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Trimmer, Bearcats post first victory
SEMO Conference Tournament: NMCC eliminated by Cape; PB defeats C'ville
SIKESTON -- Once again, the SEMO Conference Tournament played out with no upsets on Wednesday night at the Sikeston Field House.
Ninth-seeded Dexter closed out its tournament with its first victory under new coach Chris Trimmer, defeating No. 10 Kennett 68-38.
In the consolation bracket, fifth-seeded Poplar Bluff defeated No. 8 Caruthersville 52-34 to pick up new coach Lamont Frazier's first win. In the nightcap, No. 6 Cape Central defeated New Madrid County Central 61-51.
Poplar Bluff and Cape Central will play for the consolation championship tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Today's action will feature the top four seeds in the semifinals with top-
seeded Sikeston taking on fourth-seeded Jackson at 5:30 p.m. and No. 2 Charleston playing No. 3 Notre Dame at 7 p.m.
Dexter (1-3) had no trouble disposing of the Indians (0-3).
Kennett never threatened as the Bearcats ran out to a 17-8 first quarter lead and a 45-23 halftime lead.
Dexter managed a 61-30 advantage heading into the fourth quarter but never could get the mercy clock going until there was a minute left in the game.
"It was a big win for us, because it was a game we had to have," said Trimmer. "It wasn't just win by a few (points), it was a win by 30, which is just we needed. We needed to explode on somebody."
The Indians simply couldn't hold onto the basketball, finishing with 25 turnovers, many of which led to layups by the Bearcats.
"We just don't have a lot of varsity experience right now for taking care of the basketball," said first-year Kennett coach Jim Vaughan. "I think they are working hard for the most part, but we're never on the same page. When we're making a cut, then the pass to the cutter is off the mark. We're too much in a hurry."
Dexter got another strong game out of 6-foot-3 senior Drew Satterfield, who scored 20 points. Derrik Chamberlain continued his strong play with 10 points and six steals.
The Bearcats also appeared to control the boards against the Indians.
"Another thing that is really disappointing right now is how people kill us on the boards," said Vaughan. "With the size and athleticism, and strength we have, we should be doing a better job on the boards and we're not."
Kennett was led by Mario McGraw's 10 points.
After playing to a 5-5 first quarter tie, the Mules began to pull away and Caruthersville couldn't keep up.
Poplar Bluff (1-2) canned four 3-pointers in the second quarter to push the lead to 24-14 at halftime.
Caruthersville (1-2), meanwhile, couldn't buy a basket. Even short, point-
blank looks weren't falling for the Tigers.
Poplar Bluff extended its lead to 37-22 heading into the fourth quarter.
With a patient offense and tenacious, man-to-man defense, the Mules methodically turned the game into a blowout.
Jordan Chaligoj led all scorers with 20 points, including three 3-pointers. T.J. Stonecipher followed up with 11 points.
Caruthersville was led by Kendrickus Reed's 11 points.
The final game of the night was the closest game of the tournament so far, until the final two minutes.
Both teams exchanged leads throughout until the Tigers took advantage of Eagle turnovers and missed shots and converted enough free throws down the stretch to pull away.
The Tigers (2-2) hit 7-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter and the ones they missed, they grabbed the offensive rebound.
"I think it was more on our mistakes that allowed them to pull away," said NMCC coach Travis Day. "I think we had some crucial turnovers there towards the end and they capitalized on it. When you make mistakes, good teams will make you pay for it and that's what Cape did to us. A lot of their transition baskets were off our turnovers."
NMCC (1-4) led 15-14 after one quarter and maintained a 28-27 lead at halftime. But the Tigers managed to get past the Eagle defense for several backdoor layups and drives to the basket to take a 45-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
"We weren't physically fatigued, but mentally fatigued," said Day. "A couple times we didn't match up and we gave up easy baskets. We played great defense and then we'd relax and get beat backdoor. It's going to be a slow progress with us, but we're going to climb uphill -- slowly, but gradually we'll get there."
Poor free throw shooting on NMCC's part -- 4-of-12 for the game -- also hurt the Eagles' cause. They were 1-5 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Marquese Gates led the Eagles with 18 points. Cape Central got 18 points from Jajuan Bell and 17 points from Kerry Walker.