Cape Central downs Dexter 72-36

Cape Central defeated Dexter Friday evening at the Bearcat Event Center 72-36. The Bearcats hung with Cape Central early. Dexter coach Chad Allen said after the game he was proud of his team's effort and the way they hung in with the Tigers.

“Like I told the guys in the locker room, I was proud of them how we came out and started the game. We came out and definitely played with them for about a quarter and a half,” said Allen. “They are just an extremely good team. Definitely top two in our whole area, very super athletic. They are a tough team to play against.”

Both teams had a slow start as neither team could get a shot to fall in the in and opening minutes. Dexter struck first when Tucker Temples drained a three to give the Bearcats a 3-0 lead. Tyson Williams and TySeanDre' Edwards each answered with a bucket to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. Eathan Zabelin hit a free throw to tie the game and Gibson Booker hit a trey to give Dexter a 7-4 lead.

Williams hit another bucket for the Tigers to make it 7-6. Edwards then dunked the ball on a break away but was called for a technical for hanging on the rim. Temples hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 8.

The Tigers then closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter. Cape Central stretched the lead to 19-8. Temples hit a trey to trim the lead to 19-11. Dexter continued to fight but the last half of the second quarter the Tigers started taking control.

An 13-2 run quickly stretched the lead to 32-13. The Tigers built a 42-19 lead by halftime and cruised in the second half to a 72-36 win.

Allen spoke about his team continuing to improve and the importance of the game coming up with the Stoddard County Tournament just a little over two weeks away.

“I thought our guys got better today, which is what we are looking to do throughout the course of this year,” said Allen. “We just want to try and get better each game throughout the course of the year. So again I was proud of our guys.”

“We want to try to take one game at a time and like I said just keep getting better every game.” Allen continued. “We have got the county tournament coming up and these games coming up will be crucial for our seeding and hopefully we can play well.”

Jaydon Reynolds led the Tigers with 19 points, Williams had 14, Marquel Murry had 13, Edwards 12, Matayo Rivers 7, Goliath Morris-Young 4 and Maxwell Vogel 3.

Eathan Zebelin lead the Bearcats with 12 points, Tucker Temples had 9, Gibson Booker 8, Nate Harris 4, Hunter Massey 2 and Devin Turnbo 1.

Both teams will next be in action on Tuesday when Dexter visits Bloomfield and the Tigers will visit Notre Dame in Cape Girardeau.