DEXTER -- The Dexter Bearcats turned up the pressure defensively, and the Perryville Pirates didn't have an answer.
The Bearcats pulled away in the second half Monday night and cruised to a 67-35 nonconference win.
Dexter led 37-23 at halftime and then outscored the Pirates 30-12 in the second half.
"I felt like we turned up the dial in the third quarter. This team, and any team for that matter, it starts with our defense," Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. "I thought our defensive energy picked up and allowed us to get out in transition. We started moving the ball around better against their zone. I felt like we took a lot of quick shots in the first half."
Consistent effort on defense has been a problem for the Pirates all season.
"We do a really good job for 15 or 20 seconds defensively, and then it's like we're out of gas and can't go any further," Perryville coach Dustin Wengert said. "It starts defensively, and until these guys learn that on an every day basis and learn how to play 32 minutes defensively and not just seconds here and there, we're going to struggle against good basketball teams."
Zach Cissell and Wade Kirn hit early 3-pointers to give the Pirates a 6-5 lead, but the Bearcats replied with a 10-0 run.
Alan Pippins made the second of his six 3-pointers to put Dexter ahead. Pippins finished with a game-high 18 points.
Dawson Kasting scored on a pass from Clay Mullins. Kasting fed Gabe Jackson for a bucket, Nate Gargas made a free throw and Jackson scored on a putback for a 15-6 lead.
Chase Brown's floater from just outside the lane stopped the run, but the Bearcats closed the quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 23-9 lead into the second quarter.
Another 3-pointer by Pippins and five of Kasting's seven first-quarter points gave Dexter a 14-point lead.
Each team scored 14 points in the second.
"We pushed the ball up the floor a little bit better. Got some easy shots. Got some open shots," Wengert said. "A lot can be attributed to how a team plays defensively. You get easy layups."
Brown made two of his four 3-pointers in the second quarter to help the Pirates keep pace.
"We came out and tried some different defenses, some zone traps," Dowdy said. "We were able to create some turnovers and get some easy baskets, but by in turn doing that, we gave up some shots to some of their better shooters. I didn't really like that, so we had to switch out of it and went back to our staple we've had a lot of success with all year, man-to-man."
Mullins and Jackson were responsible for all 15 of Dexter's third-quarter points. Mullins scored eight of his 16 points in the third, and Jackson had seven of his 12, allowing their team to take a 52-30 lead into the fourth quarter.
"Credit to Dexter, they stayed awful patient offensively in the second half and still were able to put up a lot of points," Wengert said. "When you've got such a force inside like Jackson, you've got to draw attention to him and he just kicks it back out and they hit a couple of shots outside. Their offense clicked and defensively, we didn't do good enough a job of stopping anything."
Brown made two more 3-pointers in the third and finished with a Perryville-best 16 points. He was the only Pirate to score in double figures.
The Bearcats' game against Bell City on Tuesday night has been moved up an hour because of the potential for freezing rain. The varsity-only matchup will start at 5 p.m. at the Bearcat Event Center.
Dexter won the junior varsity game 65-41.