BLOOMFIELD -- The Dexter Bearcats are looking for a repeat performance. The Hayti Indians are seeking completion of unfinished business.
Dexter enters the 61st annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament as the top seed and defending champion. The Bearcats beat last year's top seed, Hayti, 57-34 to win their tournament-leading 10th championship.
This year, the Indians are the No. 2 seed and are seeking their second BCT title and first since 2007.
"Our side of the bracket is very difficult. (No. 9) Kennett, (No. 8) South Pemiscot, (No. 4) Malden and (No. 5) East Prairie have as much talent and in some cases more than what we do," Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. "Our guys know what we expect -- to play with great intensity on both ends of the floor and do it with class. As far as moving on in the tournament, we will have to execute our plan real well each night to advance."
Last year, the Bearcats, who were seeded second, beat Holcomb 101-49, Portageville 65-59 and Kennett 42-39 to reach the final.
Both the Bearcats and Indians faced their first-round opponents last week. The Bearcats routed No. 16 Richland 106-34 last Friday night, and the Indians crushed No. 15 Holcomb 87-20 the previous night.
Neither coach is willing to look past any opponent in anticipation of a rematch.
"It's one game at a time," Hayti coach Aaron Bidewell told the Daily Dunklin Democrat. "If you don't take it that way, you get beat. I don't know if it's ever been as well-coached as it is right now top to bottom. Just full of good, high-quality coaches. They do a good job, everybody's got their team ready to play. Every night you go in there, you're going to get challenged, so you better be ready."
The tournament begins Tuesday with first-round matchups. Quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, followed by semifinals Thursday and the championship round Friday.
Here's a look at the teams in order of their seed:
No. 1 Dexter
The Bearcats enter tournament play with a 2-5 record with six of those games coming against teams from the tough SEMO Conference. They beat Charleston 59-54 in the first round of the SEMO Conference Tournament for their first win of the season.
The trio of Gabe Jackson, Clay Mullins and Ben Sindle lead the Bearcats with 14-point averages. Jackson averages eight rebounds, and Mullins averages five assists.
No. 2 Hayti
The Indians (4-2) are 3-0 against tournament competition, beating Holcomb, Twin Rivers (68-36) and Doniphan (72-66).
Three Hayti players average in double figures: Kobe Cooper (23.5 points), Darius Jones (19.5) and Ivory Winters (10.4).
No. 3 Bernie
The Mules, winners of three BCT titles including the 2014 championship, hope to improve on last year's finish. Twin Rivers beat the Mules 60-55 in the consolation final.
The Mules are off to a 7-0 start this season that includes winning their own tournament and entered the week as the only unbeaten team in the tournament field. The Mules were scheduled to play at Naylor on Thursday night.
No. 4 Malden
The Green Wave, six-time champions, are 6-1 and carry a four-game win streak into the tournament. They placed third in the Oran Invitational after losing 64-61 to the top-ranked team in Class 1, Advance, in the semifinals. They already have beaten three BCT teams: Richland (102-40), Twin Rivers (56-33) and Kennett (66-42).
"To win the BCT, we will have to put together four days of top-notch basketball," Malden coach Andrew Halford said. "There are too many good teams in the tournament to have one bad game. Our kids are excited for the start to the season, and we feel we have a lot of momentum coming into the tournament."
No. 5 East Prairie
The Eagles could be a dark horse in the tournament. Despite never winning the tournament, the Eagles knocked off the defending Class 2 state champion Oran 68-59 last week and have won three straight games.
Derek Tipler leads a balanced East Prairie attack with 18 points per game. Luke Marcum (15 points), Brian Merryman (14), Mason Bryars (12) and Jon Ross (12) also average in double figures.
No. 6 Doniphan
The Dons (2-7) are coming off a 60-51 loss Tuesday night to Mountain View Liberty. Last week, the Dons lost 70-51 to ninth-seeded Kennett. One of the Dons' wins came against a BCT team: Gideon (75-43).
No. 7 Portageville
The Bulldogs won the Clarkton Holiday Tournament on Friday night, beating Risco 54-46.
The Bulldogs have won four straight after losing 69-51 to East Prairie in their season opener.
Ian Torrey leads Portageville with a scoring average of 24.2 points, and Bub Lance contributes 14 a game.
No. 8 South Pemiscot
The Bulldogs, coached by former Poplar Bluff standout Mike Kilgore, started the season 5-0 before losing to Risco (66-55) in the semifinals of the Clarkton tournament and St. Louis Christian in the third-place game.
Darius Johnson (11 points per game) and Kevin Burton (10) lead the South Pemiscot offense.
No. 9 Kennett
The Indians (2-5) snapped a three-game losing streak with their win over Doniphan on Friday night. The Indians' other win was a 60-29 decision against Scott City.
No. 10 Bloomfield
The Wildcats carry a 5-2 record into their own tournament. They lost 69-49 to Advance on Friday night. They had won five straight following a 53-51 season-opening loss to Neelyville in the Bernie tournament.
The Wildcats are 3-0 against BCT teams, beating Twin Rivers (63-61), Gideon (61-49) and Richland (64-35).
Peyton Bell paces Bloomfield with 18.8 points a game. Dalton Phillips averages 11.7, and Travis McCullough averages 11.2.
No. 11 Puxico
In games against BCT teams, the Indians split a pair of matchups against Twin Rivers and lost to Bernie (83-70) and No. 12 Van Buren (77-69). The Indians beat Twin Rivers 75-61 at the Bernie tournament and lost 67-46 in a regular-season matchup.
No. 12 Van Buren
The Bulldogs improved to 4-3 with a 71-70 win over Viburnum on Tuesday night. They beat 11th-seeded Puxico earlier this season.
Hayden Towner leads the Bulldogs, averaging 20 points, and Conner Jackson contributes 14.8 points a contest.
No. 13 Twin Rivers
The Royals evened their record at 4-4 with a 64-53 win against Clearwater on Friday night, but their up-and-down season includes four losses to BCT foes: Puxico, Bloomfield, Malden and Hayti. However, they have beaten two tournament teams: Holcomb (75-43) and Puxico in a rematch.
"We've recently won three out of the last four games," Twin Rivers coach Seth McBroom said. "Maybe that leads to some decent momentum going into the tournament. It's such a great tournament and very enjoyable. Hopefully, we can go over and do some good things."
Hayden Thomas averages a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) for the Royals. Jamie Robards averages 12.5 points and Zach Hargraves contributes 10 a contest.
No. 14 Gideon
The Bulldogs are 0-4 against BCT competition, losing to Doniphan, Bloomfield, Bernie and Portageville (79-28).
No. 15 Holcomb
Holcomb brings an 0-5 record into the tournament and is the only winless team in the field. The Hornets are 0-3 against tournament competition, losing to Bernie (73-28), Twin Rivers and Hayti.
No. 16 Richland
The Rebels bring a 2-4 record into the tournament, including three losses to tournament foes. They lost to Dexter, Malden and Bloomfield.
Daniel Petty leads the Rebels, averaging 14 points game.