Sikeston races past Kennett, 92-53

KENNETT, Mo. – With such a young team, the Sikeston Bulldogs have experienced some ups and downs so far this season.

If this week is any indicator, the Bulldogs may be finding their stride as they reach the halfway point of the season.

Sikeston followed up a dominating win at Farmington on Tuesday with an even more impressive performance on Friday night at Kennett High School, defeating the Indians 92-53.

It may be the most complete game the Bulldogs have played this season.

“I’ll go back to how our guys have practiced,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “They have worked really hard for two weeks and it’s carried over into our last two games.”

There wasn’t much Sikeston did wrong on this night as their defense was swarming the Indians from the opening tip, forcing Kennett into a whopping 31 turnovers.

The Bulldogs (10-4, 2-1 SEMO Conference) also shot 51 percent from the field, but most notably a higher percentage than normal from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 9 of 21 (43 percent).

“Our guys have put in time -- they’ve worked hard,” Holifield said. “Our drill work has carried over into games. We have good shooters and they’re shooting with a lot of confidence. We are sharing the basketball well and taking in-rhythm shots.”

The Bulldogs racked up 24 assists, a season high, while committing just 13 turnovers.

From the outset, Sikeston was rolling against the Indians.

Sophomore guard Lekereon McCray scored right off the opening tip. The Bulldogs’ lead quickly swelled to 8-0 just 50 seconds into the game.

The Bulldogs’ lead continued to grow as Kennett had no answer for Sikeston’s full-court pressure defense, leading to numerous steals and fast-break points.

Sophomore Tristan Wiggins drained a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 20-6 and the lead grew to as much as 27-11 after a Dontrez Williams basket late in the first quarter.

Sikeston eventually settled with a 32-17 lead after one.

It’s the second most points in a quarter by the Bulldogs this season – the team scored 33 in the first quarter in the season-opener against DeSoto.

Sikeston continued to push the issue in the second quarter.

Some of the highlights included senior Quemariae Gray’s three charges drawn as well as a charge drawn by Williams, drawing some of the loudest cheers of the night from the large contingent of Sikeston fans that made the long drive.

“Our guys have worked hard on taking charges in practice,” Holifield said. “It’s such a momentum swing. ‘Q’ has such a great attitude and works hard every day in practice. He just did a terrific job tonight.”

Williams erupted for 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second quarter. The 6-foot-4 junior also had six rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

The Bulldogs carried a 53-25 lead into halftime.

The third quarter proved to be no different as Sikeston blew the game wide open.

A Williams slam brought the Bulldog crowd to its feet as the lead ballooned to 70-25, capping a 17-0 run to start the second half.

Holifield took his starters out for the rest of the night at the 4:16 mark of the third quarter with the team leading 72-27.

Sikeston led 81-39 after the third quarter, enabling the turbo clock to run the rest of the way.

McCray finished with a season-high 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Artis scored 17 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Wiggins scored nine points with four rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Kennett (7-10, 0-4 SEMO Conference) was led by Cooper Henfling’s 14 points, all coming in second half. Freshman Ashton Dismukes followed up with 13 points.

Sikeston has not lost on Kennett’s home floor since 2001, a string of 11 straight wins.

Sikeston, winners of eight of their last 10, will play at Portageville on Monday with junior varsity starting at 6 p.m.

Sikeston 32 21 28 11 -- 92

Kennett 17 8 14 14 -- 53

SIKESTON (92) – Dontrez Williams 24, Chris Artis 17, Lekereon McCray 17, Tristan Wiggins 9, J’kwon Applewhite 6, Kobe Thomas 4, Ben James 3, Creighton Sarakas 3, Quemariae Gray 3. FG 36, FT 11-18, F 18. (3-pointers: Williams 3, McCray 2, Wiggins 1, James 1, Artis 1, Sarakas 1. Fouled out: none).

KENNETT (53) – Cooper Henfling 14, Ashton Dismukes 13, D’shun Wilson 8, Daniel Boatman 3, Zy Taylor 3, Peyton Branum 3, Ashton Williams 3, Hayden Gilmore 3, Blake Raspberry 2, Chris Jefferson 1. FG 19, FT 8-16, F 17. (3-pointers: Henfling 4, Williams 1, Branum 1, Gilmore 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior varsity

Sikeston’s J.V. team improved to 8-0 on the season with a 60-36 win over Kennett’s junior varsity.

The Bulldogs were led by freshman Kobe Thomas with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Freshman Ben James followed up with 10 points, five rebounds and six assists.

Sophomore Malachi Davis had 10 points and nine rebounds. J’kwon Applewhite had seven rebounds and Jaharus Goodwin added six boards.

Sikeston 13 15 12 20 -- 60

Kennett 5 9 14 8 -- 36

SIKESTON (60) – Kobe Thomas 16, Ben James 10, Malachi Davis 10, J’kwon Applewhite 7, Will Lape 6, Jaharus Goodwin 4, Ladainian Sherrod 3, Marcus Sanders 2, Isaiah Jimerson-Patterson 2. FG 22, FT 12-18, F 18. (3-pointers: Lape 2, James 1, Sherrod 1. Fouled out: Lape).

KENNETT (36) – Cooper Henfling 14, Ty Jones 8, Karmine Tribble 7, Dyson Watson 3, Carey Pulliam 2, Noah Matheny 2. FG 11, FT 11-17, F 15. (3-pointers: Watson 1, Tribble 1, Henfling 1. Fouled out: none).