SCAA: Dexter getting defensive as it wraps up tourney on good note

BLOOMFIELD – Even in his team’s recent loss to Richland (Essex) in the opening round of the Stoddard County Athletic Association Boy’s Basketball Tournament, fifth-year Dexter High School coach Chad Allen was pleased with the effort that his players were exhibiting at the defensive end of the floor.

That certainly was the case in the Bearcats’ last two outings in the tourney, as Dexter got past Bell City 72-34 in the consolation semifinal, and on Thursday, concluded their trek to historic Bloomfield High School gym for the week, by demolishing Bernie 40-24 in the consolation championship game.

“I thought early on,” Allen said following his team’s 48-45 loss to the Rebels on Monday, “really, even through three quarters, I thought we played really well (defensively).”

With each passing week this season, the Bearcats (5-12) have made strides at that end of the court.

Dexter didn’t hold an opponent under 55 points one time through its initial seven games this season. However, in the past 10 outings, Allen’s kids have limited opponents to under 48 points per game in seven of those, culminating in Thursday’s effort against the Mules (7-8).

“The biggest difference,” Allen said of Thursday’s outcome against Bernie, as opposed to a recent 42-36 home loss to the same team, “I thought we did a much better job on the offensive boards.”

The Bearcats did everything better defensively, including closing out a large number of possessions by grabbing the rebound. Allen said that was indicative in the second half against Bernie.

The Mules led at halftime 18-16 before Dexter exploded for an 18-3 advantage in the third quarter and never looked back.

“In the first half,” Allen said, “they got a lot of offensive boards, so, we talked about that at halftime. We’ve had a problem with that in the last several games.”

The Bearcats had zero problems with anything in the second half, as they held Bernie to six points on a couple of 3-pointers over the final 16 minutes of action.

“I don’t know if they even got (an offensive board) in the second half,” Allen said.

That third period was the entire story of the game, as Dexter was held to just 22 points in the other three periods. However, getting offense from five different players in the third period proved invaluable.

“Our problem is not our defense,” Allen said. “Our defense does an extremely good job for us.”

Senior center Ethan Zebelin paced Dexter with 13 points while sophomore Gibson Booker chipped in 11 points.

Bernie got eight points out of junior guard Taven Owens while senior Jayden Robinette totaled seven points.

Dexter moved on to face Bloomfield (7-9) in the third-place game today at 5:30 p.m.

The host Wildcats fell 70-59 to top-seed Puxico in the championship semifinal. After that test, the Bearcats have a daunting task looming, as it hosts Class 4 No. 1-ranked Sikeston (15-0) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Mules will visit Twin Rivers (9-8) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.