The Dexter boys’ basketball team returned to the win column on Tuesday night and it’s a place they might see a lot more of moving forward.
Dexter dribbled past visiting Bedford thanks to a huge third quarter for a 58-41 victory after a string of losses against very good competition. The Dreadnaughts are getting healthy and playing better, which can be a game changer for the stretch run of the regular season and the District playoffs.
“We are slowly getting back to our full roster and being 100 percent,” says Dexter Coach Jason Rushton, who has been more like Hawkeye Pierce (google it if you don’t get the reference) than John Wooden the past month. “It has been a growth process for us in this new year, but (Tuesday) we started to see what we can do when we lock in on the defensive side and let it feed our offense.”
The Dreadnaughts were active on defense which created deflections leading to turnovers and oftentimes points at the other end.
“The first quarter got away from us a little bit, but we grinded and settled in during the second quarter,” Rushton said. “We’ve struggled lately coming out strong to begin the third quarter which was a focus of ours at halftime. I thought we responded well to that challenge and had a great run to set the tone for the second half.”
Bedford led 11-10 after the first quarter before Dexter’s 16-8 run sent them into the break with a 26-19 halftime lead. The Dreadnaughts busted out of the break with a huge 24-9 run in the third quarter to pull away with a 50-28 lead. Bedford outscored Dexter 13-8 in the final period but the damage was done.
Evan Haroldson was challenged to elevate his game defensively and responded, which translated to his offense. He led Dexter with 17 points including three triples in that big third quarter and five for the game. Haroldson also had 4 rebounds.
Brennan Parachek had a strong game and a couple of big dunks. He finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Cal Bavineau was his usually strong defensive presence and got everyone involved in the offensive. The senior had 10 points, 10 assists and 3 steals.
Ty Rychener was active on both ends of the floor and finished with 7 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Joey Tessmer has emerged as a spark for Dexter off the bench and finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds.
