Sikeston nails 12 three-pointers in loss to Jackson

JACKSON - How many 3-pointers is enough?

For the Sikeston Bulldogs, 12 won't cut it.

For the second time in three games the Bulldogs canned 12 three-pointers, but came up short both times,

This time they fell to the Jackson Indians on Tuesday night at Jackson High School, 54-49.

Sikeston came out with all guns blazing, making 10 three-pointers in the first half alone to take a 35-26 halftime lead against the favored Indians.

But Jackson (17-3, 3-1 SEMO Conference) put the clamps on the Bulldogs in the second half, out-scoring them 28-14 to pull out the come-from-behind win.

"Our gameplan was to get out on shooters," said Jackson head coach Mike Kiehne. "We knew they could do that, I heard they did the same thing against Notre Dame in the Superman Classic."

Things were going so well in the first half that they even banked in a couple.

"We're going to shoot it," said Sikeston head coach Gregg Holifield. "We're not very big inside, you can tell by looking at us. Our post game is 5-11 and 6-foot. But we do have three or four outstanding shooters. It's something that we're going to continue to do. When we're open, we're going to shoot it."

For the game, Sikeston hit 12-of-25 from downtown for a 48 percent clip.

But on the flip side, the Bulldogs made just five 2-point field goals and didn't get it done from the free throw line, making just 3-of-11.

Sikeston (4-10, 1-2 SEMO) only had 10 turnovers, but had several at crucial times.

But Holifield is just happy that his team still competes despite numerous roster changes this season.

"I thought we wore down a little bit because they're so big and physical," said Holifield. "Going in there on their home court against a team that's 17-3 and battling like we did -- I think it shows the character of our kids."

The Bulldogs still were in a position to win the game with 1:02 left.

Leading 50-49, Jackson went into a stall game with a little over four minutes left.

The Indians held the ball until Sikeston fouled Nick Fiehler with 1:02 left in the game.

Kiehne explained his decision to hold the ball.

"I was just hoping that he would come out in a man to man and that would help us free up (Tyler) McNeely in the post one-on-one," he said. "Gregg stuck to his gameplan and made us work for it. We don't do that very often. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do or not. We just took a chance to see if they would play us man-to-man and he wasn't going to budge."

Fiehler made the first free throw, but he missed the second. The Bulldogs didn't capitalize though as McNeely grabbed the offensive rebound and cleared it to a guard.

"I thought that was an advantage coming in," said Kiehne of his team's work on the glass. "I knew they didn't have a whole lot of height and I thought we could control the boards. We were fortunate McNeely made a play."

It proved to be the game-clinching play. Fiehler was fouled again and made both attempts with 18 seconds left to increase the lead to 53-49.

Sikeston never got another shot off.

Holifield said Jackson's stall game worked right into his hands, except for the missed rebound opportunity.

"I knew that would give us a chance to get the basketball back down two and possibly three with a minute to go," said Holifield. "It would've played right into our hands if we could've gotten the rebound."

Sikeston led through most of the game as they led 14-7 after one quarter.

The Bulldogs were up by as much as 11 in the second quarter led by freshman guard Joe Lincoln's four 3-pointers. Lincoln finished the first half with five 3-pointers to help the Bulldogs to a 35-26 halftime lead.

Jackson cut into the lead in the third quarter but Sikeston still led 43-39 heading into the fourth.

The Indians took their first lead since the early first quarter with 5:17 left in the game.

Kiehne said his team adjusted better in the second half on the Bulldogs' 3-point attack.

"We were cutting off penetration when (Kash) Bratcher would drive, but he would throw it out there and they were stroking 3s," said Kiehne. "I just told the guys that we couldn't help off. We would rather give up a layup than a wide open three at that point in the game."

Jackson was led by Jason Schafer with 19 points. Jack Puisis had 10 points and McNeely had nine points.

Lincoln finished with a varsity career-high 17 points. Bratcher, a sophomore, had four 3-pointers to account for 14 points.

Bratcher also had five assists and two steals.

"We've got a freshman and sophomore out there playing well and that really says something for our future," said Holifield.

Senior forward Freddie Wiggins had eight rebounds. Joel Nabors added six rebounds.

Junior Drew Cole provided a spark off the bench, scoring a varsity career-high six points.

"Drew Cole, who's had some health problems, came in and just gave us a big lift," said Holifield. "He competed and battled and I can't say enough about the effort he gave us off the bench. He really got us going. Every year we start playing our best basketball right now. This year I don't think is going to be any different."

Sikeston will host Kelly on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Sikeston jayvee team fell to 8-3 on the season and 1-2 in conference play with a 48-46 loss to Jackson (14-1, 4-0 SEMO).

Sikeston was led by Rod Moore's 16 points and seven rebounds. Trey Spence added 10 points with nine rebounds. Freshman Julian Beard had eight points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Jeremy Conley had five rebounds and B.J. Green had four assists.