March 20, 2016
Sikeston's tank on empty as it falls in Class 4 third-place game
Sikeston found themselves in an unfamiliar position of not being able to score, shooting just 28 percent (8-29) in the first half, including hitting just 3 of 16 from behind the arc.
By Derek James ~ Standard Democrat
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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Sikeston Bulldogs gave it all they had in Saturday's Class 4 third place game, but they just didn't have enough left in the tank after a grueling, gut-wrenching semifinal loss the previous night.
The Bulldogs ended its season with a fourth place finish at the Show-Me Showdown after a 63-51 loss to Jefferson City Helias at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Sikeston was dealt a 69-66 overtime loss to Vashon and the effects of that game were obvious on Saturday.
"I think the game from last night had a really big effect on us," Sikeston freshman guard Kevin Jones said. "We really thought we should've been in the championship game and it really affected us today and we didn't play like we usually should. We didn't come out with that energy."
Senior forward Juwon Kimble said, "It was a hard game out there just knowing that we could have beat Vashon, but things didn't work out as planned. It took a toll on the game we played today."
The Bulldogs (28-3) didn't have the defensive intensity that they normally have and the shots weren't falling. On top of that, sophomore standout Fred Thatch was clearly less than 100 percent after injuring his tailbone after a hard fall in the Vashon game.
In short, Sikeston left all it had on the floor against Vashon, which made it a recipe for a tough third place game for the Bulldogs.
"It's a difficult thing," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "You work your entire year and your goal and objective is to get to the state championship game and we had a hard-fought game last night. And less than 24 hours later you're back playing again and we just didn't handle it well. This game today was no reflection of our team. We just didn't have that extra giddy-up-and-go that we need."
Helias, which was knocked off by St. Joseph Lafayette 68-53 in its semifinal, came out strong with a 7-0 lead.
Sikeston quickly fought back to take a 9-7 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers by Dominique Dyes and Marquan Nelson and a conventional 3-point play by Earnest Fobbs.
Helias coach Josh Buffington said he knew exactly what Sikeston was going through.
"We've been in that situation too," Buffington said. "A few years ago when we were here we lost a triple-OT game in the semis. Man it's hard to come back 12 hours later and play. So definitely a big key for us was to jump out on them early if at all possible. Attack these guys and show we're ready to play. I think that was enough to wake them up and they come back and we're down 9-7 before we can blink. From that point on it was a basketball game."
But it was a game in Helias' favor.
The Crusaders finished the quarter with an 11-2 run to lead 18-13 after one quarter.
Sikeston fought back at the start of the second quarter with six straight points on offensive putbacks by Thatch and Fobbs and then a slam dunk by Kimble to trim the lead to 18-17, but Helias regrouped and closed the half with an 18-5 run to lead 36-22.
Helias hit 6 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half. Sikeston only connected on 3 of 16 from beyond the arc in the half.
The Bulldogs only shot 28 percent from the field in the first half. Helias shot 50 percent.
"They did a great job of moving the basketball," Holifield said. "They were making the extra pass and finding the open man. You have to give them credit. They had the open looks and knocked them down."
In the third quarter, despite Sikeston's large fan base that continually urged and roared in an effort to inspire the team, the Bulldogs couldn't make a dent in the lead and still trailed 50-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Sikeston never got closer than the final score in the final frame.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the bigger Helias lineup 34 to 31 and also forced more turnovers (13) than they committed (12), but it was Sikeston's 36 percent shooting from the field, including 7 of 26 (27 percent) from 3-point range, and 6 of 15 (40 percent) from the free throw line that proved to be too much to overcome.
Helias made 9 of 22 (41 percent) from 3-point range.
"We knew we were getting ready to play a team that had been ranked No. 1 in the state in Sikeston all year long and took Vashon to overtime in the semis," Buffington said. "So this was another challenge for us today to prove to everybody that we should be here and I think we did a great job of proving that."
Thatch led Sikeston with 10 points and six rebounds.
Dyes and Nelson each closed out their high school careers with eight points.
Helias was led by Sam Husting with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Landon Harrison scored 20 points.
Sikeston finished its year with the second most wins in school history (28) and its fifth final four appearance in school history.
"Some people didn't believe that we could go this far," Jones said. "After that Cape loss, that gave us a really big boost and we took it to a whole other level. We fought hard and just came up a little short. All the teams here are good teams. No team that makes it to the final four are sorry. So you've got to bring your 'A' every time you play."
Kimble said, "Even though we got fourth place, I'm still just thankful and blessed that we ended off the season right here, because we could have ended it off in districts or sectionals or quarterfinals."
Holifield has now led four Sikeston teams to the Show-Me Showdown, finishing first, second, third and fourth.
The Bulldogs will graduate six seniors: Dyes, Fobbs, Kimble, Nelson, Deterio Newman and Chris Appleton.
"We have great seniors that are graduating but we have a lot of young guys too," Holifield said. "I like our team and I think next year we'll have a chance to have a good squad again."
Jones said, "I'll be way more hungry. I'll put in extra time in the gym. Work. Push my other guys. I know what it takes to get here. We'll be ready. We'll be back."
Sikeston 11 11 12 17 -- 51
Helias Catholic 18 18 14 13 -- 63
SIKESTON (51) -- Dominique Dyes 8, Kevin Jones 7, Marquan Nelson 8, Fred Thatch 10, Juwon Kimble 3, Trey Jenkins 2, Deterio Newman 3, Earnest Fobbs 5, Jason Moore 5. FG 19, FT 6-15, F 17. (3-pointers: Dyes 2, Nelson 2, Jones 1, Newman 1, Moore 1. Fouled out: none)
HELIAS CATHOLIC (63) -- Sam Husting 22, Landon Harrison 20, Nathan Bax 11, Trevor Koelling 7, Weston Porter 3. FG 21, FT 12-18, F 11. (3-pointers: Husting 6, Harrison 2, Porter 1. Fouled out: none)
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