Written by
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri - It's Friday again and tonight many high school basketball teams will be traveling or hosting a game sure to draw in a crowd to many local gyms.
One of the games being played tonight will be the Dexter Bearcats, who are hosting the Kennett Indians.
The Kennett Indians are never competitors to be taken lightly, so the Dexter Bearcats are going to have their work cut out for them tonight.
Coming off a win Tuesday night against the Cubs, hopefully the Bearcats are back in their groove and can battle with the Indians for a victory.
The Bearcats will be in their own house, and hopefully will draw in a big crowd for tonight's game. With the cheerleaders cheering, the dance team dancing, and the players playing; there's always a reason to come out and support your hometown Bearcats!
Junior Varsity will kick things off against the Indians in the Bearcat Event Center at 6:00 P.M. with Varsity directly following.
The Lady Cats jumped out to an early 7 - 0 lead and never really looked back. Early baskets by Brittany Harris, Katelynn Frazier, Allison Jarrell and Erica Cobb pushed the Cats to a 19-10 first quarter lead. The Lady Cats had six different players score in the second quarter, including 4 points each from Hannah Noe and Mollie Whitehead and a basket by Paige Patterson that lead the Cats to the 45-22 halftime lead.
According to Coach Chad Allen the team discussed defense in the locker room at halftime and the Lady Cats took the discussion to heart, allowing only 5 fourth quarter points from the Lady Tigers.
Also, the girls continued their offensive domination with a 32 point third quarter which was highlighted by two 3-pointers from Erica Cobb. The fourth quarter featured a running "mercy' clock and the final 75-27 margin of victory.
The Dexter squad out rebounded Cape 39 to 14 on the night and dominated the inside game. They were lead in scoring by All Stater Brittany Harris with 19 points, followed by Allison Jarrell with 13, Paige Patterson with 12 Erica Cobb with 10 and Hannah Noe with 8. Patterson also had 12 rebounds and Harris had 11, with Mollie Whitehead contributing 7.
The JV Lady Cats moved to 9-0 on the season with a 34-22 victory over the younger Lady Tigers.
Both teams will be in action on Monday night as they travel to Poplar Bluff for a SEMO conference match-up with the Lady Mules. JV game time is 6 p.m. with the varsity game to follow.
Dexter, Missouri - The local high school basketball teams are well on their way as they prepare to soon end their season and attend Districts in just a number of weeks. Aside from the high school teams and players, there are also many local elementary schools that are participating in Little Dribblers where younger kids can learn the basics of basketball and fall in love with the sport as they do so. Dexter is a part of this program and has assembled their very own fifth grade basketball team.
This traveling team just got done competing in a tournament at Delta in late January, where they won first place after beating Delta twice and also taking a win from Campbell’s team. The final game at the Delta tournament was against the home team and it was a fight for the first place spot. The fifth grade team tied with Delta at 33 to 33 and won in overtime after scoring an extra two points, pulling the lead out from under Delta and taking home the first place trophy. Although none of the three games were easy wins, the Bearcats still made their way to the top and overcame their opponents.
The team has also won against Bernie and Cape Girardeau and has participated in the elementary basketball tournament at Bernie. The Little Dribblers Team from Dexter isn’t on a regular schedule like the high school, but they have had multiple tournaments and games throughout the past couple of weeks.
This team of ball players holds great potential and is lead by none other than Steve Wyman. To corral a group of nine fifth graders must be a lot of hard work, but Wyman has shown that the team is very skillful and can work well together. Aside from learning the basics of basketball and how to function as a team player, the boys have also had a lot of fun during their games and practices.
The fifth graders are supported by their families and have many other fans that attend their games. The competitions are both fun and exciting to watch, just like the other high school basketball games. It will be a thrilling opportunity to watch this group of boys continue to learn, grow, and play basketball throughout the next couple of years as they enter into middle school and high school.
We are looking forward to their upcoming games and tournaments after seeing their excellent victories over the past couple weeks of their season.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri – The DHS Bearcats traveled to Bell City to compete against the Cubs Tuesday evening. It was Senior Night for the Bell City Basketball Team.
There were four Bearcats in double digits last night. D.J. Dowdy #11 had a great game with 20 points including four field goals. Brad Potts #22 and Freshman Chandler Young #32 both scored 12 points, five baskets and two field goals for each of them. Nick Noble #4 had 11 points for the game including two 3-pointers.
