Sikeston nips Notre Dame boys 48-47

In the battle of the Bulldogs, Sikeston hung on for a 48-47 win over host Notre Dame on Friday night.

Tough, physical defensive play set the tone for the SEMO Conference matchup as the game would eventually be decided at the free-throw line. Notre Dame's record evened at 3-3, 1-1 in the conference, while Sikeston, in its conference opener, improved to 5-4.

"In the second half, especially, late in the game and with the score tied, we just didn't play with any confidence," said Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott. "And that was a direct reflection of the way they guarded us.

"They kind of took us out of what we wanted to do and we lost confidence and couldn't get it back and that affected our free-throw shooting, also."

Poor free-throw shooting from both teams kept the contest in suspense until the final second of play as Notre Dame could manage only 3 of 9 from the line in the fourth period, while Sikeston wasn't much better at 9 of 20. For the game, Sikeston made just 14 of 29 free throws. Notre Dame hit 8 of 20.

Notre Dame held a 38-35 lead going into the final quarter, but failed to score until Travis Siebert's basket at the 4:35 mark broke a 38-38 tie.

With scoring at a premium throughout the remainder of the quarter, the game went back-and-forth with no team gaining more than a one-point advantage.

At the 1:05 mark, Sikeston's Justin Freeman hit one of two at the line to put Sikeston up 44-43. Three consecutive turnovers and two fouls by Notre Dame put Sikeston's Lawrence Davis and Freeman on the line. Both hit clutch free throws to send Sikeston up 48-43, before Notre Dame's Doug Schaefer closed the gap to 48-45 with seven seconds left.

A last-second shot by Nathan LeGrand on a putback of a three-point attempt narrowed the margin to the final score.

Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield, pleased to come out on top, praised the effort of both teams, particularly on the defensive end.

Said Holifield, "Notre Dame played us hard, very physical. They played really well defensively and down the stretch we didn't shoot free throws very well, but overall I was really pleased with our effort."

Siebert paced the Notre Dame offense with 15 points, including the only three 3-pointers.

Sikeston's leading scorer Lomas McClinton, displaying great leaping ability inside, again led with 19 points, while Lavar Morgan had 12.

Sikeston's JV team defeated Notre Dame 49-47 behind Freddie Wiggins' 28 points. Bryce Willen and Blake Fisher shared scoring honors for Notre Dame with 11 apiece.