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Fourth quarter run lifts Dexter into SCAA Tournament finals over Bloomfield
BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- One scoring run in a game mostly void of them wound up being the difference for the Dexter Bearcats. And they picked the perfect time to put some points together.
Second-seeded Dexter rattled off 12-unanswered points in the fourth quarter to supplant the defending SCAA Tournament champion Bloomfield Wildcats 55-42 Thursday during the tournament semifinals at Bloomfield High School.
Dexter will take on top-seeded Advance, who had a much easier time in their semifinal, in the championship game tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Clay Mullins led all scorers with 16 points and added seven rebounds. Jason Jarrell and Ben Sindle each scored 12 while Jarrell pulled down 11 rebounds for Dexter, who won their 12th game in a row.
"That two-minute span was the only part of the game that kind of looked like a basketball game," Dowdy said. "Other than that it was like tug-of-war."
Bloomfield was led by Peyton Bell and his 12 points. Timmy Hector and Kyle Anderson both had eight for the Wildcats, who were the No. 3 seed.
For the better part of 26 minutes, Thursday's semifinal was nip and tuck with a side of sloppy.
Neither team could find its footing offensively and a stretch of four straight possessions that ended in turnovers at one point didn't speak to the game's fluidity.
It was tied at 20 at the half and each team, who prides themselves on controlling a slow tempo and efficient scoring, was shooting under 40 percent.
"There wasn't much of a flow in the basketball game," Dowdy said. "That's partly with our defense and the type of defense they play... It was ugly. I told the kids at halftime I did feel like they played harder than us. We weren't getting many offensive rebounds and they were getting the loose balls."
There were nine lead changes and eight ties through the first three quarters until Dexter grabbed a 36-33 lead going into the fourth.
The Bearcats led the rest of the way but couldn't quite shake away from Bloomfield, who cut Dexter's lead to 40-39 with 5:36 remaining with a 3-pointer by Hector.
Dexter (13-5) pushed its lead to five soon after. A few stops on defense and a three from Sindle, to give Dexter its biggest lead of the night to that point at eight, kept the energy going for the Bearcats. A Bloomfield timeout following Sindle's three couldn't subdue their momentum either.
Mullins later scored to make it 49-39 and Sindle drained another three from the same spot in the corner to make it 52-39 Dexter with 2:13 remaining.
Dexter's 12-0 run in a span of 3:14 was more than enough to seal the victory.
"I just felt like we started securing more rebounds and getting down in a stance and playing a little bit harder," Dowdy said about Dexter's run. "I thought our press bothered them a little bit. We got a few steals and were able to score in transition."
Until his two big threes, Sindle struggled from the outside. All of his 16 shot attempts were from 3-point range hitting just 2 of 13 at one point. Dowdy, like always, told Sindle to keep shooting.
"That's his job," Dowdy said. "I don't ever want him second-guessing. It's either catch and shoot or you sit the bench. He always has the green light. He's a shooter and he earns those shots in practice. He's the last one out of the gym every day. We trust him."
Dexter ran off its game-deciding run and kept Bloomfield at bay all while its most dominating weapon was on the bench.
Gabe Jackson picked up his fourth foul one minute into the third quarter forcing the 6-4 big man on the bench where he'd stay the rest of the game.
Jackson's absence left an opening for Dawson Kasting who played big minutes for the Bearcats with nine points, five rebounds and a steal.
The junior brought an energy to Dexter's lineup, according to Dowdy.
"I thought Dawson Kasting came in and really played with so much energy," Dowdy said. "He was able to secure some offensive rebounds, he had his hands ready and Jason [Jarrell] found him on the baseline. He was able to get to the rim. He just played with so much energy tonight."
With Jackson's foul trouble hampering his minutes, Bloomfield thought it was the perfect time to make a run.
"Anytime someone of his size that can protect the paint goes out of the game you've got to be feeling good about that," Bloomfield coach Brandon Crook said.
But they couldn't capitalize on his absence.
"Maybe not enough ball movement," Crook said. "We were dribbling a lot. But you've got to give credit to Dexter. They played a role in how we were running things offensively."
Dexter shot 44 percent (21 for 47) from the floor and out-rebounded Bloomfield 29-26.
Bloomfield (11-7) shot 28 percent (15 for 52) from the floor.
"You have to give credit to Dexter's defense," Crook said. "They came out and pressured us and got in us. That played a role in our shot selection. We had some good looks late too that didn't fall for us."
Dexter will be searching for its 19th SCAA Tournament championship and first since 2012 against Advance.
The Hornets easily dispatched Bernie in the other semifinal 68-39.
Advance has won two tournament titles with its last coming in 1978. This is their fifth championship game appearance since their last title 39 years ago.
"We're going to have to play our pace and not theirs to compete," Dowdy said. "They looked real good tonight. That is a talented basketball team. We're just happy to have the opportunity to play against them and we'll see what we can do."
| Bloomfield | 12 | 8 | 13 | 9 | -- | 42 |
| Dexter | 12 | 8 | 16 | 19 | -- | 55 |
BLOOMFIELD (42) -- Dalton Phillips 3, Timmy Hector 8, Kyle Anderson 8, Matt Gibbs 7, Austin Phillips 2, Peyton Bell 12, Alex Gibbs 2. FG 15 FT 9-16 F 22. (3-pointers: D. Phillips 1, Hector 1, Bell 1. Fouled out: none.)
DEXTER (55) -- Jason Jarrell 12, Ben Sindle 12, Clay Mullins 16, Dawson Kasting 9, Ryan Mayo 2, Gabe Jackson 4. FG 21 FT 9-21 F 15. (3-pointers: Sindle 4. Fouled out: none.)
| Bernie | 6 | 10 | 8 | 15 | -- | 39 |
| Advance | 19 | 24 | 21 | 4 | -- | 68 |
BERNIE (39) -- Michael Suiter 13, Weston Comstock 2, Nate Dillinger 12, Riley Wells 2, Gavin Brown 2, Dalton Hobgood 8. FG 13, FT 4-7, F 11 (3-pointers: Hobgood 2, Dillinger. Fouled out: None.)
ADVANCE (68) -- Armani Vermillion 16, Preston Wuebker 15, Michael Hood 11, Braiden Brown 3, Brendan Crader 4, Carson Miles 4, Justin Alcorn 2, Dawson Mayo 11. FG 27, FT 3-9, F 8 (3-pointers: Brown, Hood, Wuebker. Fouled out: None.)