Jackson finding 'mojo;' spoils Sikeston Senior Night

Standard Democrat

SIKESTON – On the heels of a high intensity victory at Caruthersville on Thursday night, the Sikeston Bulldogs had to turn right back around and take on the talented Jackson Indians on Friday night.

However, after a tough week, the Bulldogs didn’t have much left in the tank as Jackson rolled to a 62-44 victory on Senior Night at the Field House.

Sikeston (17-7, 3-4 SEMO Conference) had a physical, close game with state-ranked New Madrid County Central on Tuesday, an energized track meet against state-ranked Caruthersville on Thursday, and followed that up with the imposing size of the Indians on Friday.

When all was said and done, the Indians were just too much for the Bulldogs.

“After the tough game last night and Tuesday night, I thought we were a little dead-legged,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “Not to make excuses, but it’s one of those things that happens sometimes. But Jackson came in well-prepared and made shots right off the bat and we never could climb out of the hole.”

When Jackson (17-8, 5-3 SEMO Conference) is playing their best, they have proven to be one of the top teams in the area.

The Indians have had a few hiccups, including twice coming within an eyelash of defeating powerhouse Cape Central, but Jackson head coach Kory Thoma says his team seems to be rounding into form in the past week.

“We’re starting to get a little mojo back that we had early in the season,” Thoma said.

That certainly was the case on Friday night as the Indians quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead against the Bulldogs.

Sikeston was battling from behind from the start and never could overtake the Indians despite a few runs to keep things interesting.

A Dontrez Williams jumper closed the lead to 10-7, but Jackson’s Judd Thoma and 6-foot-8 senior Clayton Ernst each scored inside to extend the lead.

A Williams slam dunk after a Harrison Arndt steal made it 14-9, and then Chris Artis hit a free throw to trim the lead to 14-10. However, the Indians always found an answer for every Bulldog run, this time with Blayne Harris drilling a 3-pointer to give Jackson a 17-10 lead after one quarter.

“Give Jackson credit, I thought they came out and really played well,” Holifield said. “They have a lot of weapons and great size at every position.”

The Indians maintained the lead throughout the second quarter, moving ahead by as much as 30-18, but Williams scored on a short jumper and then drained a long 3-pointer from the top of the key to close the gap for the Bulldogs.

Moments later, after a Thoma basket, Arndt hit a pair of free throws and Artis scored on a drive to bring the Bulldogs to a 32-27 deficit with 30 seconds remaining. Jackson again scored before the buzzer, this time on a floater in the lane by Kaed Windborne to give the Indians a 34-27 lead.

“We stayed connected,” Thoma said. “The press didn’t bother us. Having Clayton in there helps and we’ve got some weapons on the perimeter. We had a good run early and we just kind of sustained throughout the game.”

Jackson put the game away in the third quarter, out-scoring the Bulldogs 18-3 in the period and carrying a 52-30 advantage into the fourth quarter. Sikeston out-scored the Indians in the fourth quarter, but wouldn’t get any closer than the final margin.

Sikeston was only able to force the Indians into 13 turnovers while turning the ball over 10 times themselves.

However, it was a punch-less offense and a lack of rebounding for the Bulldogs that proved fatal on this night as Sikeston shot just 17 of 41 (41 percent) from the field and only grabbed 15 rebounds as a team. By comparison, Williams alone snatched 19 rebounds the night before against Caruthersville.

“Our defense was very solid tonight,” Thoma said. “Overall we work on tunnel drives all day every day and that paid off for us tonight.”

It wasn’t Sikeston’s night, but Thoma had high praise for the Bulldogs.

“It’s a pretty tough chore to beat them here, I’m here to tell you,” he said. “This team that we played tonight, they’ve been playing well. I’ve been impressed with them on film. They’re going to be fine. They’re young, but they’re going to be fine.”

For the Bulldogs, Williams led the way with 12 points and five rebounds.

Jackson was led by Thoma with 15 points and Harris with 13 points.

Sikeston’s four seniors – Arndt, Morgan McCauley, Creighton Sarakas and Quemariae Gray – all played in the Field House for the final time and were clearly emotional following the game.

While there is still a lot of season left, Holifield knew that Friday night’s game would carry some weight for his seniors.

“I told our seniors that the biggest compliment I can give them is I enjoy them walking in that door,” Holifield said. “They’re great to coach. They’re good guys and they’re hard-working.”

Sikeston will play at Doniphan on Tuesday and will close out the regular season on Friday at Poplar Bluff before the district tournament tips off the following week.

Jackson 17 17 18 10 -- 62

Sikeston 10 17 3 14 -- 44

JACKSON (62) – Judd Thoma 15, Blayne Harris 13, Steven Schneider 9, Clayton Ernst 9, Kaed Windborne 5, Luke Tally 5, Grant Borgfield 4, Gavin Holdman 2. FG 26, FT 4-7, F 11. (3-pointers: Harris 3, Windborne 1, Schneider 1, Tally 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (44) – Dontrez Williams 12, Morgan McCauley 8, Harrison Arndt 5, Tristan Wiggins 4, Kobe Thomas 4, Lekereon McCray 3, Creighton Sarakas 3, Chris Artis 3, Quemariae Gray 2. FG 17, FT 4-10, F 8. (3-pointers: Williams 2, McCauley 2, Arndt 1, Sarakas 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team ran its record to 14-0 on the season with a hard-fought 50-35 win over Jackson’s junior varsity.

Freshman Ben James led the way with 21 points with 11 rebounds and five assists. Freshman Kobe Thomas followed up with eight points and four assists.

Jackson 10 12 9 4 -- 35

Sikeston 15 13 12 10 -- 50

JACKSON (35) – Deck 12, Thompson 8, Ivy 7, Shock 6, Herring 2. FG 13, FT 5-6, F 10. (3-pointers: Deck 2, Shock 2. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (50) – Ben James 21, Kobe Thomas 8, Jaharus Goodwin 6, Will Lape 5, Marcus Sanders 4, J’kwon Applewhite 4, Isaiah Jimerson-Patterson 2. FG 20, FT 6-8, F 13. (3-pointers: James 3, Lape 1. Fouled out: Sanders).