Jackson falls victim to third-quarter lull

JACKSON, Mo. -- A weak third-quarter performance proved to be Jackson's undoing in a 75-64 loss to Dexter Friday night.

The Indians (2-2) outscored the Bearcats in the first, second and fourth quarters, but were outgunned 22-7 in the crucial third period. The win kept Dexter's record perfect at 4-0.

"We came out in the third quarter knowing they were going to up their intensity and we just didn't answer the call," said Jackson coach Mike Kiehne. "They went on a good run and we went on a dry spell. You can't do that against good teams."

Jackson, feeding off a near-capacity home crowd , opened the game with a pressing zone defense, which forced 12 Dexter turnovers in the first half. Lance Bollinger's 10 first-quarter points keyed the Indian offense.

The Bearcats began to pick it up in the second quarter, however, to take a 24-23 lead late, but the Indians went on a 6-0 run to take a 29-24 lead into the intermission.

After the halftime break, Dexter went ahead 30-29. With the score tied at 32, Chad Gill scored at the 6:00 mark to put Dexter ahead for good. The third quarter ended with the Bearcats up 46-36.

Jackson outscored Dexter 29-28 in the final quarter, but the damage had already been done.

With Jackson forced to foul, the Bearcats hit 13 of 16 from the charity stripe to secure the win.

On the second-half turnaround, Dexter's first-year coach Eric Sitze said he only had to tell his team one thing.

"We just weren't playing our game," said Sitze. "I told them we had to play harder and with more intensity."

Dexter's Chris Hyten, who had been in a bit of an offensive slump, led the Bearcats with 23 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Hyten hit four 3-pointers, usually at opportune times to keep the Bearcat momentum alive.

Matt Christian followed with 16 points, including three 3-pointers, and 6-foot-7 center Chris Carr added 15.

Jackson was led by Nathan Brown with 20 points, while Lance Bollinger added 16. Sophomore Tyler McNeely chipped in with 14 and Seth McDowell had 10.

Dexter's JV team triumphed over Jackson 67-50.

Josh Miller led Dexter with 20 points, while Trevor Thompson and Jack Puisis shared the scoring lead for Jackson with 12 each.