By Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor

It was an exciting night as “part two” of the Stoddard County Tournament began at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter.

The evening featured two junior varsity and two varsity matchups on the hard court, and fans in the stands enjoying the local basketball action.

This is the first year the county basketball tradition has taken place in the new Bearcat Event Center in Dexter. After years of great county basketball action hosted in Bloomfield, the tournament will now move between the two field houses in a rotation.

Dexter students and staff were busy throughout the BEC with the tasks that create a successful tournament – working the gates, hosting the Hospitality Room, staffing the Concession Booth, selling tournament t-shirts and more.

And fans from throughout the region flock to the BEC, ready for tournament action. In addition to the teams on the basketball court, cheer teams have also been engaged in a county competition this week. Winners – the winning cheer squad and the All-County Cheer Team – will be announced at the Tournament Championship presentations at the conclusion of tournament play Friday night.

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By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Bearcats put their No. 1 seed and undefeated SCAA record on the line Thursday night against the No. 4 Bloomfield Wildcats. Dexter utilized excellent perimiter shooting and a much-improved effort from the charity stripe to get a 71-59 victory and the right to defend their SCAA Title.

"We played pretty good offensively; we didn't have a lot of turnovers, and we shot the ball pretty well," head coach Rob Nichols said after the game. "We need to play better defensively. I didn't think we played really well defensively tonight, and that's been something we've done the last few games. We just haven't guarded well lately."

After a 4-0 Bloomfield run to start the game, Chase Young hit a three to wake up the Bearcat offense, and DHS took a 15-12 advantage into the second quarter.

Tyler Miller and Young combined for five threes in the second quarter, coupled with a seven point effort from Jake Lee, to extend their lead to 10 at halftime.

"[Bloomfield] went to that zone on us, and we've played well against the zone this year," Nichols said. "Every time we've seen it, we've shot the ball well. Tyler hit three big threes in the second quarter, and that really got us some momentum heading into the second half."

Both teams played better defense in the third quarter, but struggled offensively. Neither Dexter or Bloomfield could really put togeter any consistent offense, but the Bearcats were able to keep their lead intact. DHS led 50-39 heading into the fourth.

The Wildcats put on a three point parade of their own in the fourth, with Caleb Baker hitting one and Logan Cowart knocking down two. Young hit his fourth three of the night for the Bearcats, and great free throw shooting from none other than Lee (7-9 in the fourth) sealed the Bearcat victory.

Adam Vandiver led the Wildcats with 16 points; Brett Ruch, Zach Pounds, and Cowart had 13, 12, and 11 respecive points.

The Bearcats were paced by Lee, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds. Young and Miller added 17 and 15 points.

"Jake just plays hard," Nichols said of the senior's second double-double in the tournament. "He gets everything out of his body he can get, I've been real proud of him this year."

Lee had struggled from the charity strip so far this season, but has shown great improvement as of late.

"He can make free throws," Nichols added he shot well last year, and he's getting better this year. I think collectively we've been better as a team lately."

The Wildcats will face Advance in the third place matchup; tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Bearcats will return to the Championship Game, where the look to defend their SCAA Title against the Bernie Mules.

"We expect a tough, hard-fought game; you always have to play well to beat those guys," Nichols said. "Botsch always has a great game plan. We'll have to play well. It's probably the game that most people wanted to see."

The Mules and Bearcats met exactly 14 days ago at the Bearcat Event Center on Dexter's homecoming; the 'Cats emerged with a 68-61 win.

Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The No. 3 Bernie Mules and No. 2 Advance Hornets met in first Varsity semifinal contest of the day; Advance had a single-digit victory over Bernie earlier in the season, but the Mules were able to pull off the only Varsity bracket upset of the tournament with a 62-54 victory over the Hornets.

“I’m really proud of our guys for their outstanding effort tonight. Other than shooting free throws, we played pretty well," Bernie head coach Brad Botsch said after the game. " I thought we really battled a very good Advance team. They have a lot of weapons with so many guys that can score."

Lane Below and Ethan Barr were the only Hornets to find the basekt in the first quarter; Barr's ten point effort, coupled with solid defense on Matt Eaves, was enough to get Advance a 17-15 lead after the first.

Both squads traded buckets early in the second quarter, but a three from Below gave the Hornets a one point lead. David Baker exploded for 10 points in the frame, including an offensive board and putback to give the Mules a 29-28 lead heading into halftime.

