KENNETT – Dexter’s hot shooting, and an early lead that held up, got the guests their second win in a row and dug Kennett deeper into a five-game rut as the Bearcats routed the Indians 63-35, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.

It was Kennett’s courtwarming celebration, but that didn’t stop nine Dexter players from getting in the scoring column, in total dropping 10 threes on the hosts in a game that, beforehand, looked to be a potentially close matchup.

“It’s tough because (Kennett coach Fred Garmon) has lost a few players here recently, but he does a tremendous job with them,” Dexter coach Chad Allen said after the game. “The guys that played tonight, they played extremely hard and really got after it. For us, our guys competed well and executed well offensively.”

In both the first and second quarter a Kennett player opened action with a layup which a Bearcat followed with a three-pointer in answer, those being Gibson Booker and Tucker Temples – who each went on to sink four threes by the end.

As Kennett managed a 6-5 lead early on, after a timeout Booker crushed another shot beyond the arc and Dexter held Kennett scoreless to the buzzer to take over 12-6. Indian Ashton Dismukes was the only home player to score in the first quarter, securing all six on his own.

The Bearcats opened the second quarter controlling all offense again and went on a 7-2 opening run. Temples and Will Guethle both scored threes and Ethan Zabulin kept it interesting with three field goals before the break.

The Bearcats again outscored Kennett by double, this time 16-8 before halftime, to enter the second half up 28-14.

“The main key was us keeping it in front of us defensively, that and the rebounding,” Allen said. “I was just really satisfied overall with our guys.”

Falling into a progressively deeper deficit, the Indians began raining three-point attempts but most failed to land. Kennett attempted a half court trap and a full court press, but issues with turnovers continued. Sophomore Ty Jones sank two threes, one coming after Garmon called a timeout one minute into the third quarter, which Dexter’s Temples immediately answered with one of his own.

Kennett's Ashton Dismukes attempts a layup during a home game against Dexter Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.Photo by Christian Johnson

Nearing the end of the third Temples crushed two more back to back, and with one more layup by Kennett’s Hunter Kirk the Bearcats led 45-26.

Dexter commanded scoring again in the fourth as new guys off the bench for Kennett came on. John Sepulvado pulled in a steal and turned it into two for the first play of the fourth. Kennett freshman Cash Franklin, a danger in JV play for his ability to shoot from far, managed two and Kade Anderson one for Kennett’s only points before the final buzzer.

Dexter again doubled Kennett’s scoring late and won by just shy of a margin of 30. Booker led with 14 points in all, Zebulin dropped 13 and Temples added 12. For Kennett, Dismukes scored 10, all in the first half, and Ty Jones added eight.

“These last couple weeks we’ve been focusing on districts,” Allen said. “We have one more game before we get to the district tournament and we’ll have some days off. We have to keep on preparing and keep on getting better until it gets here.”

Dexter next hosts Poplar Bluff to end the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Kennett hosts Kelly at the same time and travels to Cape Central Friday.