SIKESTON THWARTS JACKSON COMEBACK 65-57

SIKESTON -- Jackson High's boys basketball team made a late comeback, but it was not enough to prevent host Sikeston from claiming a 65-57 victory Tuesday night.

After seeing the Indians rally for a 57-57 tie with about three minutes left, the Bulldogs scored the game's final eight points.

Sikeston improved to 4-13 while Jackson fell to 12-6.

John Sanders poured in 27 points to pace the Bulldogs while Henley Montgomery added 15.

Jackson got 22 points from Jeff Walter and 11 from Justin Keen.

"We got off to a slow start. We dug ourselves into a hole," said Jackson coach Steve Burk. "Then we got back into the ballgame. We tied it up and we had a chance to go ahead, but we couldn't do it."

The Bulldogs grabbed a 16-8 lead after one quarter. They were ahead 30-25 at halftime and 51-44 entering the final period.

"They had a kid really get hot on us," said Burk of Sanders.

Jackson will return to action Friday night as the Indians visit 18-1 Perryville.

"They're really good," said Burk of the Pirates.

Marquand 70

Delta 68

MARQUAND -- Marquand has been putting together an impressive season, but the Tigers really opened some eyes Tuesday night as they beat visiting Delta, one of the area's best Class 1A teams.

The Tigers (12-3) were led by Dusty Stephens' 29 points and 18 rebounds.

Delta (11-7) got 32 points from Garrett DeBrock.

In an exciting finish, Marquand trailed 68-67 when Brandon Settle scored on a layup and was fouled with four seconds left. His foul shot completed the three-point play and put the Tigers ahead 70-68.

Delta's Kenny Goebler missed a shot from the top of the key at the buzzer that would have given the Bobcats the victory.

Advance 99

Zalma 61

ZALMA -- Matt Welch poured in 25 points and teammate Brock Cato popped for 20 points as Advance romped past winless Zalma Tuesday night.

Matt DeJournett added 17 points and Shaun Bennett also found double figures with 11 points. The Hornets improved to 9-6 with the win.

Adam Wallace paced Zalma (0-11) with 20 points.

Advance opened a 25-16 lead in the first quarter and pushed the advantage to over 20 points by halftime, leading 54-32 at the break.

Zalma won the JV contest 57-51.

Bell City 109

Chaffee 40

BELL CITY -- Bell City had its offense clicking on all cylinders Tuesday night as the Cubs destroyed visiting Chaffee.

Six players scored in double figures for the Cubs (6-8), led by Justin Stephens with 24 points and Brandon Stewart with 22. Nate Wills and Jay Gadberry both had 12 while Jacob Jenkins and Matt Knoderer added 10 apiece.

Chaffee (3-9) got 14 points from Jamie Dumey and 11 from Jeremy Yarbro.

"We just shot the ball well," said Bell City coach Scott Kruse. "We've only got three subs, so there wasn't much we could do about the score."

The Cubs led 31-7 after one quarter and 61-18 at halftime.

Bernie 78, Kelly 65

BERNIE -- Brandon Stone netted 25 points to help lead Bernie past a slow-starting Kelly squad.

Bernie jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter and held a slim 44-43 scoring edge over the final three quarters.

"We won the second half, but the first quarter is what killed us," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels, who saw his team fall to 9-8 on the season.

Bernie took a 24-12 lead into the second quarter and led 43-27 at halftime.

Brandon Stone led Bernie with 25 points.

Eleven Hawks found the scoring column, but Ben Klipfel was the lone Kelly player to reach double figures with 11 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kelly 46

Sikeston 33

BENTON -- Suzanne Urhahn netted a game-high 18 points as Kelly defeated visiting Sikeston Tuesday night.

Jennifer McNeill added 14 points for the 10-5 Lady Hawks.

Kelly jumped out to a 16-10 lead after one quarter and led 28-13 at halftime.

Kelly will host Cape Central Thursday night.