Trey Wallace buried a three for the Hornets in the opening minute of the second half to help Advance surge to a 38-35 lead. A jumper from Sam Turner tied the game at 38 with just over a minute left, but Below came up with a steal and layup to give the Hornets a two point lead. Bernie rattled off four unanswered to take a 42-40 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Neither team could put together a solid run in the fourth; they exchanged four-to-five point runs until the last minute of the contest, when Tyler Middleton dropped in a bucket to bring the Hornets within four points. The Mules maintained their composure, and a key pair of free throws from Baker sealed the 62-54 victory.

"We did a much better job this time around against them offensively. We had so much more movement and executed better than we have been," Botch said. " It was a good fundamental defensive effort as well. Even with us missing so many free throws (the Mules were just 14-28 in the game), our guys still found a way to scratch out a win and advance to the championship game and we’re proud of them for that.”

Below led Advance with 23 points; Barr was the only other Hornet in double figures, with 14 points and eight boards.

Baker and Eaves led the Mules with 22 and 16 respective points.

Bernie advances to the Varsity Championship with the win; the game is set to tip at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Advance will compete for third place at 5:30 p.m.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

With one team already in the JV finals, the No. 5 Dexter Bearcats looked to upset the No. 1 Bernie Mules and defend their 2011 JV Title. When the two teams met earlier in January, the Mules blew out the Bearcats on their home floor in a 48-17 decision.

Despite leading by only four points heading into the fourth quarter, the Mules were able to stave off Dexter's upset bit and take a 55-43 victory.

The Mules jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. Myles Urhan headed back to the bench after picking up his second foul at the 4:10 mark, and Austin Aldridge knocked down a free throw for Dexter's first points of the night at 3:50. A trey from Blake Horton tied the game with 2:35 left in the frist, and a 15-footer from Stevie Payne brought the score to 10-8 in Bernie's favor at the end of the first.

Nick Noble knocked down a three to give the 'Cats the lead 20 seconds into the second, and the teams traded buckets for the entire frame. Urhan picked up his third foul and again found himself on the bench, and a late three from Aldridge gave the 'Cats a one-point lead. The Mules were able to get a quick bucket as time expired to take a 21-20 lead into halftime.

Troy Kirkpatrick knocked down a three for the Mules to open the second half, but was answered by Aldridge. B.J. Jennings hit a trey to give the Mules a three-point lead at the 1:55 mark, and Justin Stanfield layup gave Bernie a 39-35 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.

A Noble three got the 'Cats within four at the 3:34 mark, but it was as close as Dexter got to a win; the Mules iced the game by hitting 11 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter and took a 55-43 victory to advance to the JV SCAA Title game.

Jennings led the Mules with 19 points, while Kirkpatrick added 13.

Payne paced the 'Cats with 14; Noble and Aldridge added 11 and 10, respectively.

Bernie will move on to face the Advance Hornets in the Championship game at 7:00 p.m.; the Bearcats will battle Puxico for third place at 4:00 p.m.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The No. 2 Advance Hornets and No. 3 Puxico Indians kicked off the JV bracket Semifinals at the 2012 SCAA Tournament. The Hornets took control of the contest early, and despite surges by the Tribe in the second and fourth quarters, advanced to the Championship game with a 63-49 final score.

The Hornets opened up a 14-2 run (eight unanswered) to open the contest. Ronnie Weagner dropped in a bucket for the Indians at the 2:03 mark, and Zach Tucker came up with a steal and bucket to bring the score to 14-4 with just over a minute left in the first, but the Hornets held a 16-6 lead heading into the second quarter.

The contest got incredibly physical in the paint during the second quarter; Tucker showed great post moves throughout, and earned four hard-fought points for the Indians because of it. The Indians defense sprung to life late in the frame, and they cut Advance's lead to 26-22 at halftime.

Zane Eggilmann knocked down a three for the Hornets to open the second half; a five point effort from Eli Seger helped Advance build back to the 10 point lead that they carried through the end of the third quarter.

The Indians battled back within five points at the 4:04 mark of the fourth quarter, thanks to a three from Seth Luttrell and a six point effort from Tucker, but the Hornets pushed back to their double digit lead. Advance took the victory with a 63-49 final score.

Ben Trout led the Hornets with 16 points; Eggilmann added 12, while Dalton Wilson and Seger both had 11.

The Tribe was led by Tucker with 16 points; Cory Pratt and Weagner added eight apeice.

Advance will move on to the JV Finals, played at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Indians will be in the third-place game, which tips at 4:00 p.m.