Sikeston suffers road defeat to Portageville

PORTAGEVILLE - The Sikeston Bulldogs basketball team fell to 4-12 on the season with a 56-44 road loss to Portageville on Saturday night.

Sikeston came out hot, taking a 12-7 lead after one quarter of play. But Portageville out-scored Sikeston in every quarter thereafter.

Sikeston took a 22-20 lead in the third quarter on a Marcus McCaster 3-pointer, but Portageville closed strong, out-scoring the Bulldogs 13-5 to end the quarter.

Portageville put the game away with a 23-17 run in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs were dominated on the boards by the smaller Portageville team.

Sikeston was led in scoring by McCaster's 13 points. He also had four rebounds and three steals.

Drew Cole finished with a career-high nine points with five rebounds. Matt Limbaugh led the team with six rebounds.

Sophomore Kash Bratcher and freshman Joe Lincoln each had three steals.

Portageville was led by Antonio Scott's 16 points, including an uncharacteristic 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Standout point guard Willie Hassell added 14 points and Jimmy Larry had 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Sikeston will host Poplar Bluff on Friday at 6 p.m. Portageville, which garnered the top seed in the Bootheel Conference Tournament, won't play until Thursday.

Sikeston's JV team improved to 10-3 on the season with a 55-52 win against Portageville's jayvee (9-6).

Sikeston trailed 13-12 after one quarter but rallied to take a 28-20 halftime edge.

The Bulldogs still led 40-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

Sikeston got a game-high 26 points out of sophomore Trey Spence. He also had 16 rebounds and two steals.

Sophomore Rod Moore followed up with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Robbie Howard had five points and five rebounds.

Portageville was led by Cory Chamberlain's 19 points. Patrick Morton added 14 points.

PORTAGEVILLE - The Sikeston girls basketball team fell to 10-7 on the season with a 57-53 loss to Portageville on Saturday night.

Sikeston trailed 12-5 after one quarter but exploded in the second quarter to lead 28-19 at the half.

Portageville took control from there, cutting the lead to 38-36 heading into the fourth quarter and out-scoring Sikeston 21-15 in the fourth to pull out the win.

"We had a 10-point lead at one time," said Sikeston head coach Lee Brooks. "I thought the Portageville kids kicked it up a little bit. We've got to learn how to finish and close a team out. We had them on the ropes. A couple calls went their way and didn't go our way, but that's how it goes on the road. We didn't play well down the stretch."

Sikeston was led in scoring by Mia Welch's 15 points. Sophomore Allison Blurton had 14 points and sophomore Paige Silverthorn chipped in 13 points.

Portageville was led by Ashley Brown's 23 points.

"We're not real healthy right now," said Brooks. "We've got some kids that are injured and they're having to play a lot of minutes."

Sikeston plays at Twin Rivers tonight at 6 p.m.

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- The New Madrid County Central Eagles improved to 6-11 on the season with a 64-55 win against Pope County on Saturday in the Massac County Shootout.

NMCC's Brandon Waters, who scored 14 points, was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Laterrance Newsome added nine points for the Eagles, all on 3-pointers.

"We played alright -- we didn't play good and we didn't play bad," said NMCC head coach Scott Kruse. "We didn't play with the intensity that we did against Doniphan on Friday."

NMCC will play at Poplar Bluff on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a SEMO Conference matchup.

"If we do things right then it can be rewarding," said Kruse. "We're playing a lot better. The kids are really excited and they're eager to learn. We've got a chance to get even better in a month. I feel really excited about where we can go in the next three weeks."