Dexter, Nichols overcome slow start vs. Kennett in record-setting night

DEXTER – Friday night got off to a poor start for Dexter High School senior guard Cole Nichols.

It was Basketball Homecoming Night and the queen candidate that Nichols escorted was not the winner of that coveted honor. And then, once the Bearcats’ game got underway against SEMO Conference foe Kennett, he found his team down 12-0 just minutes into the game.

However, the Bearcats eventually recovered and ultimately won 73-60 at the Bearcat Event Center.

“Our defense was really flat early,” Nichols said of the slow start. “We didn’t get out and pressure them and our hands were down. They were able to make passes through our zone.”

The Indians looked sharp early, as they back cut the Bearcats on numerous occasions and held the Bearcats – and Nichols – scoreless until the 4:34 mark of the opening period.

“It was tough,” fourth-year Dexter coach Chad Allen said of the win. “To get down 12-0, that is hard to come back from.”

But eventually Dexter (17-6) did, and actually, pretty quickly.

Nichols scored on a reverse lay-in along the baseline to get his team on the board and he began to hit his offensive stride.

Nichols had 11 points in the final half of the opening quarter, which included getting to the free-throw line four times and hitting all four shots.

“He uses his body so well,” Allen said of Nichols. “He takes the contact and is still able to finish.”

Nichols eventually finished with 41 points, and in doing so, became the Bearcats’ boys all-time leading scorer.

He passed former Dexter great Brett Hale (1,812 points), and now Nichols has 1,831 career points.

“I told the guys,” Nichols said, “that record wouldn’t mean anything if we didn’t come back and win the game.”

Dexter did rally, but Kennett (8-14) wasn’t going away quietly, or softly.

The Indians still led 29-27 at halftime and they made Dexter earn every basket with a physical, aggressive defense.

“Kennett comes out and plays extremely hard,” Allen said. “They just basically took it right at us.”

Allen must have had some words of wisdom at halftime, perhaps with a strong emphasis, because the Bearcats tore out in the second half and stretched their margin to 51-42 early in the final quarter.

Dexter only scored one more basket than Kennett but took advantage of the physical play and got to the free-throw line 33 times. Having said that, only Nichols was strong in that regard.

The 6-foot-2 athlete, who had college scouts in the stands observing him, connected on 18 of his 20 free throws, while the Bearcats were missed 2 of 11 throughout the rest of the roster.

“I told the guys here, late in the season, it’s going to be that way every game,” Allen said. “Teams are going to come out and get after you. It’s going to be physical, and we need to match that physicality.”

Bearcat senior shooters Brayden Pullum and Truman Krapf each totaled 11 points in the win, while senior center Peyton Boles had eight.

Kennett got 21 points from sophomore D’Shun Wilson, while junior Zy’Kerrion Taylor had 12 and freshman Ashton Dismukes had 16.

With the win, Dexter topped last season’s win total (16) and still has at least four games remaining.

The Bearcats have won four of their past five games and will visit Poplar Bluff (7-11) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Kennett has dropped six of its last eight games and will travel to Saxony Lutheran (14-8) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.