Stoker scores 31 as Dexter defeats Advance

Jerry Jarrell photo Advance's John Middleton (No. 23) gets inside position on Dexter's Ryan Windham. [Click to enlarge]

Advance's game plan against Dexter was simple. Don't let Alan Flannigan beat us.

The Hornets were successful in limiting the Bearcats' leading scorer to just 10 points, but the defensive strategy opened the floor up for others and senior Brandon Stoker responded with 31 points as Dexter defeated Advance, 69-60, in a clash of SCAA teams at the Bearcat Event Center.

Jerry Jarrell photo Dexter's Brandon Stoker puts up a shot against Advance Friday night at the Bearcat Event Center. Stoker scored a game-high 31 points in Dexter's 69-60 win. [Click to enlarge]

"We wanted to neutralize Alan," Advance coach Josh Dowdy said. "We have great respect for Alan, he's a great player. We knew they (Dexter) had other players that could do it, but we wanted them to do it. That was our goal.

"I was happy with the way we shut Alan down, but Stoker had so many buckets against us."

Stoker finished 12 field goals (one a 3-pointer) and hit 6-of-7 free throws. The senior scored 10 points in the first quarter, eight in a two-minute stretch that took Dexter from an 10-4 deficit to a 12-8 lead.

Advance's strategy worked early as the Hornets jumped out to a 8-point lead and Dexter looking confused.

"After about the first three or four minutes of the game I thought we played better," Dexter coach Rob Nichols commented. " They came out and jumped us and got up 10-2. We weren't doing anything very well, we just looked a step slow and pretty unfocused. They did a good job jumping us.

"We were really slow defensively and they took advantage of it," Nichols continued. "Their guards did a good job, a great job, of cutting to the basket. They had a good game plan. They had two guys on Alan and they made someone else beat them. Brandon did a good job, Ryan Windham did a good job and I thought Gary (Summers) did a good job. Once we settled in and saw what they were doing, attacking the basket, and we started taking those perimeter shots they were giving to us, we turned the game around."

Dexter began to take control of the game in the second quarter, building a 31-21 lead before Advance's Grant Gray hit his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to stop an 8-0 Dexter run and make it a 31-24 game. Dexter took a 12-point advantage into the half. The Bearcats maintain a double digit advantage throughout the third, but the Hornets had one last push left him them before the game was over.

"I was proud of the way by kids battled," Dowdy said. "With five or six minutes to play I looked up and it was a 15 points. I thought this could be a 30-point game. A few minutes later it was a two possession game."

Dexter built a 62-47 lead on a basket by Stoker with just four minutes to play, but Advance went on a 7-0 run to make it a 62-54 game.

With time running down, Advance went to the quick foul to extend the game and see if Dexter could beat them at the line.

Stoker hit the front end of a one-and-one foul to stop the bleeding,, John Middleton answered with a basket (63-56), Dexter's Taylor Jarrell hit two free throws (65-56) and Gray canned two from the strip to make it 65-58.

Summer hit the front end of a one-and-one and Darren VanGennip drained two charity shots after being fouled driving the lane to make it a 66-60 game with 47 seconds remaining. Those free throws were last points for Advance and Dexter hit three of four foul shots at the end to set the final score.

The loss was the third-straight for the Hornets who slipped to 10-7 on the year, 2-2 in SCAA play.

"We've been getting close," Dowdy said, "but we need to get a win We have four games next week, so maybe we'll get one."

Advance will play Woodland Tuesday night, then travel to Bernie Thursday for a makeup game. The Hornets will celebrate Homecoming Friday against Delta and then play South Iron Saturday in Poplar Bluff at Three Rivers Community College.

Dexter, now 10-9 on the season, will also be in action Monday when the Bearcats will host Notre Dame Regional High School in a makeup game. Tuesday the 'Cats will host Bell City.

"They will be the best team we have faced in a long time, probably since New Madrid," Nichols said of his team's upcoming game against the Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 6 in Class 4. " A lot of people would say Notre Dame is better than New Madrid. We'll have to be on top of our game just to be competitive with them."

Varsity

Dexter 69, Advance 60

ADVANCE -- (fg-ftm-fta-tp) Steil 3-0-0-7, Gray 4-6-7-18, T. Middleton 0-2-4-2, Ware 2-3-4-7, VanGennip 5-4-4-14, J. Middleton 6-0-0-12. Totals: 20-15-19-69.

DEXTER -- Stoker 12-6-7-31, Windham 2-4-6-8, Summers 1-3-5-5, Hester 4-0-0-9, Flannigan 3-4-4-10, Bowman 1-0-0-2, Jarrell 0-4-6-4. Totals: 23-21-28-69

3-Pointers: Advance 5 (Gray 4, Steil 1); Dexter 2 (Stoker 1, Hester 1).

Junior Varsity

Dexter 52, Advance 43

ADVANCE -- (fg-ftm-fta-tp) Bien 0-0-1-0, Veale 1-1-3-3, T. Middleton 2-0-0-4, Spears 4-2-4-10, Wilson 5-0-0-11, Davis 1-0-0-2, Barr 6-1-1-13. Totals: 19-4-9-43.

DEXTER -- D. Fitts 7-1-2-18, J. Fitts 4-0-0-8, J. Miller 1-0-0-3, Potts 1-2-2-4, Lee 5-1-3-11, Summers 1-1-3-3, Moore 2-1-3-5. Totals: 21-6-13-52.

3-Pointers: Advance 1 (Wilson); Dexter 4 (D. Fitts 3, J. Miller 1).