Menu
Top-seeded Sikeston toppled by No. 5 Notre Dame in overtime
SIKESTON -- For the first time in its eight years of existence there will be a champion crowned in the SEMO Conference Tournament that is not named Sikeston or Charleston.
The fifth-seeded Notre Dame Bulldogs took care of fourth-seeded Charleston in overtime in the first round on Tuesday, and in Thursday night's semifinal game they knocked off top-seeded and defending champion Sikeston in a 77-76 overtime thriller at the Sikeston Field House.
Notre Dame (2-0) will take on No. 2 seed Jackson, who were 69-44 winners over No. 6 Kennett, for the championship tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Sikeston (2-1) will play Kennett in the third place game at 7 p.m.
While this is Jackson's second appearance in the championship game of the tournament, last making it in 2007, Notre Dame is making its first appearance in the title game.
"This is the first time ever," Notre Dame head coach Kevin Roberts said. "I told the guys, 'this is something special.' This is probably the best tournament in the state of Missouri. It really is. And for us to be in the championship game, that's something special for our program."
Thursday's game was, yet, another classic contest in the rivalry that is Sikeston and Notre Dame.
Sikeston led through most of the game, including by as much as 10 in the second quarter, as much as nine early in the third quarter and by eight early in the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs couldn't put Notre Dame away.
"We never, ever had the sense of urgency," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "We never had those big stops. We never did the things we had to do to beat a good team. The thing about it, a Sikeston-Notre Dame game, you better take care of situations and we didn't tonight and they did. We'll learn from it."
Notre Dame rallied in the fourth quarter, scoring three straight baskets by Quinn Poythress on a tip-in, Dean Crippen on an inside post move and Derek Hulshof for an uncontested layup to take a 67-64 lead with 40 seconds left.
Sikeston was struggling to find offense during the stretch and had a crucial turnover, giving the ball back to Notre Dame with 10.4 seconds left to set up an exciting sequence to close out regulation.
After Notre Dame called a timeout to set up a play, Sikeston's J.T. Jones stole a long pass off the inbounds and pulled up for a potential tying 3-pointer, only to have his shot blocked from behind by the 6-foot-6 Poythress.
Jones rebounded his own miss and was surrounded in the paint by defenders, but he alertly kicked the ball out to a wide open Zach Harrison who drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and erupting the Sikeston faithful.
"We just made a bad decision and threw it a way and that kid made a heck of a shot," Roberts said.
The thrilling moment was short-lived, however, as there was still an overtime period to play.
Sikeston took the first lead on an offensive putback by Jones, but Notre Dame took over from there as Grant Ressel hit a 3-pointer and sank a pair of free throws to give his team a 72-69 lead that they would not relinquish.
Sikeston's Corbyn Blissett and Ressel each traded two free throws and then Blissett scored on a drive to the basket to cut the lead to 74-73 with 33 seconds left.
Notre Dame's Jordan Williamson hit 1 of 2 free throws to leave the door open for the Bulldogs down two with 24 seconds left, but a turnover ended any chances for the home team.
Williamson then made two free throws to ice the game at 77-73 with five seconds left. Harrison hit an uncontested 3-pointer at the buzzer to reach the final margin.
Sikeston's defense forced 25 turnovers and they out-rebounded Notre Dame 29 to 25, but the Bulldogs had 19 turnovers themselves and were just 5 of 22 (23 percent) from 3-point range. Sikeston was much-improved from the free throw line, however, hitting 19 of 23 (83 percent) compared to a poor performance from the stripe in its first round win over New Madrid County Central.
"You can't take anything away from Notre Dame, they really played well," Holifield said. "You can tell they came in with a focus and did a lot of good things. It was a typical game. I thought both teams had moments where they played well."
Notre Dame took an early 6-2 lead, but Sikeston took control with a 9-0 run and eventually led 19-14 after one quarter of play.
Sikeston maintained its lead throughout the second quarter, leading by as much as 40-30 on a Ja'lon Marr driving layup with 18 seconds left, but Notre Dame's Thomas Himmelberg hit a momentum swinging 3-pointer with four seconds left in the half to cut the lead to seven.
After Sikeston took a 42-33 lead on Marqese Parks' basket to start the third quarter, Poythress went on a personal 7-0 run with two dunks and a deep 3-pointer to bring his team back in the game with the teams eventually finishing the period tied at 49.
Sikeston then opened up a 57-49 lead after two Harrison free throws with 6:37 left in regulation, but Notre Dame went on a 12-2 run capped by a Ressel 3-pointer to take a 61-59 lead.
Sikeston's Jones answered with a conventional 3-point play and an inside basket to give his team a 64-61 lead with 2:41 left to set up the exciting finish.
Jones had a stellar all-around game, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.
After Jones' 24 and Reese Porter's eight points, the rest of the 44 points scored by the Bulldogs was comprised of players seeing their first varsity action as regular players.
It's enough to give Holifield hopes that this team's best moments are still to come.
"I like our team -- I really feel like in another four weeks or so we're going to have a good team," Holifield said. "But we've got a lot of work to do. I see so many areas that we have to improve in. Our kids have a great attitude and I have no doubts they will continue to keep working."
Harrison, a junior varsity player last season, scored a varsity career-high 12 points.
"He stays within himself and does a lot of good things for us," Holifield said of Harrison. "The thing about Zach, he's a good player because he puts in the time. He works hard. He's a tough kid that's going to get better and better."
Sikeston also got a varsity career-high 11 points from sophomore Dominique Dyes.
Notre Dame was 7 of 13 (54 percent) from 3-point range, including four from Ressel, who finished with a team-high 24 points. Poythress followed up with 18 points.
It's the first time Notre Dame has defeated Sikeston on its home floor at the Field House since 2007.
It's just the fourth game Sikeston has lost at home in the last 71 games.
"In the past Sikeston has been really good and they're really good again this year," Roberts said. "But our guys were undefeated as freshmen. A lot of those guys have not lost a game at Notre Dame. They just know how to win. It was another good battle and I'm sure we'll have another one next Friday night."
| Notre Dame | 14 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 10 | -- | 77 |
| Sikeston | 19 | 21 | 9 | 18 | 9 | -- | 76 |
NOTRE DAME (77) -- Grant Ressel 24, Quinn Poythress 18, Dean Crippen 10, Jordan Barber 9, Derek Hulshof 4, Thomas Himmelberg 3, Jordan Williamson 3, Tanner Shively 3. FG 22, FT 12-20, F 21. (3-pointers: Ressel 4, Poythress 2, Himmelberg 1. Fouled out: none).
SIKESTON (76) -- J.T. Jones 24, Zach Harrison 12, Dominique Dyes 11, Ja'lon Marr 9, Reese Porter 8, Corbyn Blissett 8, Dantrell Brown 2, Marqese Parks 2. FG 21, FT 19-23, F 19. (3-pointers: Dyes 3, Harrison 2. Fouled out: none).