C4S1 Boy's: Massive 2H run by Central (Park Hills) dooms Dexter

FARMINGTON – Midway through the third quarter of its MSHSAA Class 4 Sectional 1 boy’s basketball game against Central (Park Hills) on Monday at the Farmington Civic Center, things were looking spectacularly good for Dexter.

The Bearcats had turned a slow start into a roaring second quarter, of which the momentum had carried over into the opening minutes of the third quarter.

Dexter led the Rebels 36-26, which resulted in Central (Park Hills) calling a timeout and trying to figure out how to stem its bleeding.

The 60-second interruption changed the entire evening.

The Rebels stormed out of that break and proceeded to close the third quarter on a 15-5 run, the final three points coming on a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Moments later, it was Dexter, which was wounded and would never recover, as Central (Park Hills) stunningly won the game 73-53.

“Park Hills definitely turned it up defensively,” Bearcat coach Chad Allen said following the loss. “We had some costly turnovers, but I am proud of our guys. They kept on fighting and scrapping.”

The Rebels hit not only that late 3-pointer in the third quarter, but another, and another, and then got an ‘and one’ off grabbing three consecutive offensive boards, which capped a 28-7 tear midway through the final quarter.

When the Dexter coaches got a pair of technical fouls with just over four minutes remaining, the Rebels led 58-43 and this game was decided.

“In a way,” Allen said, “they sort of got us out of our offense. When we were running our offense, we were getting good looks.

“We just got spread out.”

Central (Park Hills) outscored Dexter (20-9) 17-11 in the third period before exploding for 32 points in the final eight minutes, as it shot 17 free throws and hit 16 of them.

“The guys,” Allen said, “they played hard all game. I feel for them. They wanted this game badly, but it is what it is.

“Park Hills did a great job in the second half.”

Dexter was once again led by senior guard Cole Nichols, who closed his career with 28 points and will go down in Bearcat lore as the program’s all-time leading scorer.

“The memories,” Nichols said of reflecting on his career. “We’ve played together since the third grade. I would have never thought we would be playing in a sectional game in the third grade.”

The Bearcats, which feature seven seniors (Nichols, Peyton Boles, Truman Krapf, Chris Stone, Clayton Bell, Logan Josupait, and Brayden Pullum), won 20 games for just the third time in 15-plus years and closed their careers with three championships this season.

Dexter won the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, the Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament, as well as the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 title, which was the Bearcats’ first since before those seniors were even born (2004).

“Losing those seven guys,” Allen said, “they worked hard, and not just since their freshman year. (Bearcat assistant coach Rob Nichols) has worked with those guys since they were little and a lot of their success is attributed to him.

“But yeah, it was a thrill to coach them.”

Pullum finished with 12 points, while Stone (four), Krapf (three), Bell (two), Boles (two), and Josupait (two) also contributed.