
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Bernie, Missouri - The Mules played Bell City Friday evening and defeated the Cubs 95 - 27. They played Scott City on Saturday night an added yet another win. The Bernie Mules continue to be a powerhouse in basketball and improved their record to 7 - 0 and 2-0 in the District.
Senior player B.J. Jennings had an awesome game hitting five 3-pointers and tallying a game-high 25 points. Several of the Mules were able to score including Caleb Ellenburg who added 20 points to the board.
Jake Wagner also hit double digits for the Mules adding 10 points including a couple of 3-pointers along with Joey Walker and Devin Trammell who tallied 9 points each.
Matt Vernon and Justin Stanfield each added a trey for the Mules.
Bernie was able to score double digits in each of the four quarters holding Bell City to a game high quarter of 11 points. The Mules led the first quarter 24 - 4 and at the half it was all Mule power 48 - 10.
“Our kids had great effort and intensity tonight and we shot the ball better than we have been," stated head basketball coach Brad Botsch. "We want to keep working to improve, but I really like what I see and our heads seem to be in the right place.”
Final Score: Bernie Mules 95 - Bell City Cubs 27
Bell City 4 6 11 6 - 27
Bernie 24 24 29 18 - 95
Bell City (27) - Nate Finney 4, Kolten Siebert 8, Aaron Smith 4, Cole Nichols 5, Bobby Wright 2, Peyton Maddox 4. FG 9, FT 8/12, F 14. (3-pointers: Siebert 1. Fouled out: none)
Bernie (95) - Matt Vernon 3, Jake Wagner 10, Brandon Sparks 4, B.J. Jennings 25, Justin Stanfield 5, J.R. Pregel 2, Bubby Schwent 6, Devin Trammell 9, Joey Walker 9, Caleb Ellenburg 20, Gavin Smith 2. FG 38, FT 10/13, F 16. (3-pointers: Vernon 1, Wagner 2, Jennings 5, Stanfield 1. Fouled out: none)
Bernie will be back in action on Thursday, December 26th when they enter the 57th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. Game time is 12:30 p.m. Bernie is the #3 seed and will be playing #14 seed Puxico.

Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Ethan Flowers scored a game-high 25 points including five of Dexter's six treys. He is a remarkable player and only a sophomore.
D.J. Dowdy hit a 3-pointer and racked up a total of 13 points for the Bearcats.
Head Coach Rob Nichols said of the upcoming tournament, "We have to get the ball on rebounds and improve our scoring ability. That's really our two main concerns right now."
Final Score: Dexter Bearcats 68 - Richland Rebels 37
Dexter 20 12 15 21 - 68
Richland 7 11 7 11 - 37
Dexter Bearcats (68) - Blake Horton 4, Noah Kronk 9, D.J. Dowdy 13, Peyton Pollock 3, Ethan Flowers 25, Chandler Young 8, Cole Renken 6. FG 26, FT 10/13, F 16. (3-pointers: Flowers 5, Dowdy 1. Fouled out: none)
Richland Rebels (37) - Skyler Harper 5, Adam Lane 4, Josh Thornton 5, Marcus Grayson 20, Preston Tilley 2, Jacob Gonzales 1. FG 11, FT 12/19, F 15. (3-pointers: Grayson 3. Fouled out: Tristan Montgomery)
The Dexter junior varsity improved their record to 4 - 3 with a 53-39 win over the JV Rebels. Jacob Pedigo recorded a game-high 30 points for the Bearcats.Final Score: Dexter JV Bearcats 53 - Richland JV Rebels 39
Dexter Bearcats 15 10 13 15 - 53
Richland Rebels 5 10 10 14 - 39
Dexter (53) - Jordan Wood 3, Jason Jarrell 10, Jacob Pedigo 30, Tyler Heil 2, Alex Whitehead 2, Addison Moore 6. FG 19, FT 12/19, F 16. (3-pointers: Wood 1, Jarrell 1, Pedigo 1. Fouled out: none)
Richland (39) - Josh Thornton 13, Devin Stoker 7, Jerry Craft 19. FG 14, FT 10/16, F 18. (3-pointers: Stoker 1. Fouled out: none)
The varsity Bearcats will be back in action after Christmas when they play in the 57th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. They are seeded #7 and will play #10 seeded Portageville on Thursday, December 26th at 6:30 p.m. Bloomfield gym.
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter rallied to double digits in each of the first three quarters against Malden. The Green Wave were held scoreless in the 2nd.
Dexter lead at half-time 71 - 4. All of the Bearcats were given an opportunity to play in the second half allowing only 7 points by Malden.
Hannah Noe #10 scored a game-high 25 points against the Green Wave shooting 100% on the court. She also hit one 3-pointer.
Three other Bearcats performed in double digits. Paige Patterson #22 tallied 16 points including 8 free throws. Alison Jarrell #12 and Erika Cobb #15 each contributed 15 points to the board. Jarrell sank three treys for the Bearcats. Dakota Reynolds #1 sank a trey along with Cobb.
Final Score Dexter Bearcats 97 - Malden Green Wave 11
Malden 4 0 3 4 11
Dexter 34 37 19 7 97
Malden (11) - Stone 3, Wade 2, Carlock 4, Gates 2 FG 4, FT 2/7, (3-pointers Stone 1)
Dexter (97) - Reynolds 5, Noe 25, McKuin 8, Jarrell 15, Cobb 15, Patterson 16, Mosby 6, Waldner 6 FG 44, FT 3/7 (3-pointers Reynolds 1, Noe 1, Jarrell 3, Cobb 1)
The Lady 'Cats will be back in action on Monday to continue competing in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic. Game time is 3:00 p.m.


Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter started out slow, but quickly moved the tempo and began scoring and scoring and scoring throughout the night! The Bearcats scored 28 points in each of the first 3 quarters and held the Eagles to only five points in the second half.
"I didn't think we really started out that well," commented Dexter's head coach Chad Allen. "We missed a few of the shots early and I didn't think we really guarded well in the beginning of the game, but once we settled in I thought the girls played really well."
Dakota Reynolds had a game-high 20 points followed by Paige Patterson with 19 points. Dakota sunk four 3-pointers against the Eagles.
"Dakota Reynolds can definitely score," Allen stated. "That's one thing we do really well as a team. All seven of our varsity players can score on any given night. She did well tonight."
Three other Bearcats scored in double digits. Erika Cobb tallied 16 points and Hannah Noe finished with 17 points. Alison Jarrell hit three treys for Dexter and ended with 11 points.
The JV Bearcats also played, but just two quarters and defeated the NMCC JV Eagles by a score of 21-20. Photos are available on our Facebook page, just click HERE.
Dexter now 6 - 0 on the season returns on Saturday to begin the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Classic against Malden. Game time is 9:00 a.m.
Allen commented about the upcoming tournament, "We just need to be focused and ready for anything."
Final Score Dexter Bearcats 96 NMCC Eagles 21
Dexter 28 28 28 12 96
NMCC 9 7 1 4 21
Dexter (96) - Dakota Reynolds 20, Paige Patterson 19, Hannah Noe 17, Erika Cobb 16, Alison Jarrell 11, Melanie McKuin 3, Sydney Rogers 2, Cheyenne Mosby 2, MaKayla Waldner 2, Olivia Sitzes 2, Cidney Gathings 2. FG 41, FT 6/8, F 14, (3-pointers: Reynolds 4, Jarrell 3, McKuin 1)
NMCC (21) - Rashauda Summers 12, Whitney Williams 2, Erica Palmer 1, Chelsea Sylvester 1, Amirah Ruff 2, Octavia Smith 3. FG 8, FT 5/14, F 9. (3-pointers - none)


Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
The Royals scored first and never looked back as they defeated Dexter 53 – 25. Dexter hasn’t had much of an opportunity to play this year as weather hampered their schedule early on. This was only their second game of the season adding another loss. Their first opponents were the Charleston Bluejays.
The Bearcats were able to hold them to a 29 - 10 lead at half-time. Twin Rivers was very consistent hitting in double digits in all four periods. "Rebounding was definitely a big factor," continued Nichols. "In the first half, Twin Rivers wasn't making the first shot, it was the second and third shot that they got each possession. They were much more physical than us and just pursued the ball more aggressively off the rim Rebounding was a concern for us coming into the season."
"In the second quarter, we had some foul trouble that plagued us. We missed some shots that we felt like we had to make, but I thought Twin Rivers guarded us well." stated head basketball coach Rob Nichols. "You have to credit them for contesting shots and forcing some turnovers during that stretch."
Peyton Pollock #12 scored a game-high 8 points including one 3-pointer. Ethan Flowers #24 tallied 7 points for the Bearcats include a trey. Both Cole Renken #33 and Blake Horton #3 scored 4 points each and D.J. Dowdy added 2 points.
"Right now, we are going to have to focus on being more team oriented offensively." continued Nichols. "I feel like we are very impatient and have poor shot selection at this point. We're having trouble passing and catching the ball cleanly right now as well which I think can be attributed to our impatience also. Just not a lot of chemistry offensively for us right now."
Final Score Dexter Bearcats 25 – Twin Rivers Royals 53
Twin Rivers Royals 12 17 13 11 53
Dexter Bearcats 6 4 8 7 25
Twin Rivers (53) - Eric Ray 16, Nathan Watson 6, ,Jase Worley 5, Zach Underberg 4, Mason Douglas 6, Andrew Mittlestadt 7, Seth Snider 4, Jesse Robards 3, Chance Wilkerson 2. FG 20, FT 8/10, F 13. (3-pointers: Underberg 1, Douglas 2, Worley 1, Robards 1. Fouled out: none)
Dexter (25) - Peyton Pollock 8, Ethan Flowers 7, Blake Horton 4, Cole Renken 4, D.J. Dowdy 2, FG 9, FT 5/8, F 10. (3-pointers: Pollock 1, Flowers 1. Fouled out: none)
Nichols went on to say, "We are playing some young players, so you have to believe that there will be improvement that comes with experience. Our chemistry offensively and rebounding is something that has to improve for us to compete on a nightly basis."
The Dexter Bearcats will be back in action on Tuesday, December 17th traveling to Jackson, Missouri. Game time is 6:00 p.m.