Sikeston defeats Cape Central to capture Fountain City Classic title

DE SOTO, Mo. – After shocking the area last season with its upset of Cape Central in district play, Sikeston has come into this year with sky-high expectations.

So far, things appear to be going as planned for Gregg Holifield’s Bulldogs.

Top-seeded Sikeston roared through the Fountain City Classic with two dominating wins and capped off the tournament with a 72-57 victory over second-seeded Cape Central in the championship game on Saturday night at De Soto High School.

It’s the Bulldogs’ first title in the tournament since joining the field in 2021.

The game also marked the first matchup with the Tigers this season in what promises to be a highly competitive SEMO Conference regular season and district tournament in early March.

“It’s a great start for us. I thought our guys really played well as a team throughout the tournament,” said Holifield, now in his 26th year as Sikeston’s coach. “We have to get better in many areas, but overall this is a great win for us. Our kids were really ready to play and I’m proud of the effort.”

Sikeston (3-0) controlled the contest early, jumping out to an 8-0 lead, including a pair of early baskets by senior standout Dontrez Williams. The Tigers had trouble hitting shots but got on the board with a pair of free throws from freshman Goliath Morris-Young.

The Tigers trimmed the lead to 11-4, but a Lekereon McCray 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 10-point lead.

Cape Central’s 6-foot-6 sophomore TySeandre Edwards scored consecutive baskets to cut into the lead at 14-8, but the Bulldogs responded with a McCray steal and layup, a P.J. Farmer steal and slam dunk and a Tristan Wiggins 3-pointer to take a 21-8 lead.

In the second quarter, Sikeston rolled out to a 28-13 advantage – the biggest lead the Bulldogs would have in the first half – after another Wiggins 3-pointer and two Williams free throws.

“I thought we started out with a lot of intensity offensively and defensively,” Holifield said. “We were doing a lot of good things on both ends of the floor.”

The Tigers rallied back behind 10 second quarter points from Edwards and a 3-pointer from Jay Reynolds, cutting the lead to 32-26, but Farmer was fouled with no time on the clock after grabbing an offensive rebound.

He sank both free throws to give the Bulldogs a 34-26 lead at the half.

“Cape Central was hurting us on the boards. They out-rebounded us in the second quarter which helped them cut the deficit,” Holifield said.

In the third quarter, Wiggins started things off with a 3-pointer followed by a Williams 3 to lead 40-26. Sikeston’s defense, which Holifield switched between man-to-man and zone, seemed to bother the Tigers in the third quarter.

“I thought our guys did a really good job out of our matchup zone defense and that helped us to extend our lead,” Holifield said.

The Bulldogs were able to extend their lead after getting defensive stops. Williams splashed another 3 and Wiggins had consecutive baskets on back-door cuts to open up a 56-33 lead towards the end of the third quarter.

The Bulldogs dominated the third quarter, out-scoring the Tigers 24-11 in the period.

In the fourth quarter, a Williams 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 61-39 lead, but the Tigers showed no quit and were able to trim the lead back to 63-45, but that was as close as Cape Central would get until the final margin.

A 3-pointer by sophomore Kobe Thomas and a conventional 3-point play by Wiggins essentially put the game on ice for the Bulldogs at 71-49 with 2:38 left in the game.

Wiggins led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 points.

“I thought Tristan played very well,” Holifield said. “He did a great job defensively. He is a tremendous defender and I thought he really worked hard. I think his great defense carried over to his offense and he really carried us at times.”

Williams followed up with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

“Dontrez is very consistent in what he does and I thought his effort was outstanding. He really impacts the game on both ends of the court,” Holifield said.

Farmer narrowly missed a triple-double, recording 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He also had four steals and two blocks.

“P.J. is such a good player – he’s a really complete player on the offensive end and the defensive end,” Holifield said.

Sikeston 7-foot junior Trace Sadler had six points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

“Trace was a factor inside. I thought he had an aggressive mindset and I thought he altered a lot of shots in the paint,” Holifield said.

The Bulldogs hit eight 3-pointers, a season-high so far on the young season.

Sikeston also forced 18 Cape Central turnovers with their intense defensive pressure.

Edwards led the Tigers with 24 points followed by Reynolds with 13 points.

The Tigers, however, have four key players out battling injuries, but three of them are expected to return to the lineup in the next few weeks.

Both Sikeston and Cape Central will compete in the SEMO Conference Tournament at the Sikeston Field House starting on Monday.

Cape Central 9 17 11 20 -- 57

Sikeston 21 13 24 14 -- 72

CAPE CENTRAL (57) – TySeandre Edwards 24, Jay Reynolds 13, Tyson Williams 8, Camron Hughes 6, Goliath Morris-Young 6. FG 19, FT 15-18, F 19. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2, Hughes 2. Fouled out: Jazalion Chamberlain-Hempstead, Hughes).

SIKESTON (72) – Tristan Wiggins 18, Dontrez Williams 17, P.J. Farmer 15, Lekereon McCray 7, Trace Sadler 6, Chris Artis 4, Kobe Thomas 3, J’kwon Applewhite 2. FG 27, FT 10-15, F 18. (3-pointers: Wiggins 3, Williams 3, Thomas 1, McCray 1. Fouled out: none).