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Dexter boys basketball too much for Perryville in district quarterfinal
STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- For 22 minutes, the Perryville boys basketball team gave Dexter everything it could handle. But when the Bearcats hit full stride, the Pirates had no answer.
Fourth-seeded Dexter used an 11-4 run to end the third quarter and open a 13-point lead before finishing things out for a 69-57 victory in a quarterfinal of the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 Tournament at Ste. Genevieve High School.
Dexter scored nearly half of its points on second-chance opportunities, finishing with 30 off offensive rebounds, including 12 in the third when it made the biggest run of the night.
"I just believe we were in the open floor, ahead of them and it seemed like we had a lot of three-on-two, four-on-three opportunities and we took advantage of the situation," Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. "If we didn't make the first basket we followed it up nicely. They ran us and it allowed us to spread the floor and get to the rim a little more in the third quarter."
With the win, the Bearcats (17-10) advance to the semifinals against top-seeded Sikeston at 6 p.m. Monday.
"We just appreciate the opportunity," Dowdy said of facing the Bulldogs. "We've had a great season, I'm proud of the kids. We're just going to come play the game and you never know what could happen."
Dexter trailed by as many as six points early in the first quarter but battled back to take a six-point halftime lead.
Perryville (14-13) kept it within six points for the first 5 minutes of the second half but couldn't get over the hump before Dexter's offense exploded.
After Josh Robinson's 3-pointer pulled the deficit to 36-32 with 4 minutes, 53 seconds to go in the third, Clay Mullins answered with the next four points. He put the Bearcats up 40-32 with a layup and a foul, but missed his free-throw attempt. Gabe Jackson, who finished with 12 points, followed up the miss and added his own lay-in to extend it to 42-32.
Aaron Mueller and Jeff Reisenbichler hit back-to-back jumpers to pull the Pirates back within six, but that was as close as they got.
Mullins hit yet another layup through two defenders on the next possession to spark the 11-4 run.
The junior scored the next five points and finished with a game-high 22.
A Reisenbichler 3 was Perryville's only field goal in final 2 minutes of the third, and Dexter's Dawson Kasting scored consecutive buckets to cap the quarter and give Dexter a 53-40 lead at the start of the fourth.
"My kids played their butts off and I'm proud of the way we played," Perryville coach Justin Dreyer said. "I thought we actually outplayed Dexter, we just couldn't keep them off the glass. That to me was the thing that changed the game around."
Dexter began the final frame on a 9-6 run led by a pair of Kasting steals and layups. The junior, who came off the bench, finished with 14 points and five takeaways for the Bearcats.
"I hate to mention a player of the game, but my goodness our sixth man came off the bench and put on a show," Dowdy said of Kasting. "He always gets minutes but he's better off the bench and he's waiting his turn. He's just an energy guy and he played his role. Whatever he ate today, he needs to have it again on Monday."
Perryville cut the deficit to 11 but couldn't close the gap in the final 3:22.
"We were focused and the first time we played them I didn't think that was the case," Dreyer said. "Tonight you could tell we were ready to play and we did right up until we stopped grabbing the offensive boards."
Four different players, including Robinson, Reisenbichler, Dix and Zach Cissell scored in the first 3 minutes for the Pirates, who led 8-2 at the 5-minute mark.
But 30 seconds later, Dexter's Ben Sindle found his rhythm from behind the arc and hit his first 3 to pull the lead down to 8-5. Jason Jarrell followed with a fast-break layup off a Perryville miss and added another steal before hitting Sindle, who tied it at 10 with another trey.
Robinson put the Pirates up by two before, but Sindle hit from deep to send the Bearcats into the second quarter with a 19-14 lead.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge," Dowdy said. "I didn't realize how much they were going to sag off in the paint and take away Gabe and our drivers, but fortunately Ben (Sindle) hit a couple 3s to open it up just enough for our offense.
"If that wouldn't have happened, it would've been a little more nerve-wracking."
Dexter led by as many as eight points but couldn't shake the Pirates until late.
Brandon Renaud knocked scored a bucket for the Pirates 25 seconds before the buzzer to trim the gap to 30-24 at halftime.
Reisenbichler finished with 19 points and scored the Pirates first five points of the second half as they made one last charge.
Robinson added 15 and Dix had 10 for Perryville.
"I'm really proud of my guys for the season they've had and the way they closed it out no matter the outcome," Dreyer said. "We knew Dexter was a good team but they gave them everything they could handle."
| Perryville | 14 | 10 | 16 | 17 | -- | 57 |
| Dexter | 19 | 11 | 23 | 16 | -- | 69 |
PERRYVILLE (57) -- Aaron Mueller 7, Garrett Dix 10, Josh Robinson 15, Jeff Reisenbichler 19, Chase Brown 4, Brandon Renaud 2. FG 25 FT 3-6 F 13. (3-pointers: Dix 1, Robinson 1, Reisenbichler 2. Fouled out: none.)
DEXTER (69) -- Jason Jarrell 8, Ben Sindle 9, Clay Mullins 22, Dawson Kasting 14, Ryan Mayo 4, Gabe Jackson 12. FG 30 FT 6-11 F 10. (3-pointers: Sindle 3. Fouled out: none.)