By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The top-seeded, host Dexter Bearcats faced off against the No. 8 Bell City Cubs in the nightcap of Day 1 at the 2012 Stoddard County Tournament. The Cubs were able to hang with Dexter for the first quarter, but an offensive surge in the second propeled the Bearcats to a double-digit lead and a 90-47 victory.

Shane Hughes rejected Dexter's first shot of the contest, but a steal from Cody Neldon led to a bucket for Jake Lee and a four-point run for the 'Cats. Brad Potts knocked down a three for the 'Cats, but was quickly answered by Jerad Yates. Aaron Smith hit a trey on the Cubs' next possession. Yates tacked on another three a minute later, but this time D.J. Dowdy responded for the 'Cats. Dexter held on to a 20-14 lead after the opening frame.

Neldon and Chase Young knocked down back-to-back threes for the 'Cats to open the second quarter. Miller came up with a steal and missed a 12-footer, but Jake Lee was there for a stickback to give the 'Cats a 14 point lead at the 5:40 mark. Young hit another trey late in the frame to send the 'Cats in the locker room with a 45-26 advantage at halftime.

McKenzie Vires compelted a three point play for the Cubs to open the second half, but Bell City never pulled within 16 for the rest of the third. Miller put up 10 points in the third, while Lee continually pulled down defensive rebounds to give the 'Cats a commanding 74-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Miller knocked down another three at the 5:00 mark to give the 'Cats a 40 point lead. Jordan Fitts chippped in a trey on the next possession, while a pair of free throws from Matt Ridlen in the closing seconds of the contest put the final score at 90-47 in Dexter's favor.

The 'Cats had four players in double figures in the blowout win; Miller and Lee led the way with 21 and 20 respective points, while Potts added 15 and Young put in 11 points.

Yates and Vires led the Cubs with 17 and 11 points.

Dexter will move on to face the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 contest between Bloomfield and Puxico; the Bearcats sport regular-season wins over both teams.

Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 26) night.

Editor's Note: The Bearcats have seemed to put their early-season struggles at the free throw line out of their minds for the time being. The 'Cats have shown steady improvment over the last few games, including tonight's 10-of-14 effort from the stripe.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The 2012 SCAA Tournament is set to tip off tonight from the Bearcat Event Center.

There are only three games on the schedule tonight; in JV action, No. 4 Woodland and No. 5 Dexter open the tournament at 4:30 p.m.

Two Varsity games are on, with No. 3 Bernie taking on No. 6 Woodland at 6:00 p.m., and top-seeded Dexter taking on No. 8 Bell City at 7:30.

EASTON, Pa. - Lehigh used 19 second-half points by C.J. McCollum and a pair of key runs in the final 20 minutes to pull away to a 90-76 decision over Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center.

The first spurt Lehigh (15-6, 3-2) used to pull away began with McCollum's jumper at 14:19 to go ahead 52-49. Rob Delaney was whistled for contact with McCollum on a three-point attempt and the result was three made free throws from the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year. McCollum made 10-of-12 at the line on the afternoon. A turnover and two more McCollum freebies capped the 7-0 run and put Lehigh up eight (57-49) with 13:01 to play.

Four consecutive free throws from Ryan Willen, who scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half cut the deficit to 57-53 at 11:36. Willen hit 9-of-10 from the line. He was one of four players in double figures joined by Delaney (16), Dan Trist (13), and Jim Mower (11).

On the next trip down the floor, Corey Schaefer's triple off a screen from the top of the key was the first of two critical three's from the Lehigh freshman. The second came with 9:33 to play and extended Lehigh's lead to eight at 65-57. Delaney quickly answered on the other end with a straightaway three off the glass to pull Lafayette back within five.

A bucket from each team kept the game at five points, but Lehigh put the contest away by scoring 11 of the next 14 points. Holden Griener's transition dunk ignited the run and his two free throws ended it, making the score 78-65 with 4:47 to play.

Nick Petkovich's deep three cut it to 10 on Lafayette's next possession prior to the final media timeout, but the Leopards failed to get any closer over the final four minutes.

