By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

NEW MADRID - The Dexter Bearcats posted a blowout win on the mats Tuesday night, with a 52-26 win over the New Madrid County Central Eagles in a head-to-head duel.

The Bearcats struggle at the lower weight classes due to inexperience, and coach Rich Schwab noted that as a key concern looking forward this season.

“Overall, the boys executed well tonight,” Schwab said. “We need to continue to work with our younger kids at the lower weights. We really need to step it up in the practice room and on the mat to prepare for the first tournament of the year, the Tiger Classic, next Friday and Saturday.”

The Tiger Classic is widely considered the most prestigious tournament for any area wrestler to compete in, save the MSHSAA State Tournament.


As of this writing, confirmed teams for the Tiger Classic are:DeSoto, Dexter, Notre Dame, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Central, Rolla, Sikeston, Union, University City, Francis Howell North, Jackson, Mehlville, Cedar Hill, and Christian County, KY.


The Bearcats will be in action again on Thursday (Dec. 8), when they head back to Notre Dame for a double duel against the Bulldogs and the Poplar Bluff Mules.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SIKESTON - With four games finished in the 2011-2012 season, the Bearcats have yet to post a win against the three teams they have faced. They opened the season with a loss at Charleston, then back to back losses against Sikeston (one at home, one at the SEMO Tournament), and now with a 70-50 loss to the Jackson Indians to be eliminated from the SEMO Tournament.

The Indians dominated the boards throughout the entire contest due to their extreme size difference - 6’9” big man John Meyer pulled down rebound after rebound throughout the game. They didn’t rely on the deep ball - rather, Jackson used its size and physicality to pound points in the paint.

The Bearcats’ poor free throw shooting compounded their difficulties, as they only hit 6 of 15 shots from the charity stripe.

The Bearcats trailed 19-10 after the first quarter, but were able to put together an 18 point effort in the second quarter to cut Jackson’s lead to 35-28 at the half. Chase Young, Tyler Miller, and the newly reacquired Jordan Fitts all hit shots from beyond the arc in the quarter to add to the offensive surge.

Jackson’s offense exploded in the third quarter, putting up 22 points in the frame. The Indians were able to hold the ‘Cats to just 10 points in the quarter, with Jake Lee putting in 4, to increase their lead to 57-38 at the end of the third.

The Indians put up 15 in the fourth to seal the 70-50 victory.

Miller led the Bearcats offense with 13 points, while Fitts was a close second with 12. Lee chipped in 8, and Young put in 6.

The Bearcats will have the rest of the week off to prepare for their next matchup, when they hit the road to face the Indians for the second time in a seven-day period.


The JV ‘Cats will tip off at 6:00 p.m., with the Varsity game immediately following.

Thanks to SMT Reader - and Bearcat Mom - Tracy Miller for the photos!

ShowMe Scoreboard

High School Boys Basketball

SEMO Conference Tournament

• Cape Central 55, Poplar Bluff 33
• Jackson 70, Dexter 50

Regular Season

• Leopold 60, Woodland 29
• Chaffee 69, East Prairie 45
• Advance 93, Bell City 76
• Kennett 74, Caruthersville 64
• Delta 52, Oak Ridge 46
• Risco 84, Oran 44
• Portageville 84, Kelly 44
• Bernie 67, Scott City 53

High School Girls Basketball

• Jackson 45, Dexter 38
• St. Vincent 53, Kingston 29

NCAA Men

• Missouri 81, Villanova 71
• Marquette 79, Washington 77
• Memphis 71, Miami (FLA) 54
• Central Arkansas 88, SEMO 72

NCAA Women

• Missouri State 82, East Tennessee State 70
• Austin Peay 63, Middle Tennessee 69

 

NJCAA Men

• Three Rivers 66, John A Logan 65
  

Notes:

Scores from the Three Rivers women game played Dec. 6 were not posted on the Three Rivers College sports website by press time.

