DEXTER -- Junior Alan Pippins provided the spark, and the Dexter Bearcats came to life in the fourth quarter Thursday night to beat rival Bernie 55-44 at Dexter High School.
The Bearcats, who trailed for much of the Stoddard County Activities Association game, outscored Bernie 25-14 in the fourth.
"Alan hit a big 3 in the corner, and we fed off his energy," Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said.
Pippins scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the final quarter, and he went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to help secure the win for the Bearcats.
Pippins' first of two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter gave the Bearcats their first lead of the game at 33-32. However, Blake Harty answered with a jumper to put Bernie ahead. That lead was short-lived.
The Bearcats (9-5, 4-0 SCAA) responded with a 10-3 run. Dawson Kasting, who totaled 14 points, finished on a long pass from Clay Mullins for a 35-34 advantage, a lead they never relinquished.
That sequence began with a Bernie turnover.
"I thought your defensive pressure in the second half created quite a few turnovers and tllted the game in our favor," Dowdy said.
Another turnover led to a free throw by Ben Sindle, and Mullins finished on a feed from Seth Rogers who led a fastbreak following a defensive rebound.
Josh Ellenburg momentarily stopped the Dexter surge with a 3-pointer, but Mullins followed with two of his 10 points and Pippins made another 3-pointer for a 43-37 lead.
After Michael Suiter scored a wide-open layup, the Bearcats stretched their lead to 48-39 on a three-point play by Kasting and a basket by Rogers who turned a pass from Gabe Jackson into two points.
"I think ... their kids turned it up and competed better," Bernie coach Brad Botsch said. "We turned the ball over too much. Their intensity level increased and we weren't able to match that. That was a big focus for us to match their intensity for the entire game."
The Mules (11-5, 2-2) opened the contest with a zone defense that focused on keeping the ball out of the 6-foot-5 Jackson's hands. Their strategy was successful because Jackson managed only six points which was about eight below his season average.
"We have had success this year against zones, but tonight we stood around a lot early in the game," Dowdy said.
The Mules jumped ahead 8-2 and extended their lead to 13-6 by quarter's end. Nate Dillinger scored four of his team-high 13 points in the first quarter, and Hunter Slavings made a 3-pointer late to give the Mules their seven-point lead.
Dexter closed its deficit to three points twice in the second quarter. Nate Gargas' steal and layup sliced Bernie's lead to 15-12 and his jumper cut it to 17-14.
"Nate Gargas came in and gave us some great minutes," Dowdy said. "Nate is that yes-sir guy that always tries to do his best."
The Mules pushed their lead back to eight before Pippins sank a 3-pointer before halftime, trimming Bernie's lead to 24-19.
"I thought Bernie beat us in every facet of the game in the first half," Dowdy said. "They executed offensively. Their zone presented us problems. What was the most disappointing is I thought they played harder than us.
"We have to play better than that down the stretch. The boys know that."
The Bearcats sliced their deficit to two twice in the third quarter before eventually tying the game at the buzzer. Pippins' jumper capped a 6-0 run to cut Bernie's lead 27-25, and Kasting's three-point play with 2:12 to go sliced the lead to 30-28.
Jackson scored on a putback at the buzzer to tie the score at 30.