Lafayette led 39-37 at the break, but the team matched each other shot for shot through the first 20 minutes. Neither team led by more than five points in the first half. Trist turned in his best half of the year scoring a team-high 11 points on 5-of-6 from the floor while Delaney dropped in 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Lehigh was paced by eight first-half points from Greiner who had 12 on the afteroon.

Trailing 33-29 with 4:36 to play in the half, Lafayette used a 10-4 to end the session including five points from Trist during the stretch. His layup with 2:49 remaining made it a one-point game and then an old-fashioned three-point play tied the game at 37 with 1:36 showing before intermission.

For the game, both teams shot well. Lehigh hit 58 percent from the floor and 89 from the stripe while Lafayette managed 49 percent from the field and 88 percent from the line.

Lafayette (8-12, 3-2) returns to action on Wednesday at Colgate.

NOTES: Lafayette is 1-5 when four players score in double figures.

For a full breakdown of the game's stats, click here

JONESBORO - If you have ever wondered what it looks like to see full scale recruitment in action, the hallways and lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn was the place to see it in Jonesboro, Arkansas, this weekend.

Keeping a low profile, the coaches and media were all busy as the players filtered from rooms after a busy weekend of showcasing their talents in front of the A-State Red Wolves' coaching staff.  

From down the hallway in recruitment headquarters, guests at the hotel will hear a loud applause irrupt as one of the recruits makes his verbal intentions known to the Red Wolves' coaching staff.  The atmosphere in the room is electric as all members of the recruitment team are hard at work.

In visiting with James Bryant, media coordinator for Arkansas State Football, there is an entire new media performance that takes place with the recruitment process.  His reporting is crucial to the success of their own website, from helping to keep Red Wolves Nation and its fans informed to updating national media sources

It's all new for the Red Wolves heading into the 2012-2013 season, as the high expectations for the programs continued growth and success are on the deserving shoulders of Head Coach Gus Malzahn.  The anticipation continues to grow A-State fans everywhere.

FULTON - The William Woods University women's basketball team moved into second place in the AMC standings with a 76-62 win over Williams Baptist on Saturday. For the second time in as many games, a freshman led the way for the Owls, as Destani Stensrud (Exeter, Mo.) poured in a career-high 16 points on the afternoon, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the line.

It would take more than four minutes for WWU to find the mark in Saturday's contest, but Williams Baptist wasn't able to take advantage, with the biggest deficit for the Owls a 4-10 hole with 13:57 to go in the half.

With just over six minutes left in the half, Stensrud sparked a turnaround for the Owls, knocking down three straight jumpers in the paint for WWU before assisting on two of the Owls' next three buckets, turning a 15-20 deficit into a 28-22 lead with 2:34 in the half.

WWU would close out the half on a 19-6 run and take a 34-26 advantage into the locker room.

The Lady Eagles racked a three-pointer on the first possession out of the break to pull within five, but Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) answered with a bucket and a pair of free throw makes to push the lead out to nine. The Owls continued to pull away, extending the lead fo a 53-37 margin with 12:33 to go. Miranda Loesch (Lohman, Mo.) finished out the WWU push with strong play under the basket, as she picked up an offensive rebound on a Sharron Andrews effort and battled through traffic to get the putback on her second attempt.

Williams Baptist grabbed a timeout after the Loesch basket, and responded with a back-to-back treys to pull within a 53-43 margin with 11:10 to go, but Stensrud answered right back for WWU to keep the lead in double figures.

WWU would coast to the win, with only a consolation trey from Kim Sutterfield narrowing the final margin to 14 points.

The Owls move to 13-5 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. In addition to Stensrud's game-high 16, Loesch added 12 points and Andrews chipped in 11 for WWU. Loesch led a team rebounding effort for the Owls, pulling down seven as WWU held a 44-35 edge on the glass. WWU racked a .519 shooting pace on the afternoon, including a .556 clip in the second half, while holding WBC to .333 shooting.

William Woods is back in action on Monday night, welcoming in-town foe Westminster College to Anderson Arena. Tipoff for the game is set for 7 p.m.