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SHS rams Scott City
SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs put together a strong second half to pull away from pesky Scott City on Friday night at the Sikeston Field House, winning 74-49 to post their sixth win in seven games.
Sikeston is now 8-3 and will head into Tuesday's Superman Classic with a first round game against the tournament's defending champions, Chicago Wheaton Academy at 6:30 p.m.
"It's a good win for us," said Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield. "They're a good team. They played Poplar Bluff extremely tough. We knew they'd be a good team coming in. It's a good win for us. We're going into the tournament on a winning note. We look forward to competing in the Superman Classic."
On Friday, the Bulldogs led just 33-26 at halftime, but they quickly pulled away in the third quarter and were able to secure the victory with a big fourth quarter.
Sikeston out-scored the Rams 41-23 in the second half.
The Bulldogs had nine different players reach the scoring column with all of them putting in at least six points.
Junior forward Ray Rogers led the way with 12 points off the bench, including five rebounds.
"Ray came off the bench and he always gets stats," said Holifield. "I thought he really played well tonight. Everybody played well I thought. It's a total team effort. A lot of people scored and hit big shots for us."
Sikeston jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game but the Rams fought back to take its only lead of the game on back-to-back 3-pointers by Ethan Watkins, taking a 10-9 lead.
Sikeston was able to take the lead at the end of the first quarter, 15-13.
The Bulldogs never trailed again.
Scott City (8-6) tied the score at 19-19 after a Rynn Eskew basket, but Sikeston's Kash Bratcher drained consecutive 3-pointers to put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
Sikeston eventually led by as much as 31-21 on a Rod Moore basket with 1:
48 left in the half, but Scott City was able to trim the lead to 33-26 by halftime.
Holifield said Scott City's superior size, which included 6-foot-7 and two 6-5 players, and the team's outside shooting ability gave the Bulldogs problems in the first half.
"They hurt us on the boards early," said Holifield. "They have great size and they had good positioning. Plus their guards hit some long-range 3s to keep them in it."
Sikeston put the game away in the second half.
The Bulldogs quickly got the lead by to double figures early in the third quarter.
Scott City cut the lead to 45-36 on two Andy Stephens free throws with 2:48 left in the quarter and then cut it to 49-40 on an Andy King basket with a minute left.
But that was the last time the Rams would cut the lead under double figures.
Sikeston took a 55-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
Scott City coach Lance Amick said Sikeston's depth and pressure defense proved to be too much for the Rams.
"Sikeston does a heck of a job -- they wore us down and they keep coming at you," said Amick. "They're well-coached and always have been well-coached. This is a tough place to play. It's a good crowd and a good atmosphere."
Sikeston started the fourth period on a 14-4 run to put the game away at 69-44, allowing Holifield to empty his bench the rest of the way.
"We had great energy in the second half," said Holifield. "We were a little sluggish in the first half. But we had good pressure on the ball and we played pretty well defensively, especially in the second half. We came out with much more pressure on the basketball in the second half. I think more than anything else that was the difference."
After Rogers, Sikeston's Julian Beard also broke double figures, scoring 11 points. Bratcher added nine points.
Michael Porter had eight points with seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Bulldogs tied a season high with six 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs shot 33-of-59 (56 percent) from the field.
Scott City was led by Watkins' 13 points, including four 3-pointers, and six assists. Ryan Modglin, a 6-2 sophomore, had 12 points and nine rebounds. King had 10 points.
Eskew had eight points and eight rebounds.
Sikeston out-rebounded the Rams 31-to-26.
Scott City turned the ball over 20 times on the night. Sikeston had 12 turnovers.
"We've been up and down this year," said Amick. "On some nights we can play with anybody and on some nights we can lose to anybody. We make some of the same mistakes sometimes. We're not consistent enough defensively."
Sikeston's jayvee team improved to 10-3 on the season with a 58-42 win against Scott City.
Sikeston led 18-8 after one quarter and 28-18 at halftime. They put the game away in the third quarter, leading 49-30 heading into the final frame.
Sikeston was led by Brandon Washington with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four steals.
Stephen Jackson had 13 points with 10 rebounds.
Richard Andrews had just two points, but he had nine assists.