By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The No. 5 Dexter Bearcats and No. 3 Puxico Indians kicked off the final day of the 2012 SCAA Tournament in a battle for the third-place trophy in the JV bracket. Despite keeping things close throughout the first half, a defensive resurgence in the second half by the Tribe was enough to take a 51-33 victory.

The Indians took a 4-0 lead with a Cory Pratt jumper at the 6:15 mark. Stevie Payne put Dexter's first points on the board with a 15 footer of his own on the next possession, and back-to-back threes from Nick Noble gave the 'Cats an 8-6 lead at the 3:43 mark. The game was tied at 10 with 2:00 left in the first when Pratt hit a three to spark a 7-0 run for Puxico. A pair of free throws from Devin Hampton cut Puxico's lead to 17-14 after the first quarter.

The Tribe allowed Dexter to tie the game midway through the second. After an agressive play at midcourt, Payne left the game after hitting his head on the floor. An offensive rebound and stickback from Jake Murdoch put Dexter down by two at the 1:30 mark; Payne re-entered the game, and came up with a pair of blocks in the last minute of the half. The Indians still held a 26-22 lead heading into halftime.

The Indians dropped in four points to open the third quarter, but Hampton knocked down a pair of free throws to bring hte score to 30-24 at the 4:35 mark. Horton knocked down another three, followed by a jumper from Noble to put the 'Cats down by one. Austin Rodgers hit a three for the Indians to push them to a 39-31 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

Puxico's defense played extremely well in the fourth quarter, and held the Bearcats to just two points. After a technical foul on Hampton late in the fourth, the Indians cruised to a 51-33 victory and third place in the JV bracket.

Ronnie Weagner led the Tribe with 14 points; Pratt and Tucker added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Hampton paced the Bearcats with eight points; Noble added seven, while Payne put in six.

The Championship games are set after an exciting third day of the 2012 SCAA Tournament.

Despite upset bids early, seeds held true in the JV brackets, with No. 2 Advance holding off a late surge from No. 3 Puxico and No. 1 Bernie blowing open what was a close game in the fourth quarter against No. 5 Dexter.

In Varsity action, No. 3 Bernie upset No. 2 Advance to move into the title game, and No. 1 Dexter rained threes on No. 4 Bloomfield to earn a shot at defending their title.

It is the third straight year that the Bearcats and Mules have met in the SCAA Tournament Finals.

If you click here

, you can download an updated version of the bracket.


Also, below are some of my best shots from Day Three - if you navigate over to the gallery page, you can buy prints, coffee mugs, posters, trading cards, etc.

See you at the games! -AC

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.