Sikeston boys basketball team avenges home loss to Notre Dame

It seemed like the rematch between the Notre Dame and Sikeston boys basketball teams Friday night was going to play out in a similar fashion: Sikeston leads the majority of the game and Notre Dame mounts a comeback.

But this time Sikeston was able to hold on and avenged its one-point overtime loss on its home court in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference tournament with a 64-54 victory at Notre Dame.

"We knew it was going to be difficult," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "We see these guys two or three times a year and every time we play it's just a battle. They do a great job, we have a lot of respect for their coaches and program and we know it's always difficult, especially coming here and playing."

Sikeston's J. T. Jones gets between Notre Dame's Chase Urhahn, left, and Quinn Poythress for a basket during Sikeston's 64-54 win Friday, Dec. 20, at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Adam Vogler)

Sikeston held a nine-point lead at halftime and led by as many as 13 with 3 minutes, 41 seconds left in the half. Notre Dame used an 8-3 run that featured a perfect 6 of 6 free throws and a jump shot near the free throw line by Quinn Poythress to make it 30-21 at the break.

"I told them that it's going to come down to if we limit our turnovers -- I think we had 20 in the first half," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "You can't beat a team like Sikeston with 20 turnovers. And we were only down by nine -- that shows us what type of team we could be. I told them at halftime, 'If you limit those turnovers that means we're going to get a lot more quality shots.'"

Notre Dame (3-2) started the second half with a 8-0 run to pull within 30-29 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter.

Sikeston (4-1) extended its lead to seven over the next four minutes. Reese Porter made two field goals and two free throws during that stretch and JT Jones hit two field goals and a free throw.

Notre Dame cut the deficit to 44-40 at the end of the quarter, making 3 of 5 free throws in the final 1:23 of the quarter.

Notre Dame tied it at 47 with 4:50 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Jordan Williamson, but Porter drove to the basket on the other end, made the shot and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but it started an 11-2 run that put Sikeston ahead for good.

"The momentum was changing," Roberts said. "But then they came down right after that and got the and-1. ... They're a good team, you've got to give them credit. They could've folded and things went the other way, but that's not going to happen with them."

Roberts said he believed that a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Chris Scott was the biggest play of the game. It gave Sikeston a 52-47 lead with 3:30 left in the game.

Notre Dame had some looks after that but struggled to score and fouled to stop the clock. Notre Dame was 5 of 15 on field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.

Sikeston made 6 of 8 free throw attempts in the final 1:28. Notre Dame's Chase Urhahn hit a 3 at the buzzer for the final score.

Jones scored a game-high 19 points and Porter added 10 for Sikeston.

"He's a hard worker," Holifield said about Jones. "You know, he's been with us for four years. He's been a part of a lot of big wins, and he's going to come and work as hard as he can every day. I'll tell you, he's been a good leader for us this year."

Poythress and Jordan Barber led Notre Dame with 13 and 14 points, respectively.

Notre Dame's next game is against Kelly at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 26 in the first round of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Sikeston 14 16 14 20 -- 64

Notre Dame 10 11 19 14 -- 54

SIKESTON (64) -- Corbyn Blissett 5, Jairius Ray 6, Chris Scott 9, Dominique Dyes 4, Jalen Mallory 3, Marqese Parks 2, J.T. Jones 19, Reese Porter 10, Zach Harrison 4, Ja'lon Marr 2. FG: 21. FT: 16-26. Total fouls: 17. (3-pointers: Scott 1, Dyes 1, Mallory 1, Jones 2. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (54) -- Chase Urhahn 6, Tanner Shively 4, Jordan Williamson 6, Quinn Poythress 13, Grant Ressel 9, Jordan Barber 14, Dean Crippen 2. FG: 17. FT: 16-22. Total fouls: 23. (3-pointers: Urhahn 2, Williamson 1, Poythress 1. Fouled out: none)