losses to Wagner (73-57) in the season opener and at N.C. State (60-58).

Junior forward Ian Hummer is the team's leading scorer (16.1 ppg) and rebounder (8.2 rpg). Classmate Brendan Connolly (2.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) has started six games at center. Juniors Mack Darrow (6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Will Barrett (4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) also have spent time in the frontcourt.

Senior guard Doug Davis is second on the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game and has a team-high 16 three-pointers. His younger brother, sophomore Deoliver Davis, was a key member of the Lafayette football defensive backfield in 2011.

Sophomore guard T.J. Bray is the team's best distributor, averaging 4.4 assists per game while starting all seven games.

Princeton perennially is among the nation's leaders is scoring defense, as its offense limits the number of opponents' possessions. Teams are averaging 59.1 ppg. The Tigers are coached by Mitch Henderson '98 who is in his first season.

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Lafayette College is a NCAA Division 1 school, located in Easton, Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Patriot League.


Dexter native Alan Flannigan is a member of the basketball team.

Everyone at the ShowMe Times is proud to announce the launch of SMT HOOPS CHALLENGE!



In the HOOPS, the object is simple: we give you at least 20 games a week for 13 weeks, featuring local boys and girls basketball as well as college games of local and regional interest. No scores, no ‘upset predictions’ - just winners and losers. Every game that you pick correctly will get you a point –20 or more possible points a week, and at least 260 possible points in the whole contest.



Your picks will be 'unlocked' at 12 noon each Sunday, and will be open until 6 p.m. each Wednesday, at which point they will be locked in.




All you have to do to enter is provide your full name and a working email address - used to notify you of any prizes you win - and then make your picks on a weekly basis.



Wait, PRIZES?!?



Yes, you read that correctly: we’re giving out prizes every week. Once the scores are tallied each week, the top three finishers will win a prize.



At the end of the contest period, the top point scorer will win the grand prize. You’ll like what we have in store for HOOPS CHALLENGE! During our recently Pigskin Pick’Em football contest, Grand Prize winner Brett Dorton receive 50-inch flat screen television!

 This game will be exciting, electrifying, and will shine the sports spotlight on some great area high school and college hoops!!!

The full rules and regulations for the contest can be found here.

You can navigate to the page by mousing over the sports button and clicking the link on the drop-down menu, or you can, from the home page, click the link on the left of the three buttons beneath the search bar.