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By MIKE JOSEPH
Traveler Correspondent

DEXTER -- Eric Pappan may have been the shortest player on the floor, but he came up huge late in the game, draining two free throws with 13.6 seconds left, sending the Dexter Fightin' Cardinals to a 58-55 win over the Caldwell Bluejays Tuesday night.

"Eric was my guy tonight," said a jubilant Dexter coach Dennis Bryant. "Not only did he come up big for us tonight at the line, but he did a great job running this team on the floor."

With the score tied at 44 heading into the final period, the Bluejays went up 48-44 as 6-foot-3 senior Jeff Nulik scored back-to-back baskets inside to open the quarter. Dexter senior Cody Minor answered with back-to-back buckets of his own, knotting the score at 48 with 5:40 remaining.

After a Caldwell miss, Pappan was fouled on a drive to the basket. The 5-foot-5 junior canned both free throws giving the Cardinals a 50-48 lead.

A minute later, Nulik's spin move around Garret Pudden resulted in an easy basket tying the score at 50 with 4:04 left. Pappan was fouled again on the next Dexter possession and sank both foul shots for a 52-50 Cardinal advantage.

Following a Dexter timeout to set up the delay game, the Cardinals turned the ball over when Bradley Berkley lost the ball out of bounds with 2:35 showing on the clock.

Caldwell senior Devan Whaley's three-pointer from the right wing gave the Bluejays a slim 53-52 lead at the 2:20 mark. But Minor came right back, scoring on a left-handed jump hook in the lane.

Nulik, who took game high honors with 30-points on the night, gave the Bluejays the lead, 55-54 with 50.4-seconds left, off an offensive rebound and put-back.

Bryant immediately called timeout to diagram a play for the Cardinals. "Cody (Minor) told me, 'Coach just get me the ball and I can score,' " said Bryant. "So we set up a play to get the ball inside to him and he did the rest."

Minor took the ball off the inbound, drove to the basket but missed the shot. Minor rebounded the carom and scored on a reverse lay-in giving Dexter a 56-55 lead with less than 30-seconds left.

Nulik missed inside on the next Bluejay possession, with Minor rebounding the shot. Pappan took the outlet and was fouled, where he calmly converted both free throws, forcing Caldwell into a three-point attempt with time running out.

Whaley's attempt from the right wing rimmed out. Nulik rebounded but couldn't get a shot off before the buzzer.

The Cardinals took control of the contest in the first half, building a 17-8 first quarter lead highlighted by three-point baskets by Minor and Berkley. Caldwell stayed within striking distance in the second period as Nulik took charge inside, scoring eight of his 10 first-half points. His back-to-back baskets to open the quarter pulled the Bluejays within five at 19-14.

Sophomore Tyler Marker gave the Cardinals a boost off the bench, hitting three-of-four from beyond the arc in the second quarter as Dexter went into the locker room up 37-27.

"We told the boys to expect their (Caldwell's) best shot coming out in the third quarter," said Bryant.

A 13-4 run by the Bluejays trimmed the Dexter lead to 41-40 with 3:40 left in the third. Nulik gave Caldwell its first lead, 44-43, at the 1:32 mark with a 10-foot jumper from inside the paint.

Minor led a balanced Cardinal attack with 17 points and eight rebounds. Pappan and Berkley were also in double figures with 11 points apiece.

With the win, the Cardinals (5-6) move into the semi-final round of the Dale Misak/SCBL tournament and will square off against Argonia at 7:00 pm Friday night at W.S. Scott Auditorium.

CALDWELL 8 19 17 11--55
DEXTER 17 20 7 14--58

Caldwell -- Nulik 30, Kuehny 8, Provencio 5, Lebeda 4, Whaley 3, Schmidt 3, Thomas 2.
Dexter -- Minor 17, E. Pappan 11, Berkley 11, Marker 9, Pudden 6, Muntz 4.