Bloomfield, Missouri – The Dexter Bearcats won in overtime ending the Woodland Cardinals quest for the SCAA Championship. Dexter and Woodland tied several times throughout the evening, but it was the Bearcats who came out victorious by a score of 72-65.
Garret Reynolds gave the Cards a 58-55 lead just under two minutes left in regulation. Ethan Flowers hit a 3-pointer to tie things up at 58-58 for the Bearcats.
“Ethan Flowers talks a lot about a shot he missed in the same tournament last year at the buzzer,” Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. “He did not quit practicing since. Tonight, he hit a clutch shot to help send us to overtime. Then Jarrell, Chesser, and Pedigo grinded out a big stop.”
The Bearcats made the best of their free throws in overtime. They shot 14 of the 16 free throws they attempted. Woodland hit a couple of three-pointers to cut the deficit, but Jarrell got us several points behind the charity stripe to seal the deal.
“We have been an outstanding free throw team all year long,” Dowdy stated. “We are shooting around 70% and I think we eclipsed that mark tonight. It was definitely the difference in the game.”
Jason Jarrell finished with a game-high 26 points.
“That was awesome,” Dowdy exclaimed about Jarrell finishing with 26 points. “Jason took over. He’s a kid that comes in at 7:00 a.m. in the morning with Coach Williamson and you love to see that kind of a kid perform in big games. He puts in the time and deserved that.”
Ethan Flowers recorded 14 points including three 3-pointers.
Jacob Pedigo and Austin Chesser both added 12 points each with Pedigo hitting one trey.
“They really had to chase us around a bit tonight. I was trying to spread them out,” continued Dowdy. “I knew they had some big kids and I wanted them to come and guard our guards. They did and actually forced turnovers off of traps, but we did just enough to hold on and win the game by making those free throws down the stretch.”
Dexter will meet Bernie at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night in the 2015 SCAA Tournament championship game.
Final Score in Overtime: Dexter 72, Woodland 65
Dexter 13 13 19 13 14 - 72
Woodland 13 11 13 21 7 - 65
Dexter (72) – Noah Kronk 2, Jason Jarrell 26, Peyton Pollock 6, Jacob Pedigo 12, Austin Chesser 12, Ethan Flowers 14. FG 22, FT 24/31, F 14. (3-pointers: Pedigo 1, Flowers 3, Fouled Out: None).
Woodland (65) – Garret Reynolds 20, Cole Schlief 7, Zach Bell 20, devon Gramlisch 3, Micahel McCormick 15. FG 26, FT 5/8, F 24. (3-pointers: Reynolds 3, McCormick 3, Schlief 1. Fouled Out: Reynolds, Bell)
