Potosi holds off upset-minded Bearcats

DEXTER — The Dexter Bearcats boys basketball gave the Potosi Trojans all they wanted in Monday’s Class 4 sectional contest.

The Bearcats were tied with Potosi, the No. 6 team in Class 4, late in the third quarter and fought to the end before falling 49-45 at the Bearcat Event Center.

Dexter wraps its season with a record of 14-14, a five-win improvement over last season.

“Coming into this game, I thought (Kanaan Wilson) and (Carter Whitley) were their main guys — which they are their main guys,” Dexter coach Chad Allen said. “But I just thought those other guys stepped up huge for Potosi and they had well-balanced scoring — and a lot of that had to do to with (Whitley). I didn't really realize how great of a passer he was coming into this game, but he creates for them, he gets it on people, and they're a tough matchup.”

The Bearcats definitely showed their resiliency against a tough Potosi squad on Monday.

E.J. Sansegraw's basket just over a minute into the secind quarter capped a 13-0 run for the Trojans and staked them to a 17-7 lead, but Dexter answered with a 6-0 run of its own, cutting the lead to 17-13 on Carter Stone's 3-pointer with 3:36 left in the first half.

Stone's triple was one of eight the Bearcats hit Monday night.

“When we moved the ball against their matchup (zone), I thought we had a lot of great looks,” Allen said. “There were times that we didn't attack the gaps like we should have tonight, and it's something that we've definitely got to do more next year.”

Dexter continued to chip away at the Trojans' lead in the third quarter, tying the score at 29 on John Sepulvado's bucket with roughly 2 1/2 minutes left in the period. However, those were the last points the Bearcats scored for nearly six minutes, allowing Potosi to go on a 12-0 run and take a 41-29 lead on Whitley's basket with 5:15 remaining.

Dexter rallied one last time, going on a 10-1 run and making it a three-point game (42-39) on Sepulvado's trey with 1:31 remaining. However, the Trojans were 7-for-10 at the foul line in the final 81 seconds to preserve the win.

Sepulvado led the Bearcats with 17 points, while Tucker Temples added 12 and Elijah Ibrahim finished with 11.

Whitley paced Potosi with 13 points, while Wilson and Peyton Rowe each had 11, Sansegraw added seven and Thomas Lambing finished with six.

With just one senior — Tucker Temples — graduating, the Bearcats can return almost their entire roster next season, giving Allen and Dexter fans cause for optimism.

“We had one senior with Tucker and we're definitely going to miss him a lot, because he's such a great shooter and smart,” Allen said. “I told the guys, 'Tucker stepped up huge this year for us,' Especially for our juniors coming back, they're going to have to step up a lot like Tucker did this year.

“We had a great season. I think a lot of people didn't think that we'd win our district, especially with a senior-heavy Notre Dame team. I think we definitely surprised a lot of people and I just hope the main takeaway from this is we've just got to keep getting better and got to step up more next year.”