DEXTER -- Alan Pippins made three first-quarter 3-pointers to loosen up Puxico's zone defense, and the top-seeded Dexter Bearcats stormed ahead for a 78-46 victory in the semifinals of the Stoddard County Activities Association Tournament on Thursday night at the Bearcat Event Center.
The Bearcats (12-5), who stretched their win streak to 11 games, will meet third-seeded Bernie in the championship game at 8:30 p.m. tonight. Bernie upset No. 2 Advance 63-42 in Thursday's other semifinal.
"Again, these teams are just playing us zone. We're trying to feed the post, but they're collapsing on Gabe (Jackson), and we're having to take what the defense gives us," Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said. "We don't want to just go out and shoot 3s all night, but at the same time, we need to loosen that zone up. Once Alan starting hitting a few, that helped us out."
The Indians (9-9) achieved one of their goals, holding the 6-foot-5 Jackson in check. The senior scored only eight points.
"We executed our gameplan tonight," Puxico coach Nathan Martin said, "but Pippins shot well. They moved the ball so well, and when Gabe gets it, he passes to the cutters well. Josh (Dowdy) has got a system, and it works. Those boys have fully bought into his system."
Neither team led by more than two points early before Pippins, who scored a game-high 22 points, hit the first of his six 3-pointers, giving the Bearcats a 9-8 lead and sparking an 11-0 run.
Pippins, who started in place of an injured Ben Sindle, hit consecutive 3-pointers during that stretch, Dawson Kasting scored on a putback, and Seth Rogers, who amassed 10 points, made a 3 to cap the run and give Dexter a 17-8 lead.
The two teams exchanged baskets for the rest of the quarter, and the Bearcats took a 22-12 lead into the second where Clay Mullins went on the attack.
The Dexter senior scored nine of his 20 points in the second quarter where his team extended its lead to 37-23 by halftime.
"In the first quarter, we did a good job of containing Clay," Martin said. "Once he gets a full head of steam, it's hard to stop him without fouling him. Clay's a very smart basketball player. He slashes well. He finds gaps. He cuts well off Gabe. He creates for others. He's a good all-around player."
Mullins helped the Bearcats create offense in transition.
"We were able to get out in the open floor. We wanted to push the ball off of any miss or make Puxico had. I feel like that helped us get out in transition," Dowdy said. "Clay was able to get to the rim. (We) felt confident that we would be able to penetrate against their defense whether it was zone, man or transition. He did a great job of doing that."
Levi Woods kept the Indians close in the second, scoring seven of his 19 points in the period.
"That's a boy that seems like he's been around for six or seven years," Dowdy said. "We're going to have to go over there and play him again next Tuesday. He's one heck of a basketball player. He plays so hard. I have the utmost respect for him."
Despite nearly reaching the 20-point mark, Woods never found a rhythm against the Bearcats. Dowdy credited the defense of Kasting for keeping Woods from having a big night.
"Dawson Kasting steps up to the challenge defensively each night," Dowdy said. "There's not an all-tournament team selection for a defensive player, but if there was, he would definitely be my choice."
Mullins continued to attack in the third quarter, producing another nine points, and Pippins and Rogers each made a 3-pointer, pushing the Bearcats' lead to 58-36 by the start of the fourth.
Kasting scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and Pippins had eight with the help of two 3-pointers. The Bearcats strung together 13 straight points to extend their lead past 30, enacting the mercy rule.
"I'm real proud of my group," Dowdy said. "Again, we held a group that had the potential to put a lot of points up on the board in Puxico, and we held them under 50 points."