Sikeston rolls through North County in district opener, 69-25

BONNE TERRE, Mo. – The Sikeston Bulldogs have lived on the road this season with usually very long drives throughout the season.

Of the Bulldogs’ 27 games, only eight games were at the friendly confines of the Sikeston Field House.

However, all of those road tests have given the Bulldogs plenty of experience away from home as they’ve won most of their tougher games on the road.

That trend continued on Wednesday night at Sikeston opened up Class 5, District 1 play with a dominating 69-25 victory over North County at North County High School.

The second-seeded Bulldogs (20-7) advance to the semifinals of the tournament where they will play third-seeded Hillsboro on Friday at 7 p.m.

Hillsboro (21-6), ranked ninth in the state in Class 5, defeated sixth-seeded Farmington 63-60 on a 3-point shot at the buzzer.

On Wednesday the Bulldogs, who are ranked eighth in the state in Class 5, were firing on all cylinders as North County attempted to slow the pace of the game with a patient, ball-control offense.

“I thought our defense was outstanding,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “Our guys did a great job of pressuring the ball and getting to our assignments. Our guys really prepared well the last two days because we knew North County was a dangerous team with two really good players. Our team defense was outstanding.”

Sikeston raced out to a 17-3 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Junior Dontrez Williams scored on back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game. Sophomore Lekereon McCray scored on an old-fashioned 3-point play and then Williams hit a third 3-pointer with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter to take a 12-3 lead.

The third 3-pointer by Williams notched his 1,000th point in his varsity career with the Bulldogs.

“He’s been an outstanding player for us through his high school career,” Holifield said. “I’m very proud for him. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

Following a North County turnover, McCray drained a 3-pointer followed by a drive to the basket by sophomore Chris Artis to hold a 17-3 lead after one.

Sikeston continued the onslaught in the second quarter as McCray scored seven straight points to open the period.

Artis then scored after a steal and layup to lead 26-5 with 4:50 left in the half.

The Raiders (11-15) were able to hit a couple 3-pointers to keep pace, but still found themselves trailing 38-16 at the half.

Sikeston’s most dominating quarter came in the third when they out-scored North County 25-3.

The Bulldogs forced eight turnovers in the quarter and quickly put to rest any notion of a second half letdown.

Sikeston started the third quarter on a 22-0 run and held a 63-19 lead heading into the fourth.

“We just came out with great energy again and defensively we continued to be outstanding,” Holifield said. “Defense wins championships and I can’t say enough about how we played tonight.”

Holifield pulled his starters for good with three minutes left in the third quarter as reserves played out the remainder of the game.

The mercy clock put a swift end to the game in the fourth quarter.

McCray led the team with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals. He shot 7 of 8 from the field.

“He’s really played well the last few games,” Holifield said of McCray. “He’s taking good shots and he’s very patient with the basketball, which leads to scoring opportunities. Defensively he’s really instinctive and he’s playing about as well as he has all season.”

Williams followed up with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots.

Seniors Harrison Arndt and Creighton Sarakas each finished with eight points. Artis had nine points and sophomore Tristan Wiggins had five rebounds and four assists.

As a team, Sikeston shot 9 of 23 (39 percent) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers and pressured the Raiders into numerous contested shots.

Sikeston also achieved its 20th win of the season, marking the first time the Bulldogs have reached that mark since 2019.

It’s the 13th time one of Holifield’s teams has eclipsed 20 wins in his 25 years at the school.

Just for reference, in the 90 years of Sikeston basketball prior to Holifield’s arrival, the Bulldogs only had eight 20 win seasons.

It’s a great accomplishment,” Holifield said. “We’ve had so many great teams in the 25 years I’ve been here and to do it again this year speaks well for our program and our players who have come through here. We’ve had a really good year considering how young we are. We’ve had a few bumps in the road and our guys have gotten better and learned from their mistakes and it’s made us a better team.”

North County 3 13 3 6 -- 25

Sikeston 17 21 25 6 -- 69

NORTH COUNTY (25) – Layne Wigger 9, Kooper Kekec 5, Jobe Smith 4, Grant Mullins 4, Landon Carroll 3. FG 11, FT 0-1, F 10. (3-pointers: Wigger 1, Kekec 1, Carroll 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (69) – Lekereon McCray 19, Dontrez Williams 15, Chris Artis 9, Harrison Arndt 8, Creighton Sarakas 8, Kobe Thomas 6, Tristan Wiggins 4. FG 27, FT 5-5, F 9. (3-pointers: Williams 3, Arndt 2, Sarakas 2, Artis 1, Thomas 1, McCray 1. Fouled out: none).