Turnbo stepping up for Bearcats on hardwood

DEXTER — The Dexter Bearcats boys basketball squad is laboring of late, as it has dropped four of its past five games. The Bearcats (7-9) will try and get back on a successful trend today when they visit New Madrid County Central (3-10) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Dexter is coming off a 10-point loss on Tuesday to Class 2 No. 3-ranked Puxico at the Bearcat Event Center. In that defeat, the Indians closed the game on a 16-3 run and their dominance on the glass was a big reason why Dexter faltered late.

“Puxico was active,” Dexter coach Chad Allen said of the rebounding difference. “We turned around and looked (at the missed shots) a lot.”

That focus hasn’t often been the case this season, as the Bearcats have had a number of games in which it performed well on the glass, in large part due to having Devin Turnbo in their starting lineup.

“He makes a ton of difference for us,” Allen said of Turnbo.

Turnbo is battling a knee injury and had to come out of the game against Puxico for a stretch in the second half.

“It’s bothering him quite a bit,” Allen said of his knee ailment. “We definitely need to try and get that healed.”

When Turnbo is healthy, he is a leaping, strong athlete, who can grab rebounds with fierceness, as well as score through physical contact.

“He’s so athletic,” Puxico coach Bryant Fernetti said after competing against the Bearcats. “He’s an athlete out there who is so strong and can jump.”

Turnbo also presents problems for opponents at the offensive end of the court. He totaled 12 points in the loss to Puxico and had 17 in a recent overtime loss at Bernie.

“You don’t want to come out (on the perimeter) so far on him that he blows by you,” Fernetti explained. “But you also don’t want to let him get within five feet (of the basket).

“It kind of puts you in a (tough) position.”

A lot of Turnbo’s offense is generated, not necessarily out of offensive sets, but simply effort plays. He’ll crash the offensive glass and score on putbacks, or he’ll draw fouls through contact and get to the free-throw line.

“You have to ask yourself do I want to come out and guard a little bit,” Fernetti said, “or do I want to sag off of him? He does a good job of using his body with spin moves. He finds little creases in there.

“He’s a good player.”

With Bearcat forward Gibson Booker out for most of this season with his own knee injury, Allen has relied heavily on Bearcat football players Turnbo and center Landon Annesser, neither of whom bring length, but both bring strength.

“(Turnbo) makes a ton of difference when he is 100 percent,” Allen said. “When he is aggressive, it is hard to stop him.

“Usually, her can get to the rim, no matter what and he finishes well.”