C4D1 BKB: Dexter holds off Kennett after late, furious Indian rally

STE. GENEVIEVE – For 28-plus minutes of its MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 boy’s basketball game against Dexter on Thursday, Kennett struggled at both ends of the court.

However, the game was 32 minutes in length, and the Indians played with reckless abandon late, before falling 52-48 at Ste. Genevieve High School.

The Bearcats (9-17) methodically pulled away over the second and third periods, as they built up a 36-21 margin early in the final period.

“We needed to hit some shots,” first-year Kennett coach Fred Garmon said of his team’s early struggles, particularly offensively. “It’s been that way for a while this year. We’ll go on droughts of scoring and our defense takes a hit.”

The Indians (6-20) had just 12 points at halftime, as they were limited by the Dexter defense to five first-half baskets.

“I thought we did a good job of keeping them from penetrating to the rim,” veteran Dexter coach Chad Allen said following the win. “That is what you have to do against Kennett because if they get you spread out, they are going to get to the rim and score easy.”

That is precisely what Bearcat sophomore guard John Sepulvado was doing with frequency, as he tallied 12 of his team-leading 19 points through three quarters, many on athletic drives to the rim.

Dexter was still in control late when Garmon was forced to start pressing the Bearcats defensively and jacking up 3-pointers to try and get back into the game.

With less than two minutes remaining, Indian sophomore Tyquavious Jones buried a corner 3-pointer to pull his team to within 48-39.

The Kennett pressure turned Dexter over in the backcourt and freshman guard Kade Anderson sunk a 3-pointer for a 48-42 margin with 1:10 on the clock, and for the first time since early in the second quarter, we had a ball game.

“We found a way in the fourth quarter to put together some stops,” Garmon said, “and we hit some big buckets when we absolutely needed it.”

Kennett wasn’t finished, however, neither was Dexter.

The Bearcats hit a lay-in for a 50-42 score, but Anderson connected on another 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and Kennett trailed just 51-45.

The Bearcats added a free throw for a 52-45 score with 17 seconds left before Kennett senior Ashton Williams hit a 3-pointer to cut his team’s deficit to 52-48.

Dexter missed a couple of free throws and Kennett had a 3-pointer go all the way down and back out, as the Bearcats were able to survive and advance.

“I thought Fred did a really good job coaching and had his team ready for this game,” Allen said. “I thought they did a great job, especially there late in the game.”

In all, Kennett hit 11 3-pointers in the game, with eight of them coming in the final quarter.

Williams hit five 3-pointers (four in the final quarter) to score 15 points, which was matched by sophomore Ashton Dismukes.

Anderson tallied nine points on three long shots.

Dexter got 11 points from senior center Ethan Zebelin and 10 points from sophomore forward Devin Turnbo.

The Bearcats will face host and top-seed Ste. Genevieve for the District championship on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Dragons (12-15) topped Fredericktown to move on to the title game.

Dexter is the defending champion in the District.