Top-seeded Sikeston eventually runs away from Parkway North at St. Dominic

sports@standard-democrat.com

O'FALLON -- For a half, the top-seeded Sikeston Bulldogs found themselves in a dogfight against eighth-seeded Parkway North in the first round of the St. Dominic Christmas Tournament on Monday.

Then the third quarter started and the Bulldogs showed why they are the favorites to win the tournament.

Sikeston erupted for 33 points in the quarter and cruised to a 77-41 dismantling of the Vikings.

The Bulldogs (8-0) out-scored Parkway North 51-18 in the second half and posted its fourth straight turbo clock win and its sixth in eight games this season.

"I thought in the first half Parkway North really played well and did a good job of controlling the basketball," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "I thought our intensity picked up a great deal in the second half and we really played our style of basketball. We forced numerous turnovers and I thought we really played well in the second half."

In the first half, Sikeston only led 26-23 with Parkway North controlling the tempo and the glass combined with the Bulldogs' ice cold shooting, only going 9 of 29 (31 percent) from the floor.

"We were trying to be patient with the ball," Parkway North coach Jason Breeland said. "We weren't in a rush to beat the press and we weren't in a rush to beat the zone. We just kind of moved the ball. Our big man rebounded well in the first half. We knew Sikeston was a good team and we wanted to try to keep it as close as possible."

Parkway North closed the gap to 26-25 on a pair of free throws from Mecca Singletary to start the third quarter, but Sikeston took the game over from there.

The Bulldogs were able to extend the lead to 34-29 and then built a commanding advantage with a 17-1 run sparked by sophomore Fred Thatch's two-handed slam dunk off Dominique Dyes' alley-oop pass off the backboard.

Thatch's 3-pointer with two minutes left in the period pushed the lead to 51-30. Parkway North 6-foot-5 sophomore Michael Thompson stopped the bleeding momentarily with a basket, but Sikeston closed the period with an 8-0 run capped by Juwon Kimble's offensive tip just before the buzzer to lead 59-32.

"Our kids really pulled together," Holifield said. "It started with our defensive intensity. We created numerous points off turnovers. It really got us rolling and got us in the flow of the game. I thought we really played well down the stretch."

Parkway North had 12 turnovers in the third quarter. They finished the game with 31 turnovers.

"We knew they wanted to speed you up and turn you over and that's what they kind of did to us in the third quarter," Breeland said. "We got out of whack and tried to play fast and keep pace with them."

The fourth quarter saw much of the same as Sikeston enforced the mercy clock early. A Thatch 3-pointer got things started and another Dyes pass off the backboard for a Kimble dunk highlighted the fourth quarter as Holifield emptied his bench the rest of the way.

Thatch finished with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals to pace the Bulldog attack. Kimble finished with 15 points and five blocked shots.

Dyes scored 10 points with eight assists and five steals.

Parkway North was led by Tayari Goodwin with 14 points and Thompson with 13 points.

The Vikings (2-5) out-rebounded the Bulldogs 31 to 22 in the game.

"You could tell it was a travel day," Holifield said. "We just didn't play well in the first half, but you have to give them a lot of credit. I thought they worked hard. I thought they were patient in what they did and they rebounded very well. They're a quality team. They're very well-coached. They've got good players. I thought it was a tough first round opponent for us. I thought they played well in the first half and we played well in the second half."

Sikeston moves on to the semifinals where they will play fourth-seeded St. Dominic tonight at 6 p.m.

PARKWAY NORTH (41) -- Tayari Goodwin 14, Michael Thompson 13, Devin Michael-Griffin 7, Marcus Jones 4, Mecca Singletary 3. FG 10, FT 9-19, F 17. (3-pointers: Goodwin 4. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (77) -- Fred Thatch 19, Juwon Kimble 15, Dominique Dyes 10, Marquan Nelson 8, Earnest Fobbs 8, Kevin Jones 6, Deterio Newman 5, Chris Appleton 3, Don Larry 2, Dylon Mills 1. FG 20, FT 19-26, F 22. (3-pointers: Dyes 2, Nelson 2, Thatch 2. Fouled out: none).