Sikeston crushes Union; will meet Borgia in tourney championship

UNION, Mo. – The Union Invitational Tournament championship final that fans have been looking forward to will become reality tomorrow night.

Top-seeded Sikeston knocked off tournament host and fourth-seeded Union 75-38 while second-seeded St. Francis Borgia defeated third-seeded Rockwood Summit 53-34 on Friday night in the 62nd annual event at Union High School.

The championship final, scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, features Class 5 No. 1 ranked Sikeston (16-0) against Class 4 No. 2 ranked Borgia (18-1) in a rematch of last year’s thrilling tournament championship game – a 71-68 victory for the Bulldogs.

“We’re excited to be playing in the championship game again,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “This is a great opportunity for us against Borgia. They’re one of the top teams in the state and we’re looking forward to the game.”

In Friday’s semifinal game against Union, Sikeston dominated from the opening tip as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back.

Bulldog senior Dontrez Williams had a stellar performance in just 22 minutes of action – 23 points, 17 rebounds, six blocked shots, four assists, three steals and zero turnovers.

“Dontrez was just really terrific tonight,” Holifield said. “He didn’t force anything. He controlled the game on both ends of the court. I was really pleased with his effort.”

Williams started the game with a 3-pointer followed by a Tristan Wiggins 3-pointer and within seconds the Bulldogs were ahead 6-0.

Junior Lekereon McCray scored on an offensive putback and then Williams finished with a massive two-handed jam off an inbounds play to push the lead to 10-3 and forcing Union to burn an early timeout.

However, that didn’t slow the Bulldogs down.

Another Williams slam triggered a 14-2 run as the Bulldogs continued to force turnovers and score in transition, eventually opening up a 24-9 lead after two Chris Artis free throws, to close out the first quarter.

“They make you pay,” Union coach Brian Lind said of the Bulldogs. “You miss a shot, and they score before you know what hit you. They just capitalize on every mistake you make. They’re relentless. They’re deep. They’re athletic.”

The lead swelled to 31-11 after Williams emphatically rejected a Kieran Wors dunk attempt, triggering Wiggins’ long assist to McCray for the reverse layup, prompting Lind to burn another timeout with 5:46 remaining in the half.

“The Williams kid changes everything at the rim,” Lind said. “We had some looks, but it was just more of the fear of getting our shot blocked. And then he’s going to get every rebound and they can run and get up the floor and make the right play at the right time. They are very well-coached.”

McCray and Williams buried back-to-back 3-pointers, Williams recorded his third slam and also finished an acrobatic backdoor alley-oop lay-in to cap a 15-3 run, giving Sikeston a 46-16 lead.

Sikeston started the third quarter in the same fashion they ended the first half, but this time with P.J. Farmer getting to the rim and scoring consecutive baskets.

The Bulldogs eventually led 63-26 after two more Farmer free throws with 2:48 left in the third quarter – at which point Holifield put his bench in the game to finish things out.

The Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers in the game and limited Union’s scoring opportunities throughout the game.

“I just thought we did a lot of really good things tonight,” Holifield said. “I was very pleased with our defense tonight. Our ball pressure was good. Our help-side is improving. I think the guys have the potential to be a really good defensive team.”

The mercy clock rounded out the game in the fourth quarter, but not before sophomore Jaharus Goodwin excited the Bulldog crowd with two consecutive slam dunks to punctuate the victory.

“Jaharus works hard in practice and he’s improving,” Holifield said. “That was a big moment for him and our team really enjoyed it for him.”

McCray had another big night, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the first half.

“Lekereon has really stepped up and I knew he was going to play well – he’s practicing well and it is showing in the games,” Holifield said.

Farmer finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Wiggins had seven points with nine rebounds.

The Bulldogs have met up with Borgia five times since 2006 – the Knights hold a 3-2 edge, but Sikeston has won the last two, including a victory in the 2011 Class 4 state championship game.

“We always look forward to playing them,” Holifield said. “They have a legendary coach (Dave Neier) with over 800 wins and we know that it will be a very difficult game.”

Sikeston 24 22 20 9 -- 75

Union 9 9 13 7 -- 38

SIKESTON (75) – Dontrez Williams 23, Lekereon McCray 18, P.J. Farmer 11, Tristan Wiggins 7, Kobe Thomas 6, Jaharus Goodwin 6, Chris Artis 4. FG 28, FT 12-17, F 7. (3-pointers: Williams 3, Thomas 2, Williams 1, McCray 1. Fouled out: none).

UNION (38) – Keiran Wors 11, Ozzie Smith 8, Cam Servais 5, Hayden Parmenter 4, Reece Rapert 3, Karson Eads 3, Landon Smith 2, Blake Siess 2. FG 16, FT 1-3, F 11. (3-pointers: Wors 1, O. Smith 1, Rapert 1, Servais 1, ,Eads 1. Fouled out: none).