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Sikeston gets back to .500 after resounding win over Farmington
FARMINGTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs have been waiting for a performance like this.
Having lost four of its last five games, the Bulldogs are a team still searching for its identity after several personnel changes and roster moves this year.
After losing back-to-back games at home by double digits for the first time in recent memory, the Bulldogs took to the road and looked like the Sikeston teams of old, steamrolling Farmington 80-36 on Tuesday night.
And it all started with a couple intense practice sessions that Sikeston head coach Gregg Holifield put his team through.
"I thought our intensity in the second half of Friday's game was lacking," Holifield said, referring to his team's 63-51 loss to Jackson. "I was disappointed in our work ethic. We've worked hard the last two days to try to get better in those areas. I thought we responded and really came out and played a complete game. We had good intensity from start to finish. We had really good effort to set the tone."
The game was a mismatch from the opening tip as Sikeston scored the game's first 11 points in less than two minutes against a team that finished fourth in last year's Class 4 Show-Me Showdown.
But this Farmington team, which was hit hard by graduation, was not ready for a Sikeston team hungry for a win.
"We haven't handled pressure all year long very well and that was the most intense pressure -- the best pressure we've seen by far," Farmington coach Justin Callahan said. "We've played a couple other teams that really got after us and pressed us start to finish, but nothing like Sikeston. We weren't ready for that."
Sikeston (7-7) opened up a 26-4 first quarter lead in which six different players scored.
"I thought we really came out in the first quarter and played well offensively and defensively," Holifield said. "We sustained throughout the quarter, which has been our downfall throughout the season. We've had too many lapses that have hurt our team. But tonight we played a complete game."
Sikeston continued the onslaught in the second quarter, leading 33-4 at the beginning of the period and continually extending the advantage to 47-13 at its biggest margin.
The Bulldogs ended up holding a 51-19 halftime lead when Donnell Cobb scored at the buzzer on an assist from Earnest Fobbs.
It's the most points Sikeston has scored in a half this season. They also forced 20 Farmington turnovers in the first half.
Despite the big lead, Holifield didn't want his team to have a let-down in the second half.
"We're trying to learn how to play a complete game and have complete practices, so we came out in the second half like the score is 0-0 to try to sustain our intensity," Holifield said. "We did that this particular game, but we'll see how we do in our practices and games the remainder of the season."
Sikeston added to its lead in the third quarter, out-scoring Farmington 20-9 to take a 71-28 lead into the fourth quarter where the mercy clock ran the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs forced 35 turnovers in the game and out-rebounded the Knights 34 to 32.
Sikeston only committed seven turnovers on offense.
"We have some good teams left on our schedule but we don't have a whole lot of Sikestons running around," Callahan said. "Nobody will pressure us and get after us with the athleticism like that."
Sikeston was led in scoring by freshman Fred Thatch with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Dominique Dyes followed up with 15 points, five rebounds and five steals. Cobb scored 12 points with five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Senior Corbyn Blissett added 12 points.
The Bulldogs shot 33 of 66 overall from the field while hitting 4 of 11 from 3-point range.
Sikeston has won the last 13 meetings against Farmington, last losing to the Knights in 2005.
"They came in under .500 but you look at their schedule and you see the games they've lost by one and two and three points," Callahan said. "They've had some close basketball games. They could be 10-3 or 11-2 just as easily as 6-7. They're very competitive, they're young and they're going to get better. I think their record is extremely misleading. I think they're a very good basketball team and they're going to compete on a high level at the end of the season."
Farmington (7-8) was led in scoring by 6-foot-4 senior Jordan Ankrom with eight points.
Sikeston will host Kennett in a rare Thursday matchup tomorrow night in a "pink out" game with junior varsity action starting at 6 p.m.
Junior varsity
The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 9-3 on the season with a 53-46 win over Farmington.
Sikeston overcame a 25-24 halftime deficit to pull out the victory.
Marquan Nelson led the way with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Sikeston 26 25 20 9 -- 80
Farmington 4 15 9 8 -- 36
SIKESTON (80) -- Fred Thatch 21, Dominique Dyes 15, Donnell Cobb 12, Corbyn Blissett 12, Jaylen Mallory 7, Juwon Kimble 5, Don Larry 4, Sam Cox 2, Earnest Fobbs 2. FG 29, FT 10-20, F 19. (3-pointers: Cobb 1, Dyes 1, Mallory 1, Kimble 1. Fouled out: Kimble).
FARMINGTON (36) -- Jordan Ankrom 8, Brendon Hardy 6, Connor Gaige 4, Aaron Hargiss 3, John Bader 3, Garrett Thomure 2, Grant Waddell 2, Caleb Crews 2, Gunner Labrot 2, Mike Pinkley 2, Alex England 2. FG 9, FT 9-14, F 20. (3-pointers: Hardy 2, Hargiss 1. Fouled out: Ankrom).
Sikeston 15 9 11 18 -- 53
Farmington 11 14 5 16 -- 46
SIKESTON (53) -- Marquan Nelson 12, Earnest Fobbs 7, Austin Branch 7, Keyth Blissett 6, Don Larry 6, Sam Cox 6, Chris Appleton 4, Dylon Mills 3, Camden Sapp 1, Phayzun Fobbs 1. FG 14, FT 13-22, F 21. (3-pointers: Nelson 2, Branch 1, Blissett 1. Fouled out: none).
FARMINGTON (46) -- Brandon Winder 8, Tappen Westbrook 8, Alex England 7, Brendon Hardy 6, Ian Lamb 5, Gunner Labrot 4, Cody Friedmeyer 3, Ian Bernard 3, Gavin Duncan 2. FG 6, FT 19-30, F 18. (3-pointers: Winder 2, England 2, Lamb 1. Fouled out: Duncan).