Unbeaten NMCC smothers Dexter with physical defense to win C4D1 championship

New Madrid County Central coach Lennies McFerren celebrates with Kylan Minner (12) and AJ Ruff (20) after the Eagles won the Class 4, District 1 championship game Friday, March 5, 2021, at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

DEXTER — New Madrid County Central’s boys basketball team didn’t want the school’s other athletic programs to have all the fun.

The top-seeded Eagles used a suffocating defense to beat second-seeded Dexter 68-48 in the championship game of the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 tournament Friday night at the Bearcat Event Center.

NMCC coach Lennies McFerren said the district title means a lot “because football won a district, girls basketball won the district, wrestling, we had district winners there. The kids are hungry. The more you see people getting championships, that just makes it better for the school itself. I’m proud of New Madrid County Central and the community. They deserve this.”

Winning their first district championship since 2015, the Eagles (19-0) will meet Park Hills Central (15-10) in the sectional round at 6 p.m. Tuesday at a site to be determined.

“They’re tough. They’re a great team,” Dexter coach Chad Allen said of the Eagles. “I know they’re going to do well from here on out. We’ll see how they do against Park Hills. I really think they can play with (top-ranked) Vashon.”

Dexter closed the season with a 21-7 record.

The Eagles pressure defense forced Dexter to commit 15 turnovers and shoot only 42% (16 of 38), including 29% (5 for 17) from beyond the arc.

“I saw a lot of energy tonight,” McFerren said of his team. “These guys, every last one of them, (were determined) to play defense tonight. Good defense, I tell people all the time, will stop good offense.”

NMCC controlled the boards, grabbing nine offensive rebounds and converting them into 18 points. The Bearcats had only four offensive rebounds for two points.

“We talked about offensive rebounds. They beat us on the boards quite a bit last time,” Allen said of the teams’ previous meeting, a 73-72 overtime loss to the Eagles. “I don’t know what they got this time but it seemed like they got a lot again.”

The Eagles won the rebounding battle despite a quiet night by freshman post Jadis Jones, who drew two fouls in the first quarter and didn’t play in the second. He finished with eight points.

“We expect our big guys to get the rebounds. Our small guys were the reason for all the rebounds we got tonight,” McFerren said. “That was important because they were coming from the guards and the forwards, not the post.”

A key to the Bearcats’ success in the previous meeting was their ability to get in the lane offensively. The rematch was a different story.

“Early on, we got in the lane quite a bit and they got a little more physical with us,” Allen said. “It was a lot harder to get in there. New Madrid just makes it tough on you offensively. They get physical with you.”

NMCC’s BJ Williamson scored a game-high 21 points and Shamar Williamson had 12.

Cole Nichols paced Dexter with 11 points, and Andrew Ellinghouse had 10.

The lead changed hands five times in the opening quarter.

Carter Dorton found Peyton Driskill open in the lane for a 2-0 Dexter lead. Jones’ putback gave the Eagles a 4-2 lead before Jackson Allen’s 3 put the Bearcats back on top, 5-4.

NMCC’s Shamar Williamson drove the baseline for a 6-5 lead, Dexter’s Nichols sank a 3 for a 9-6 advantage, and Marcelous Phillips’ putback gave the visiting team a 13-11 lead entering the second quarter.

The Eagles built a double-digit lead in the second behind a relentless defense and strong rebounding game. They pulled down five offensive rebounds and converted those into 10 points.

“I think they ran out of gas,” McFerren said of the Bearcats. “I think the defense we put on them got (to them). Their legs were pretty much gone. I wouldn’t take it off. I kept it on them. I’ve got a stronger bench than Dexter has.”

The Bearcats went 1 for 6 from the field in the second quarter, while NMCC sank 9 of 18 shots, often capitalizing on a fast-break offense.

Kenyon King’s three-point play stretched the Eagles’ lead to double figures (25-15).

NMCC extended the lead to 12 points three times: 27-14 on a steal and layup by BJ Williamson, 29-17 on a putback by Williamson and 31-19 on another putback by Williamson.

Kylan Minner made a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to give the Eagles a 34-21 halftime lead.

The Eagles used an 8-0 run early in the third quarter to increase the lead to 18 (44-26). B.J. Williams’ 3 gave them a 50-30 lead.

NMCC stretched the lead to a game-high 21 late in the third: Trey Tipler scored on a fast break for a 53-32 lead and Phillips made a putback at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 55-34 advantage.

The Eagles maintained a 17- to 25-point lead throughout the fourth quarter.

NMCC — BJ Williamson 21, Shamar Williamson 12, Jadis Jones 8, Marcelous Phillips 8, Kenyon King 7, Donnie Brown 6, Kylan Minner 4, Trey Tipler 2, D’Marion Brooks 0, Julian Courtois 0, AJ Ruff 0, Anthony Treadwell 0. FG 26, FT 12-24, F 16. (3-pointers: Brown 2, Minner, BJ Williamson).

DEXTER — Cole Nichols 11, Andrew Ellinghouse 10, Jackson Allen 6, Ryder Boles 6, Peyton Driskill 6, Carter Dorton 4, Truman Krapf 3, Riley Slusher 2, Logan Josupait 0, Maddox Miller 0, Dylan Sitze 0. FG 16, FT 11-13, F 19. (3-pointers: Allen 2, Ellinghouse, Krapf, Nichols).