Roaring toward the 'Zou: Bulldogs headed to second state semifinal in three years

Sikeston knocks down free throws to preserve quarterfinal win

sports@standard-democrat.com

FARMINGTON -- "Free throw shooting only matters in close games."

It's a common phrase used among basketball pundits.

On Saturday night, it certainly proved true for the Sikeston Bulldogs.

Sikeston needed some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch in a hard-fought 62-52 victory over Gateway Tech in a Class 4 quarterfinal game on Saturday at the Farmington Civic Center.

The Bulldogs (26-2) advance to the final four for the second time in three years where they will play Normandy (19-8) on Thursday at 3:30 at Mizzou Arena.

The Bulldogs will try to reclaim the Class 4 state championship that they won two years ago during its 30-0 Hall of Fame season.

"I'm just ready to get there," Sikeston junior J.T. Jones said, who was a freshman on the team that year. "It's an incredible feeling and an amazing atmosphere. Last time we got first place. We want to try to bring back another state title to Sikeston."

The Bulldogs have long been favored to make it back to Columbia, having been ranked No. 1 in Class 4 for most of the season, but Saturday's game against Gateway Tech was a nail-biter.

The Jaguars (14-14), based out of St. Louis, entered the game on fire and were playing its best basketball of the season, winning nine of its last 11 games with intentions of keeping its unlikely playoff run going.

The Bulldogs led through most of the game, but had to withstand a fourth quarter rally by the Jaguars.

With 1:49 left in the game, Gateway Tech's Andrenos Powell drained an NBA range 3-pointer to cut Sikeston's lead to 51-50.

With momentum on the side of the Jaguars, the Bulldogs' own long range assassin, Markeith Bratcher, buried a crucial 3-pointer just 20 seconds later on a skip pass from Jones to erupt the huge Sikeston crowd.

It was the biggest shot of the game up to that point for the Bulldogs.

"Markeith is known for hitting big shots," Jones said. "Ever since I've known him he's hit big shots. I threw it to him and I knew he was going to hit it."

On the ensuing possession, Gateway Tech's Kennis Body quieted the Sikeston crowd, for the moment, when he scored on a short basket to cut the Bulldog lead to two with just over a minute remaining.

With the clock ticking, it became evident that Sikeston would need to hit its free throws to win the game.

And they did just that.

First, Kyland Gross was fouled and went to the line for a double bonus situation with 58 seconds left.

The senior calmly hit both free throws, extending Sikeston's lead to four.

"Those were huge," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said of Gross. "I had a lot of confidence with him in that situation."

Sikeston was able to get defensive stops from that point and drained six more free throws to ice the victory.

In all, after struggling the entire night from the charity stripe, Sikeston hit 14 of 15 from the line in the fourth quarter.

"That's just players stepping up and hitting big free throws," Holifield said. "Our players have been in those situations before. They just know how to win games at the end."

This was unfamiliar territory for Gateway Tech, which last played in the quarterfinals in 2008 in Class 5, as opposed to Sikeston, which was playing in its fifth straight quarterfinal game at the Civic Center.

"I think experience kind of took over," Gateway Tech coach Bryan Turner said. "These guys have been there the last few years in this situation and it kind of prevailed for them tonight."

The Bulldogs seemed to be in control of the game through most of the night, but never could shake the Jaguars.

Gateway Tech took the lead in the early first quarter on a Tyler Price 3-pointer, only to be answered seconds later by a Bratcher 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 9-7 lead.

The Jaguars tied the game on a shot by Powell, but Sikeston surged ahead on a 3-pointer by Vashawn Ruffin. The Bulldogs, despite being held scoreless the final three minutes of the first quarter, still held a 15-12 lead.

"We weren't as aggressive as we should've been inside," Holifield said. "But they had a lot to do with that with their pressure on our guards, which took away some of our entry passes."

The Bulldogs hurt themselves in the first half with poor free throw shooting, going 5 of 12.

It proved costly in the second quarter as Gateway Tech pulled ahead with three straight baskets by Jason Johnson and Kenneth McCulley, giving the Jaguars its biggest lead of the night at 18-15.

But Sikeston, scoreless for five minutes of action, did not trail long as Ruffin and Bratcher ended the drought with back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 13-1 run by the Bulldogs. Jairius Ray tipped in a missed shot, Ruffin drained another 3-pointer and Bratcher followed up with an offensive putback to give the Bulldogs a 28-19 lead with 2:08 left in the half.

After two free throws by the Jaguars stopped the run, Ruffin hit 1 of 2 free throws to reach the halftime score of 29-21.

The free throw was his 1,000th point as a varsity player for the Bulldogs.

Heading into halftime, Turner was just pleased that his team had withstood the Bulldogs' run in which they have previously buried teams this season.