The Bell City Cubs tried to hold off the Bearcats through most of the game. The first quarter was all Bearcats ending with a 21 – 13 lead; however the second quarter was much tighter on the points. The Cubs and Bearcats scored only 13 points more before the end of the first half. Half-time score Dexter 34, Bell City 26.
The Cubs did get some momentum in the second half, but not enough to close the gap and beat the Bearcats. Final score Dexter Bearcats 62, Bell City Cubs 51.
Dexter Bearcats Coach Rob Nichols commented, “I felt we played well early in the game getting out to a sizable lead; however I think we lost focus defensively near the end of the first half. We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight and I think that frustration led to some lapses defensively.”
The Bell City Cubs leading scorer was Jared Yates #5 and Aaron Smith #11. Both had 13 points against the Bearcats. Aaron Smith shot three great 3-pointers. Trey Grigel #12 followed them in double digits scoring 10 points for the Cubs.
“We are a team that has to compete every possession and value the ball offensively to give ourselves a chance,” continue Coach Nichols. “We have to give Bell City credit as I thought they played a very hard game on their Senior Night.”
The Dexter Bearcats will be in action again at the Bearcat Event Center on Friday, February 8th where they will take on the Kennett Indians. Game time 6:00 p.m.
Written by
Beth Farrar, SMT Writer
It was a great victory for the Richland Rebels on their home court as they played against the Kelly Hawks earlier tonight. The Rebels weren’t sure how this game would turn out due to the turn out of their last home game against the Risco Tigers, where they lost after a long winning record of home games. Tonight, the Rebels really redeemed themselves and proved that their hard work and dedication as both players and teammates has finally paid off.
The Rebel fans and the Rebel Rousers Pep Club were at the gym tonight all riled up and ready to watch a good game but they had no idea that it was going to be as good as it was. When the first quarter started, Richland got the tip off and scored five points in a row with ease due to free throws. The Kelly Hawks had a problem with getting their hands on the ball for more than a couple seconds. The Rebels received multiple free throws throughout the game due to the Hawks fouling.
Senior Nick Daniels and his teammate senior Richard Forshee both made each of their free throws and played a major part in the Rebels’ defense. Sophomore Marcus Grayson ran offense for the Rebels and scored multiple times by tossing up layups. Forshee caught nearly every rebound the Hawks tried to make. For the majority of the quarter, the Hawks didn’t have any points at all, but when time ran out, the quarter ended with a score of 21 to 8.
During the second quarter, the Rebels established a twenty point lead due to many more fouls called on the Hawks, giving the Rebels a chance to sink more free throws. Forshee, Daniels, and Grayson all had a number of points throughout the quarter and were in perfect harmony while passing to each other and their teammates. The twenty point lead that was made during this quarter was kept throughout the rest of the night. Junior Adam Lane was put into the game and was a strong defensive player as the Hawks attempted to catch up with the home team. When the buzzer went off for half time, the score of the second quarter was 46 to 22 with the Rebels still in the lead.
During halftime, the Rebel Pep Band played a couple of new songs that they have been practicing in band class. The crowd loved their performance and enjoyed the variety of different types of music, including the original classic song: Go Big Red. The other songs that were performed include: Dixie, Chameleon, Fifth of Beethoven, and Hot Hot Hot.
As the game continued, the third quarter seemed to bring troubles for both teams. The harmonic passing and the rhythm of the ball seemed to change and players in both jerseys were missing the ball or passing to the other team. The Rebels seemed to stop playing their defense and tried to switch over to offense, leaving the Kelly players wide open and allowing them to shoot three pointers with ease. The Rebels still had multiple free throws and kept the lead, turning the twenty point lead into a thirty point lead by the end of the third quarter with a score of 65 to 37.
During the final quarter, the Kelly Hawks could not catch up to the Rebels as the Rebels began to score like they had in the first half of the game. Senior Jesse Barnes had multiple blocks that had the crowd cheering as Forshee got the rebound and tossed the ball to Grayson, who went in for another layup. The Rebels got back on their feet and started playing with a stronger defense that wouldn’t let the Hawks even attempt to score. During the fourth quarter, the Hawks only scored two points with a final score of 79 to 39 with the Rebels taking home the win.
