SIKESTON -- The Sikeston eighth grade basketball team improved to 4-0 on the season with a 57-51 victory over Charleston.
Sikeston rallied from a 25-point third quarter deficit to pull out the win.
Charleston led 16-11 after one quarter and held a 32-20 lead going into halftime.
The Bluejays extended the lead to 45-20, but Sikeston went on a 20-1 run to cut the lead to 46-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs went on to out-score Charleston 17-5 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
"It's great to see the team never quit even when facing such a huge deficit," Sikeston coach Derek James said. "I don't think I've had a team come back from that type of deficit but you really have to hand it to the boys. They never panicked and they kept fighting to get back in the game."
Sikeston was led by Fred Thatch's 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half.
Austin Branch followed up with 13 points.
Sikeston plays at NMCC tomorrow.
Charleston 16 16 14 5 -- 51
Sikeston 11 9 20 17 -- 57
CHARLESTON (51) -- J. Moore 16, K. Lee 15, M. Clark 15, K. Griffin 4, J. Williams 1. FG 18, FT 3-6, F 11. (3-pointers: Moore 2, Lee 1, Clark 1. Fouled out: Moore).
SIKESTON (57) -- Fred Thatch 27, Austin Branch 13, Keyth Blissett 6, Bryce Bays 5, JeQuan Ray 2, Don Larry 2, Matthew Perry 2. FG 22, FT 7-12, F 14. (3-pointers: Thatch 1, Branch 1. Fouled out: none).
Seventh grade
The Sikeston seventh grade boys basketball team used a strong second half to take down the Charleston Bluejays 59-39 Tuesday at the Sikeston junior high school.
Kevin Jones led all scorers with 26 points. Elijah Faulkner and Trey Jenkins each added 11 points apiece.
The Bluejays held a slim 28-24 lead at halftime but it didn't take long for the Bulldogs to gain a lead in the third quarter.
Sikeston outscored Charleston 18-7 in the third frame behind 11 points from Jones. The seventh grader scored 19 of this game-high in the second half.
Sikeston led 42-35 entering the fourth quarter and put the game away with 16 fourth-quarter points to the Bluejays' four.
C. Johnson led Charleston from the floor with 15 points.
Charleston 12 16 7 4 -- 39
Sikeston 10 14 18 16 -- 59
CHARLESTON (39) -- P. Moore 6, L. Porter 5, A. Sager 5, J. Wiley 2, T. Walker 2, C. Johnson 15, Z. Spencer 4. FG 16 FT 5-10 F 11. (3-pointers: Moore 1, Porter 1. Fouled out: Porter.)
SIKESTON (59) -- Nathan Pullen 1, Kevin Jones 26, Elijah Faulkner 11, Ricky Scott 5, Nate Self 1, Drayton Pobst 2, Noah Hicks 2, Trey Jenkins 11. FG 26 FT 7-16 F 15. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.)