"We talked about them going on runs," Turner said. "We looked at a lot of their games and this is a team that's built on going on 15-0 runs and 15-2 runs. We wanted to take their best shot and get a little run of our own."

Gateway Tech started the third quarter with a quick 5-0 run to cut the Bulldog lead to 29-26.

Jones, who was clearly not at full strength after suffering a sprained ankle in Sikeston's sectional game on Wednesday, got the Bulldogs on the board in the second half with his first field goal of the game. He had only scored one point in the first half while battling foul trouble.

But he came alive in the second half, scoring six points in the third quarter. Ray and Zach Jackson also had crucial baskets in the third quarter to help the Bulldogs maintain its lead.

Jones' offensive putback with 10 seconds left in the quarter gave the Bulldogs a 39-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Jaguars would not go away, though.

Sikeston maintained its lead in the fourth and still held a 49-41 advantage after a Ray basket with 3:37 left in the game, but Gateway Tech hit four straight free throws and Powell hit a runner in the lane to cut Sikeston's lead to 49-47 with 2:25 left in the game.

All of a sudden, the Jaguars were right on the Bulldogs' heels and Sikeston needed points in the worst way.

They finally did from the free throw line.

Ruffin, who had just moments earlier missed a crucial one-and-one free throw, came through this time with both ends of a one-and-one with 2:16 left in the game to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 51-47, setting up the final big moments of the game.

"We just stayed calm -- we had confidence we were going to win," said Sikeston senior Jeterrence Harris, who played a major role with five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots off the bench. "We're used to that. We've been in a lot of these pressure situations."

The game had a slower pace than the Bulldogs prefer as Gateway Tech drew out Sikeston's defense and spread the floor.

"We wanted to try to slow the tempo down a little bit and move the ball from side to side because we knew they wanted to come out and pressure us and get us sped up and try to get us in traps and try to score off our mistakes and our turnovers," Turner said. "In the first half we did a pretty good job of that and we were decent in the second half. I just think that down in the end, the big guy J.T. was hard to handle for us down there. They seemed to get all the 50-50 balls and the ball just seemed to somehow bounce in No. 32's hands, and that big guy knows what to do with it down there, I'll tell you that."

Jones scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half, including 6 for 6 on free throws in the final 38 seconds. He also had six rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Jaguars presented the Bulldogs plenty of problems with its quickness and trapping style defense.

"We have never seen a trap defense like that," Jones said. "They were so quick and so athletic. We just had to overcome adversity."

But despite the Jaguars' pressure, Sikeston only had 10 turnovers in the game.

The Bulldogs' problems came on the offensive end as they were only 18 of 50 (36 percent) from the field.

"We didn't shoot the ball very well but you have to credit some of that to Gateway," Holifield said. "We struggled on free throws and making shots, but I'm proud of the players for just finding a way to win."

Sikeston's defense, however, was stifling against the Jaguars, forcing 20 turnovers and many contested shots.

The Jaguars were led by Powell's 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Kennis Body, a 6-foot-3 freshman, followed up with 13 points.

"They're a good experienced team," Turner said of the Bulldogs. "I understand a few of these guys were on the team that won state. You can't take nothing away from that. They've been in this same situation for a number of years. That's what I told my guys. That's an example of a program that's been there. If we want to get to that level and accomplish those things, we've got to look at this game and learn from it and try to get back to this same type of game and get over that hump."

Ruffin led the Bulldogs with 18 points to go with his four assists and six steals. He was 7 of 9 on free throws.

Bratcher had 11 of his 14 points in the first half.

Ray continued his torrid pace in the past few games off the bench, scoring nine points with five rebounds.

This is Sikeston's fourth appearance in the semifinals of the state playoffs, also reaching this stage in 1995, 2006 and 2011.

Saturday's victory was the Bulldogs' 26th of the season, marking the second most wins in a season in school history.

Ruffin says he's already focusing on the Bulldogs' next opponent.

"We're ready to play Normandy," Ruffin said. "That's our mindset. We'll celebrate for 20 minutes probably, and then we'll get ready for Normandy."

Gateway 12 9 11 20 -- 52

Sikeston 15 14 10 23 -- 62

GATEWAY TECH (52) -- Andrenos Powell 19, Kennis Body 13, Jason Johnson 5, Tyler Price 5, Kenneth McCulley 4, Everett Norman 4, Justin Jackson 2. FG 15, FT 10-15, F 22. (3-pointers: Powell 3, Price 1. Fouled out: Body).

SIKESTON (62) -- Vashawn Ruffin 18, J.T. Jones 17, Markeith Bratcher 14, Jairius Ray 9, Kyland Gross 2, Zach Jackson 2. FG 11, FT 19-29, F 16. (3-pointers: Bratcher 4, Ruffin 3. Fouled out: none).

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