Sikeston blitzed by state-ranked Carbondale

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- There are no breathers on the Sikeston Bulldogs' schedule, and that includes the Carbondale Terriers which may just be the most talented team the Bulldogs have played in quite some time.

Carbondale, which is ranked third in Illinois Class 3A, blitzed the Bulldogs on Tuesday at the Field House 71-51.

Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield had nothing but high praise for the Terriers, a squad with nine seniors on the roster.

"They're a good team -- a very experienced team," Holifield said. "As a matter of fact they're as good as any team we've seen this year."

Carbondale (13-2) never trailed in the game as they were able to open up a 14-8 lead after one quarter of play.

Sikeston (6-6) cut the lead to 16-14 early in the second quarter on a Donnell Cobb layup, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get.

The Terriers responded with a 9-0 run to take a 25-14 lead. A basket by Sikeston freshman Fred Thatch stopped the run briefly, but Carbondale's Allen Billinger answered with a 3-pointer to extend the lead back to double figures.

Carbondale took a 36-22 lead into halftime.

"I thought at times we competed and did some good things, but we would have a lapse here or there and you can't do that against quality teams because they'll get you," Holifield said.

The Terriers led by as much as 23 late in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs' Corbyn Blissett scored an inside basket, Cobb drained a 3-pointer, and then Cobb scored a layup after a steal and assist from Thatch to close out the period, cutting Carbondale's lead to 56-40.

Sikeston continued its momentum at the start of the fourth, cutting the lead to 58-45 on a Cobb free throw with 5:35 left in the game, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get as Carbondale went on a 9-0 run to lead 67-45, putting the game away for good.

"There was a stretch in the third quarter that I wasn't pleased with for about three minutes, but other than that I thought our kids were pretty aggressive," Carbondale coach Jim Miller said. "I thought we handled the ball extremely well. That 2-2-1 is something you don't see a whole lot of. They've been trained really, really well. I've seen them play two or three different times and it just gives everybody fits. We handled that pressure pretty well and that was key for us."

Carbondale only had 13 turnovers against the Bulldogs' pressure. The Terriers also controlled the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 29 to 23.

In addition to that, Carbondale shot the ball well, sinking 7 of 16 from 3-point range.

"They've got several good players at several different positions and they're very well-coached," Holifield said. "I'm very complimentary of their team. I think they really have a chance to do something this season. They have a good inside presence, they're great off the dribble, they have guys that can knock shots down. They're quality in many directions."

Billinger was the most dominant, scoring a game-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers. Denzel McCauley followed up with 16 points with 6-foot-6 Jordan Kelly scoring 13 points.

"We shot the ball pretty well tonight," Miller said. "Billinger shoots the ball well every night. We're not one-dimensional by no means. We rely on all five guys to contribute. Denzel had a great game for us tonight. He's not normally a scorer for us."

Blissett led the Bulldogs with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds. Thatch followed up with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Cobb added 11 points.

"They're scary," Miller said of Sikeston. "I know they're young and they're going to get better. I was worried enough where we had to go scout and physically get some eyes on them. We had to see them on tape two or three times. We were pretty familiar with what they were trying to do and thank goodness we put in our legwork because it paid off for us."

Sikeston's schedule doesn't get any lighter as SEMO Conference rival Jackson will visit the Field House on Friday with junior varsity action starting at 6 p.m. It's the first time Jackson and Sikeston will meet on a Friday night in recent memory.

Holifield is hoping his team can take some of the good things from Tuesday's game and learn from the mistakes.

"We didn't quit," Holifield said. "I thought we continued to compete. We had a moment there at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth where I thought we really did some good things. But they had a lot to do with why we struggled and tonight we were just beaten by a better team."

CARBONDALE (71) -- Allen Billinger 25, Denzel McCauley 16, Jordan Kelly 13, Moe Jackson 8, Unree Westley 5, Khouri Powell 3, Calvin Whitfield 1. FG 20 FT 10-15 F 16. (3-pointers: Billinger 4, Powell 1, Westley 1, Jackson 1. Fouled out: none.)

SIKESTON (51) -- Corbyn Blissett 17, Fred Thatch 16, Donnell Cobb 11, Luke Williams 4, Juwon Kimble 3. FG 16 FT 10-12 F 15. (3-pointers: Cobb 2, Kimble 1. Fouled out: none.)

Junior varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team fell to 7-3 on the season with a 69-47 loss to Carbondale's junior varsity.

Sikeston trailed 29-23 at the half but couldn't make a dent in the second half as Carbondale pulled away.

Sikeston was led by freshman Don Larry's 16 points, going 10 for 11 from the free throw line. Marquan Nelson added 14 points for the Bulldogs.

CARBONDALE (69) -- Jordan Roseman 16, Sharere Lark 15, Winslow Martin 9, Patrick Moore 8, Kobi Lewis-Moss 7, Unree Westley 7, Trenton Payton 5, Kani Acree 2. FG 27 FT 6-19 F 16. (3-pointers: Lewis-Moss 1, Westley 1, Payton 1. Fouled out: none.)

SIKESTON (47) -- Don Larry 16, Marquan Nelson 14, Austin Branch 4, Camden Sapp 4, Sam Cox 3, Dylon Mills 3, Phayzun Fobbs 2, Chris Appleton 1. FG 6 FT 17-24 F 17. (3-pointers: Nelson 4, Mills 1, Cox 1. Fouled out: none.)