'DOGS END TIGERS' SEASON 57-48

SIKESTON -- Each time Cape Central had a chance to turn the game around, it seemed to turn the ball over.

The third-seeded Tigers had their season ended Wednesday night in a 57-48 loss to second-seeded Sikeston in the semifinals of the Class 4A, District 1 Tournament.

Cape Central, which stayed within striking distance throughout the entire game, committed 10 second-half turnovers and 17 for the game without its starting point guard T.J. Erlacker who was out with an injury.

"Sometimes we'd get a turnover and we couldn't capitalize," said Central coach Brett Reutzel. "That to me was one of the biggest factor. We'd get a turnover and we could feel the momentum swing and we'd go down and not score.

"Of course you miss T.J. Erlacker, but I thought Chad Jones and Trevor Blattner did a good job. We had a tough job handling the ball against good defenders."

Sikeston wasn't exactly a smooth operator either, turning the ball over 11 times in the second half.

"We got sloppy," said Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield.

"But Cape makes you do that. Their intensity was good.

They played hard and overall I'm proud to get out with a win. "

At 7:30 tonight, Sikeston will take on fourth-seeded Jackson, which was a 64-51 winner over No. 1 Poplar Bluff.

The Bulldogs (15-10) never led by more than nine points. Sikeston held two nine-point leads in the third quarter, but Central battled back and trailed just 42-38 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 1:19 left in the game, Central's Ross Conner scored a conventional 3-point play to cut the lead to 51-46. After forcing a turnover, Central sharpshooter Eric Wessel -- who had already scored three 3-pointers -- had two open looks from behind the arc but missed.

Wessel cut the lead to five points again -- 53-48 -- with :28 left but Sikeston's Tony Jones made four consecutive free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the game.

Ross Conner scored a team-high 18 points for Central.

Sikeston standout Bryan Ellitt led all scorers with 23 points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds and swiped five steals.

The loss ended Central's season at 8-17, but Reutzel was not disappointed with his team's effort.

"For 95 percent of the game, I thought we played about as good as we could play," said Reutzel. "The other five percent didn't come at one particular moment. It was a possession here or a possession there. Overall we played very well. We just got beat by a better team."

The two teams were tied at 13 after the end of the first quarter. Sikeston led by as many as eight in the second quarter, but a tip in by J.P. Limbaugh at the halftime buzzer pulled the Tigers to within 27-21 going into the break.

Both teams shot the ball fairly well.

Sikeston shot 47 percent from the field, while Central hit shots at a 41 percent clip. Central made four of its 10 threes, while Sikeston hit two of six from long range.

The win puts Sikeston in the district championship game for the second straight year.

Said Holifield of Jackson, "They're playing extremely well. We'll have to play smart. They are playing as well as I've seen them all year."