By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The game was a rematch of the DHS homecoming two weeks prior; the Mules and Bearcats at the Bearcat Event Center in front of an energetic, capacity crowd.

The only real difference between the two contests was the stakes - part deux was for the 2012 SCAA Championship.

The Bearcats already held a 69-61 victory over the Mules; they concluded the season sweep of their 'next town over' rivals with a 54-40 victory for Dexter's second-straight SCAA Title.

"We jumped out early; I fully expected them to make that run and it be tight at the end. It's been a while since Dexter and Bernie played a game that didn't come down to the wire," Dexter head coach Rob Nichols said. "We were expecting that run, and luckily we were able to maintain that lead."

"I've watched several tapes on [Bernie], and it's always seemed like if you run them man-to-man, they run such good sets on offense that they'll still make shots," Nichols continued. "We tried to stay in a match-up zone and true zone and really tried to make them play and not use sets to score."

Nichols was also quick to compliment the Mules' effort in the scrappy contest.


"There were a lot of loose balls, and our kids were just getting after it. I thought early in the game they scrapped and got those loose balls to set us up for some transition baskets," he said. "Bernie is a great defensive team, and it's not easy to get baskets on those guys by any means."

The Bearcats jumped out to a 13-8 lead after the first quarter, and used a six point second quarter effort from Jake Lee to carry a 28-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Mules got within nine points at the end of the third quarter, but just couldn't keep up with Dexter in the fourth; five more points from Lee and solid defense helped keep the Bearcat lead intact to the final buzzer.

“We really struggled offensively in every aspect tonight. Dexter really had their way with us and we didn’t fight back much at times," Bernie head coach Brad Botsch said. "We really have to play smart basketball to compete with a good team and win, and tonight, we were really careless with the ball. Dexter really put it on us and was in complete control all night."

The Bearcats were led by senior Jake Lee with 16 points and 14 boards; the 6'3" post ended the tournament with double-doubles in all three games.

"Jake...sick, tired, hurt, whatever, he'll always come out and give you 110 percent of what's in his body," Nichols said. " I'm proud of him every game because of how hard he plays; he gets everything out of his body he can get. I'm glad to have him on the team."

The Bearcats were well-represented on the All-Tournament team, with Lee, Tyler Miller, and Chase Young all recieving the honor.

"I was glad to see Chase make the All-Tournament team; that told me people were actually watching the games this week, because he had three excellent games," Nichols commented.

David Baker and Bubby Schwent paced the Mules with 11 points apiece; Sam Turner added 10 points in the loss.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Junior Varsity champoinship game featured the top two teams in the bracket - the No. 1 Bernie Mules and the No. 2 Advance Hornets. Bernie remained perfect on the season after handing the Hornets an embarassing 51-14 loss in front of a capacity crowd at the Bearcat Event Center.

Bernie's potent offense hit six threes in the contest, and held a massive 42-5 lead heading into halftime.

The Mules slowed down in the second half, and despite putting up just one point in the fourth quarter, took a 51-14 victory for the JV Championship.

The Mules had four in double-figures; Caleb Ellenburg dropped 12 points, Matt Vermon and Justin Stanfield added 11 apiece, and Troy Kirkpatrick added 10 points.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The No. 2 Advance Hornets and No. 4 Bloomfield Wildcats took the courts to determine who was the third-best Varsity squad in the 2012 SCAA Tournament. The Hornets had a nine point lead at the half, but ultimately the game came down to a buzzer-beater.

The Hornets opened the game with three consecutive three pointers from Tyler Middleton. Ethan Barr came up with a block on Tommy Forkum to set up a Lane Below three point play and give the Hornets a 14-4 lead at the 2:16 mark. Logan Cowart answered with a three for the Wildcats, and Caleb Baker found nothing but net on a half-court shot at the buzzer to bring the score to 19-12 in Advance's favor.

Both squads traded buckets early in the second quarter. The Hornets got a spark from Aaron Veale, who stuck back an offensive board at the 4:53 mark to bring the score to 30-18. Cowart knocked down another trey to cut Advance's lead to nine heading into halftime.

The Hornets led by as much as 10 points in the third quarter, but another Cowart three and six boards from Adam Vandiver were engouth to put the 'Cats within four heading into the fourth quarter.

Vandiver knocked down a pair of free throws at the 6:30 mark to tie the game at 43, and both teams resumed 'trading punches' for most of the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws from Cowart got the Wildcats within one at the 1:48 mark, and a layup from Vandiver tied the game at 54 with just under a minute to play. The Hornets ran the clock down to :08 and called a time-out; on the next play, Lane Below put up a jumper from the elbow as the buzzer went off.

It was good for a 56-54 Hornet victory.

Vandiver led the Wildcats with 16 points. Cowart had 14 points, while Zach Pounds netted 11.

Middleton led the Hornets with 16 points, 15 of which came from shots beyond the arc. Below was a close second with 14 points, but his 15-footer at the buzzer will be what's remebered from the most entertaining game of the 2012 SCAA Tournament.

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