Dexter boys greet Notre Dame for Thursday night must-win conference brawl

With just one combined conference win between them, the Notre Dame boys hit the road to take on the Dexter Bearcats in a bottom-of-the-table SEMO Conference fixture on Thursday night.

Notre Dame brings the only conference win of the year, having defeated Kennett early this month. The Bulldogs are 1-5 in SEMO Conference play ahead of their duel with Dexter.

It hasn’t been any easier for the Bearcats, sitting at 0-5 in the league. In addition to this, Dexter already lost to the Bulldogs, 60-46, in a conference tournament consolation semifinal.

This in mind, Notre Dame is expected to enter as the favorite. But in the Bearcat Event Center, just about anything can happen – as we’ve seen in the past.

Notre Dame sits at a meager 8-12 on the season, hitting highs and lows to advance to this point.

Choosing the biggest win of the year for the Bulldogs is tough, filtering amongst a Christmas Tournament win against Charleston, a triumph at Saxony Lutheran or a victory against Troy-Buchanan in Nixa, Missouri, this past weekend.

These successes are met with equal disappointments, however, as the Bulldogs went 1-2 in the Nixa Invite while having taken hefty losses against Cape Central, Sikeston and Jackson this season.

Dexter presents a great opportunity for Notre Dame to rekindle its SEMO Conference flame, and the Bulldogs will look to double down on their tournament win from December 2023.

In their most recent conference matchup, regular leading-scorer Kolton Johnson took a backseat to an impressive 20-point effort from junior forward Brett Dohogne.

If Notre Dame can retain a balanced scoring effort, getting solid contributions from both Johnson, Dohogne and get some backup support, Dexter should have its hands full.

The hosting Bearcats haven’t had their way in conference, but Notre Dame is as good an opportunity as any to change that.

Sitting at 5-13 on the season, again winless in five attempts in the SEMO Conference, Dexter enters on a one-game losing streak.

Losing 94-63 to Sikeston after taking fifth place in the Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament last week, there have been a lot of rough nights this season for Dexter.

Even within the SCAA schedule, it’s been a brutal year for Dexter as the Bearcats are struggling to find a foothold within either conference schedule.

Ethan Zebelin has been a critical leader for the squad, frequenting the box score with 18 and 13 points in Dexter’s conference tournament wins against Bell City and Bernie respectively.

Classmate Nathan Harris joins him in that leadership role, but a large amount of the scoring for the Bearcats routinely trickles down to its underclassmen.

Sophomores Devin Turnbo and Gibson Booker, along with freshman Hunter Massey, could be the key to unlocking Dexter’s full potential down the home stretch.

If the Bearcats are eyeing a potential victory against Notre Dame at home on Thursday night, it’s going to hinge on getting that core going.

But for Notre Dame, this is a paramount opportunity to make a statement and get back on the right track. Both sides need this win, and it’ll show on Thursday in Rib City.