RAMS BAG 'CATS IN HOME FINALE 72-61

SCOTT CITY -- Jon Beck left an indelible mark on his final game at Scott City Gymnasium.

As if his brilliant performance through the course of the Rams' game against highly touted Dexter weren't enough, Beck swished a 30-foot 3-pointer as time expired, punctuating Scott City's 72-61 victory Friday night.

"When I stepped up and hit it, that was nice," said Beck, a guard who hit 7 3-pointers in all and racked up a game-high 37 points. "That came at the right time."

As did Scott City's solid outing, which produced its 14th win in succession and capped a second straight undefeated home slate.

The tilt, played before a near capacity throng, pitted the teams with the best records in Southeast Missouri. The Rams, ranked No. 2 in Missouri Class 2A, improved to 23-2. Class 3A Dexter, which is unranked, is now 21-4.

Scott City, which led by as many as 19 early in the fourth quarter, was on top from start to finish.

As the Rams stormed out to a 24-11 bulge after one quarter, Beck had 13 points in the opening 6 minutes 15 seconds, manhandling Dexter's match-up zone defense.

"Beck just put on an awesome show," Dexter coach Paul Hale said. "They haven't lost here since '97, and we would have had to play awful well to beat them here, but Beck just stopped that."

Scott City coach Derek McCord praised Beck as well.

"I can't think of a better ending for a young man to go in his home career," McCord said. "He's hit a lot of those (long 3-pointers). Shooters like Jon don't come along very often. He's a special player."

Beck also largely stopped Dexter's leading scorer, sophomore guard Brett Hale, the coach's son. Hale, the Bearcats' sixth man, entered the game toting an average of almost 16 points. He had six Friday.

"Beck's a good, quick guy and he (Brett) is a little bit weak and he's got a lot to learn," Coach Hale said.

Trailing 38-28 at halftime, Dexter drew within 38-31 early in the third quarter. But Beck drained three 3s in the period and Scott Johnston scored twice inside, and the Rams led 57-41 going into the final period.

Dexter made a push in the fourth quarter as junior guard Shawn Guethle, who finished with a team-high 25 points, hit four 3s in the period. The Bearcats made the score 65-59 with 2:12 remaining on Hale's jumper, but came no closer.

"They started hitting a few 3s there, and that was just miscommunication on our part," Beck said.

Hale said his team's anemic start spelled doom.

"I think the first quarter was the difference," he said. "We had a bad first quarter. We were impatient and threw the ball away a few times."