Henderson State women are not schedule to play until Dec. 29 at Texas-Permian Basic; William Woods University women are not scheduled to play until Dec. 16 at Lindenwood

Photo Above: Mizzou defeated Villanova 81 to 71 in a game played under the lights of Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo courtesy Mizzou)

To report local scores to the ShowMe Times, please email news@showmetimes.com or leave a message at 573-624-7469 (624-SHOW)

 

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SIKESTON - When the Bearcats and Bulldogs met in Dexter’s home opener on Friday night, the final score was 68-35. When they faced off on Monday night in Sikeston’s house, things went a lot worse for the Bearcats, as Sikeston handed them an 80-34 shellacking in the opening round of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs relied on their outstanding perimiter shooting a lot less in this contest - they hit only 3 three-pointers, opposed to 7 in the last meeting. Sikeston had four in double figures: Vashawn Ruffin and Terry Jamison each had 13, MarKeith Fratcher had 12, and Kil’Ron Coleman chipped in 11.


Jake Lee and Tyler Miller were the only Bearcats with more than four points; the two seniors knocked down 12 and 11, respectively.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 25-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, and a 20 point effort in the second carried them to a 45-21 lead at the half.

The ‘Cats were held to single digit scores in the second, third, and fourth quarters, with Sikeston’s 17 in the fourth was their lowest total of the night.


The ‘Cats were held to just 5 points in the fourth quarter to seal the 80-34 final.


The Bearcats fall to 0-3 on the season with the loss. They will be in action again tonight, when they face off against the Jackson Indians in the consolation bracket of the SEMO Tournament.


Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., at the Sikeston Field House.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcats shot an impressive 68% from the floor on the way to a 78-23 blowout victory over Senath-Hornersville in the 2011-2012 home opener.

The Lady Bearcats’ matchup-zone defense worked incredibly well against the Lady Lions’ offense, holding them to single-digit scores in every quarter. LBB head coach Chad Allen was extremely pleased with his team’s effort on both sides of the ball.

“Offensively, all the girls were hitting on all cylinders in the first half - they said we shot about 80% in the first half,” Allen said. “They really shot the ball well, all of them did. 
Defensively, I thought we came out and put a lot of pressure on them. I think the girls just had a great game tonight.”

The Lady ‘Cat offense was explosive early in the contest, as they opened with a 13-0 run. Alison Jarrell continued to impress from beyond the arc, where she was good on 5 of 8 attempts, including three in the first quarter.

The Lady ‘Cats went on to take a 30-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Erika Cobb hit a 10-footer to open the second and help the Lady ‘Cats to an impressive 18-0 run in the frame. Taylor Owens hit a three at the 2:45 mark to help propel the Lady Bearcats to a 54-12 lead at halftime.

Jarrell was good from outside two more times in the second half, while the Lady ‘Cats’ defense held Senath to only four points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth.

The Lady Bearcats opened the season with a 2-1 effort in the Farmington Invitational Tournament, where they faced stiff competition from Notre Dame, Poplar Bluff, and Miller Career Academy. Allen felt opening the season with such difficult opponents was a big help to his team’s progress to this point in the young season.

“Playing three tough, quality teams like that coming into this game helped,” Allen said. “Playing tough, quality opponents like that definitely makes you better. Senath lost a lot last year, they had a great post and point guard that went on to college and are playing there now. They are down a little this year, but Coach Johnson does a really great job with them. Again, I think we came out and really got after it offensively and defensively tonight.”


The JV ‘Cats only played two quarters against Senath, but they were just as dominant as their older teammates. The JV squad shut out the Lions in the first quarter, and an explosive 11-point effort from Katie Reiker in the second helped seal the 23-8 victory.

The Lady Bearcats will be in action again Tuesday night, when they host the Jackson Lady Indians.

“Its definitely a totally different team - Jackson’s a great ball team this year,” Allen commented. “They already have two D-1 signees with SEMO, King and Hartling. Its going to be a tough matchup for us, but we need a matchup like that. Hopefully we can come out with a victory and our first SEMO Conference win tomorrow night.”


Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. for the JV game, and the Varsity contest immediately following.