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Dexter beats East Prairie in semifinal, sets up Stoddard County championship showdown
BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Dexter’s composed approach proved decisive in a 56-47 victory over East Prairie in the semifinal of the 68th Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Saturday.
While the second-seeded Eagles (7-1) struggled under the mounting pressure, the third-seeded Bearcats (6-5) played free of tension, relying on a combination of key shooting and tough defense to claim control.
“Our guys definitely wanted this after our early exit last year,” said Dexter coach Chad Allen. “Our guys came out and played tremendous defense. I am proud of our guys for fighting hard and they deserve this win.”
The game started in East Prairie's favor, as the Eagles came out firing on all cylinders. They quickly built a 9-0 lead, courtesy of a 3-pointer from Ty Wallace, back-to-back fastbreak buckets from Connor Marcum, and a hard-fought inside score from Noah Johnson.
The pace was fast, and East Prairie was in control early on. But Dexter’s early timeout allowed them to regroup, and the Bearcats started to find their rhythm, trimming the lead to 17-13 by the end of the first quarter.
Allen used the timeout to recalibrate his team, urging them to play with greater poise.
“We had to call timeout and try to change their mindsets,” Allen said. “We had to get after them a little bit, but we came out of the timeout and played much better the rest of the game. We started stopping their transition game. They got some easy buckets on us early because I don’t think we were ready to come out and match that intensity at the beginning of the game.”
Tucker Temples sparked the Bearcats early in the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, including one from deep range, giving Dexter its first lead at 19-18.
“Tucker got us going,” Allen said. “We’ve shot it really well this week and it’s been more than one guy. We’re going to have that again against an extremely tough Puxico team, but our guys are ready and looking forward to it.”
The momentum shift was clear as Dexter began to play with the kind of freedom and confidence that had been missing. While the Bearcats settled into their rhythm, the Eagles, weighed down by the mounting pressure, struggled to find a flow.
Despite a clutch 3-pointer from Wallace, which cut the lead to 26-23, Dexter responded swiftly when Will Guethle powered through for a conventional 3-point play, pushing the lead back to multiple possessions.
The back-and-forth continued, with East Prairie managing to stay within striking distance. After a Wallace block, Johnson converted a fastbreak layup, cutting the lead to 31-26.
However, Turnbo answered with a basket in the closing seconds, extending the Bearcats’ lead to five points as the teams headed into the break.
The Eagles’ frustration began to show early in the second half as baskets from Elijah Ibrahim and Turnbo helped extend the lead to 38-28.
Dexter, which had shown flashes of dominance in the tournament’s earlier rounds, capitalized on mistakes, going on a 10-0 run to extend the margin to 48-33 by the end of the third quarter.
Although East Prairie wasn’t out of the fight, it struggled to regain offensive balance.
Forced into a reactive mode, the Eagles faltered with uncharacteristic turnovers and hurried decisions under pressure.
The Bearcats, on the other hand, remained composed, dictating the tempo with controlled offensive execution and aggressive drives to the rim.
East Prairie managed one final push late in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 53-45 with 1:04 left, but Dexter responded immediately by breaking the full-court press and converting on the other end, pushing the lead back to double digits.
The Bearcats’ depth and defensive consistency were key throughout the game. Turnbo led the Bearcats with 15 points, and Ibrahim finished with 14.
“Elijah Ibrahim and Devin Turnbo did an excellent job tonight,” Allen said. “Turnbo is so strong and tough and Ibrahim is so shifty. They can both get to the rim against one-on-ones, and they’re both doing a great job for us this year. We hope they keep it going.”
Temples added 11, while Guethle’s and Sepulvado’s contributions in critical moments helped keep East Prairie from closing the gap.
The win set up a meeting with top-seeded Puxico (8-1) in the championship game — marking the first time since 1965 that two Stoddard County teams will face off for a title.
“The Stoddard County Conference is about as good as I have ever seen it this year,” Allen said. “It’s amazing how many good teams are in this conference.”
East Prairie faces Bernie (3-2) in the third-place game at 7 p.m.
DEXTER 56, EAST PRAIRIE 47
| Dexter | 13 | 18 | 17 | 8 | — | 56 |
| E. Prairie | 17 | 9 | 7 | 14 | — | 47 |
Dexter (56) — Devin Turnbo 15, Elijah Ibrahim 14, Tucker Temples 11, Will Guethle 9, John Sepulvado 7. FG: 23. FT: 3-4. F: 11. (3-pointers: Temples 3, Guethle 2. Fouled out: None.)
East Prairie (47) — Noah Johnson 20, Connor Marcum 10, Tripp Shoemaker 8, Ty Wallace 7, Tavion Ware 2. FG: 21. FT: 3-6. F: 12. (3-pointers: Wallace 2. Fouled out: None.)