Sikeston routs Cape Central in anticipated matchup

Friday night’s contest between the Sikeston Bulldogs and Cape Central Tigers had been circled on the calendar for the majority of the season by basketball fans in the region.

The energy could be felt all evening long at Cape Central High School as the Bulldogs prevailed with a 70-47 win over the Tigers.

“I thought our intensity defensively was good,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “I thought we did a great job on that end of the floor. Give Cape credit because they battled and made things difficult around the rim for us especially in the first half. Our guys stayed together and continued to work.”

Out of the gates, the two teams were even at 5-5 but a tenacious effort defensively from Sikeston turned the Tigers over and in turn, led the Bulldogs on an 11-0 run to close the first quarter.

“We try to guard as hard as we can,” Holifield said. “Whether we’re in a matchup zone or a man-to-man, we’re constantly trying to put pressure on the ball. But again, you’ve got to be able to help and you have to be able to rebound and if you do those two things, good things will happen.”

Holifield said turning defense to offense has always been a focal point of teams he’s coached.

“We try to create points off turnovers,” Holifield said. “We try to play up-tempo offensively and defensively and I think kids love to play that style and it’s fun to coach for me.”

The Tigers got going offensively in the second quarter but they weren’t able to string together stops.

Because of this, the Bulldogs took a 29-17 lead into halftime behind 15 forced turnovers in the first half.

“The most important part of the basketball game is the first three minutes of the second half,” Holifield said. “You’ve got to come out and really play well at that point in time.”

The Bulldogs answered the bell out of the locker room to begin the third quarter as they opened with a corner three-pointer from PJ Farmer to extend their lead.

Sikeston’s offense continued its roll by feeding off its defense and the Bulldogs’ lead ballooned to 49-29 with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs would take a 52-34 lead into the final eight minutes.

For the entirety of the evening the Tigers simply just weren’t able to get anything going on the offensive end and after every miss, the Bulldogs were out and running in transition.

As the clock was winding down with the Bulldogs leading, chants of “Holifield, Holifield, Holifield” rained down from the Sikeston faithful.

That’s because Friday’s win over Cape Central marked the 500th career win for Holifield in his career at Sikeston.

“It’s awesome,” Holifield said. “I came here in 1998 and I still remember my team's very first win. To have 500 here is very special and it means a lot to me. It just speaks to the players I’ve had and the effort throughout the years. It’s my 26th year and it’s about team, team, team.”

Despite the fact the game was played at Cape Central, fans from both teams showed out in support making for a postseason-like atmosphere.

“We’ve played in a lot of big games,” Holifield said. “The guys came out ready to play and they know the keys to sustaining that energy. I thought we did a good job of that. We have a ton of respect for Cape Central. We know how good they are, we know how good of players they have and we know how tough it’s going to be to beat those guys again.”

Leading the Bulldogs offense was PJ Farmer who poured in 21 points in the win.

Also scoring in double digits for the Bulldogs was Dontrez Williams with 18 points and Tristen Wiggins with 12 points.

On the opposing end, Cape Central was led by Jaydon Reynolds with 13 points and Tyson Williams with 12 points.

Cape Central (13-8) returns to action at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, when the Tigers travel to take on Charleston.

Sikeston (21-0) returns home at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, for a marquee matchup with the New Madrid County Central Eagles at the Sikeston Field House.

__ SIKESTON 70, CAPE CENTRAL 47__

Sikeston 16 13 23 18 — 70

Cape Central 5 12 17 13 — 47

Sikeston (70) — PJ Farmer 21, Dontrez Williams 18, Tristen Wiggins 12, Lekereon McCray 9, Trace Sadler 6, Kobe Thomas 2, Chris Artis 2. FG: 30. (3-pointers: Wiggins 2, McCray 1, Farmer 1)

Cape Central (47) — Jaydon Reynolds 13, Tyson Williams 12, Marquel Murray 8, TySeanDre’ Edwards 6, Max Vogel 6, Goliath Morris-Young 2. FG: 18. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2, Murray 2, Edwards 1)