Sikeston rolls past St. Dominic to capture tournament championship

O’FALLON, Mo. – It’s been five years since Sikeston won the St. Dominic Christmas Tournament and senior Dontrez Williams was not going to be denied in his final game in the 30th annual event.

Williams put on a show in front of a packed house at St. Dominic High School as the Class 5, No. 1 ranked Bulldogs (11-0) lived up to their No. 1 seed with an impressive 85-57 victory Friday night over second-seeded and defending tournament champion St. Dominic.

It was Williams’ monstrous first half that carried the Bulldogs as he scored 22 of his game-high 26 points, while also snatching 12 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. He also had six steals and five blocked shots.

Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield Submitted

It was pure dominance for the 6-foot-5 senior who has signed with Abilene Christian University.

“I had some motivation to win it in my last year,” Williams said. “I just wanted us to dominate as a team. I wasn’t going to be denied this year. We really wanted this championship.”

Clinching its third tournament title of the year (Fountain City Classic and SEMO Conference) with the win, Sikeston is riding a wave of momentum that shows no trophy is out of reach.

“It was a great experience winning our championship of the season,” Williams said. “But the goal is to win more. I like everything about the team, not just our performance tonight. We come out as a team and play our hearts out. Our defense has been our main source of success. We played solid teamball and everyone was trying to find the open man.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Friday night’s game was very competitive in the first half.

In an exciting, high-energy first two quarters that saw both teams grab the momentum at different stages, it was the Bulldogs that surged ahead in the final moments for a 52-44 lead.

Sikeston continued that momentum into the third quarter where they took charge defensively and outscored the Crusaders 24-7 to put the game well out of reach heading into the fourth quarter – leading 76-51.

“Our defense was really good in the third quarter,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “We just got a lot more sound and did a good job of taking cutters away and much more conscientious of finding their 3-point shooters.”

The first half was vastly different as St. Dominic’s 3-point shooting kept things tight.

The Crusaders (8-3) led by as much as 16-9 early, but the Bulldogs rallied back on a 3-pointer by junior guard Tristan Wiggins, triggering a 10-0 run capped by a Kobe Thomas layup, to lead 19-16.

The back-and-forth first quarter reached its climax when St. Dominic’s Jack Roppa drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to knot the score at 27-27.

It was the sixth 3-pointer of the opening quarter for the Crusaders.

“That’s how we play,” St. Dominic coach Kevin Roberts said. “We have to with our size. We’ve got speed, we’ve got guys who can shoot and we’ve got Jeremiah [Neal] who is a tremendous finisher inside. We have to play quick and I know Sikeston likes that too. I’m sure the fans enjoyed the first half because that was some pretty darn good basketball.”

The intensity continued in the second quarter with multiple lead changes, including the Crusaders taking a 44-43 lead on a Neal basket with two minutes remaining.

The Bulldogs finished strong, however, closing the half on a 9-0 run.

Two P.J. Farmer free throws, a conventional 3-point play by Williams, a Trace Sadler two-handed jam and a pull-up jumper by Wiggins gave Sikeston all the momentum heading into the locker rooms – leading 52-44 after a highly entertaining first half of action.

“We ended the quarter like championship teams should do,” Holifield said. “Our intensity went way up and our guys handled the last two minutes very well.”

Williams’ first-half stat line read like this: 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals.

“He was attacking the basket,” Holifield said. “He had that mindset you have to have. He had the will to win tonight and it showed.”

The Bulldogs took over in the third quarter.

Wiggins opened with a 3-pointer followed by back-to-back driving layups by Lekereon McCray. Williams finished off a fast-break with a one-handed slam and the Bulldogs were off and running.

Before the Crusaders knew what hit them, Sikeston had opened the half with a 20-0 run, and when combined with the end of the first half, it added up to a 29-0 run spanning both quarters.

“We had a couple mental lapses and some turnovers and when you give a team like that run-outs and live-ball turnovers it can go from eight to 18 pretty quick,” Roberts said. “Sikeston’s physicality, their athleticism, their decision making – their defensive effort is tremendous to watch.”

For all intents and purposes, the game was decided before the fourth quarter had started, but the Bulldogs punctuated the final period on the opening possession with Farmer’s alley-oop lob to Sadler for the emphatic jam.

Holifield pulled his starters out with just over six minutes remaining and the mercy clock in effect.

Williams was joined on the all-tournament team with teammates Wiggins and Farmer. Wiggins finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists while also drawing two critical charges in the first half.

Farmer battled foul trouble but still managed to score six points with five rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

McCray scored nine of his 14 points in the third quarter, also picking up four steals.

Sadler, the Bulldogs’ 7-footer, impacted the game on both ends as he had eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and numerous others altered.

“I thought Trace was outstanding tonight,” Holifield said. “In my opinion, it’s the best game he’s ever played.”

The Bulldogs continue to get great production from their bench with J’kwon Applewhite, Kobe Thomas and Chris Artis providing a big lift with defense and rebounding.

St. Dominic turned the ball over 26 times against Sikeston’s pressure defense.

“I’ve coached against Sikeston for many years,” Roberts said. “They’ve got every tool in the box this year to be really, really successful. They’re just relentless defensively. Gregg coaches them up – he’s a hell of a coach and he has a great program. That Class 5 is going to be a really tough class. As a fan, I enjoy watching them play, plus they’re a class-act group. Every one of those kids is a class act from top to bottom. Gregg does a great job with them.”

Neal led the senior-laden Crusaders with 19 points. Brayden Gardner, a 6-4 sharpshooter, finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers.

After hitting six 3-pointers in the opening quarter, St. Dominic only hit one more 3-pointer the rest of the night.

Friday’s championship marked the Bulldogs’ ninth since joining the tournament in 2010. Sikeston won eight out of nine titles from 2010-2018.

Sikeston will next play on Friday when they host Charleston in a SEMO Conference game with junior varsity starting at 6 p.m.

__SIKESTON 85, ST. DOMINIC 57__

Sikeston 27 25 24 9 -- 85

St. Dominic 27 17 7 6 -- 57

SIKESTON (85) – Dontrez Williams 26, Tristan Wiggins 15, Lekereon McCray 14, Trace Sadler 8, J’kwon Applewhite 6, P.J. Farmer 6, Chris Artis 4, Kobe Thomas 4, Jaharus Goodwin 2. FG 35, FT 11-18, F 17. (3-pointers: Wiggins 3, McCray 1. Fouled out: none).

ST. DOMINIC (57) – Jeremiah Neal 21, David Moore 12, Brayden Gardner 12, Jack Roppa 3, Ray Butler 3, Evan Maysent 2, Nolan Struckman 2, Leo Summers 2. FG 21, FT 8-11, F 21. (3-pointers: Gardner 4, Roppa 1, Butler 1, Neal 1. Fouled out: none).