Big first half propels Sikeston past Doniphan, 88-61

DONIPHAN, Mo. – The Sikeston Bulldogs used a big first half to propel the team to an impressive 88-61 victory over Doniphan on Tuesday night at Doniphan High School.

Sikeston erupted for 32 second quarter points to stake a 54-30 halftime lead against the Dons. It's the second most points the Bulldogs have scored in a quarter, after a 33-point first quarter against DeSoto in the season opener -- and the 54 points in a half is second only to the 55 points scored against Meridian in the first half at the Charleston Shootout.

The win got the Bulldogs back on track after losing at home on Friday to Jackson. Sikeston improves to 18-7 with one regular season game left at Poplar Bluff in a SEMO Conference matchup on Friday.

Tuesday’s game at Doniphan (18-8) was a much-needed victory for the Bulldogs with district play approaching next week.

“I thought our guys really came out and played well,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “First off we really practiced well yesterday and I think that fed over into tonight’s game. We really did some good things offensively and defensively.”

Sikeston junior Dontrez Williams had another huge night, scoring a varsity career-high 33 points with 12 rebounds, six assists, five steals and three blocked shots.

“He really did a good job of looking for open guys and moving the basketball, which helped get everybody into a rhythm, including himself,” Holifield said of Williams. “He’s been working hard and if he continues to do that it’s unlimited how good he can be.”

In the first quarter it was the Dons who struck first with a run as they led by four on three different occasions led by Max Owens, who scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the period.

“He’s a really good player and we allowed him to get into a comfort zone early in the game,” Holifield said. “We did a much better job of finding him and covering him after that big run he had.”

The Dons held their last lead at 12-8 when Bulldog sophomore Lekereon McCray scored seven straight points to push his team ahead 15-12.

Freshman Ben James then sank a 3-pointer to open up a 18-12 lead. A basket by freshman Kobe Thomas and then Williams gave the Bulldogs a 22-14 lead to cap a 14-2 run.

Sikeston took the game over in the second quarter as the Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders on offense.

“Our defensive pressure really picked up and we created some points off turnovers and then offensively we were really unselfish with the basketball,” Holifield said.

Indeed, the Bulldogs forced 13 of the 19 turnovers the Dons had in the first half.

Sikeston still only led 30-20, but the Bulldogs went on a 3-point barrage, with two each from Williams and Creighton Sarakas and one from James to open up a 50-28 lead.

A basket by Quemariae Gray and then a brilliant coast-to-coast burst by McCray with four seconds left gave the Bulldogs a 54-30 edge.

The Dons outscored the Bulldogs 19-14 in the third quarter to keep the game from getting out of hand, trimming the gap to 68-49.

Sikeston eventually built a 30-point lead late in the fourth quarter to close out the game with a comfortable margin.

“I think Doniphan has a really good team,” Holifield said. “They’ve won a lot of games this season and they’re very well coached. You can tell that they competed all the way to the end which is a tip-off on their coach and their program.”

Sikeston also got a big game from McCray, who had 15 points with nine assists. Tristan Wiggins followed up with 12 points while Chris Artis added nine points.

The Bulldogs hit 12 of 33 (36 percent) from 3-point range led by Williams, who hit 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.

Junior varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 15-0 on the season with a 27-19 victory over Doniphan’s junior varsity.

Malachi Davis led Sikeston with eight points while Ben James had six points with five rebounds and five assists.

Sikeston 22 32 14 20 -- 88

Doniphan 14 16 19 12 -- 61

SIKESTON (88) – Dontrez Williams 33, Lekereon McCray 15, Tristan Wiggins 12, Chris Artis 9, Creighton Sarakas 7, Ben James 6, Kobe Thomas 4, Quemariae Gray 2. FG 35, FT 6-10, F 15. (3-pointers: Williams 6, Sarakas 2, James 2, Artis 1, McCray 1. Fouled out: none).

DONIPHAN (61) – Max Owens 20, Kam Barton 12, Emmitt Jones 10, Isaac Rawlings 8, Corey Hagood 6, J.D. Burton 5. FG 26, FT 2-5, F 10. (3-pointers: Owens 4, Hagood 2, Burton 1. Fouled out: none).