Dexter claws past Advance 69-60

DEXTER, Mo. -- Advance's game plan against Dexter was simple -- don't let Alan Flannigan beat you.

The Hornets were successful in limiting the Bearcats' leading scorer to 10 points, but the defensive strategy opened up the floor for others, and senior Brandon Stoker responded with 31 points as Dexter defeated Advance 69-60 in a clash of SCAA teams Friday at the Bearcat Event Center.

"We wanted to neutralize Alan," Advance coach Josh Dowdy said. "We have great respect for Alan. He's a great player. We knew they had other players that could do it, but we wanted them to do it. That was our goal.

"I was happy with the way we shut Alan down, but Stoker had so many buckets against us."

Stoker finished with 12 field goals and hit 6 of 7 free throws. The senior scored 10 points in the first quarter, eight in a two-minute stretch that took Dexter from an 10-4 deficit to a 12-8 lead.

Advance's strategy worked early as the Hornets jumped out to an eight-point lead and Dexter looked confused.

"After about the first three or four minutes of the game, I thought we played better," Dexter coach Rob Nichols said. "They came out and jumped us and got up 10-2. We weren't doing anything very well. We just looked a step slow and pretty unfocused. They did a good job jumping us.

"We were really slow defensively and they took advantage of it. Their guards did a good job, a great job, of cutting to the basket. They had a good game plan."

Dexter began to take control in the second quarter, building a 31-21 lead before Advance's Grant Gray hit his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to stop an 8-0 Dexter run and make it 31-24. Dexter took a 12-point advantage into the half. The Bearcats maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the third, but the Hornets had one last push left in them.

"I was proud of the way my kids battled," Dowdy said. "With five or six minutes to play, I looked up and it was 15 points. I thought this could be a 30-point game. A few minutes later, it was a two-possession game."

Dexter built a 62-47 lead on a basket by Stoker with four minutes to play, but Advance went on a 7-0 run to make it 62-54.

With time running down, Advance quickly fouled to extend the game and see if Dexter could beat it at the line, and the strategy helped.

Darren VanGennip drained two free throws after being fouled driving the lane to make it 66-60 with 47 seconds remaining. Those free throws were the last points for Advance and Dexter hit 3 of 4 foul shots at the end to seal the win.

The loss was the third straight for the Hornets, who slipped to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in SCAA play.

"We've been getting close," Dowdy said, "but we need to get a win. We have four games next week, so maybe we'll get one."

Advance 15 12 16 17 -- 60

Dexter 16 23 16 14 -- 69

ADVANCE (60) -- Brad Steil 7, Grant Gray 18, Tyler Middleton 2, Matt Ware 7, Darren VanGennip 14, John Middleton 12. FG 20, FT 15-19. (3-pointers: Gray 4, Steil 1)

DEXTER (69) -- Brandon Stoker 31, Ryan Windham 8, Gary Summers 5, Bryn Hester 9, Alan Flannigan 10, Jon Bowman 2, Taylor Jarrell 4. Totals: FG 23, FT 21-28. (3-pointers: Stoker 1, Hester 1)