Sikeston uses big first half to hold off state-ranked Caruthersville, 82-60

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. – The Sikeston Bulldogs have shown the ability to explode on teams and go on big runs that typically can put the game away early.

Thursday night in Caruthersville it appeared the Bulldogs were on the verge of doing just that as they built a 30-point lead early in the third quarter.

However, the state-ranked Tigers showed why they are so highly regarded and went on a big run themselves in the third quarter to make the Bulldogs sweat a bit before the visitors settled down and closed out the game with a strong fourth quarter to win 82-60.

Caruthersville (15-4), ranked ninth in the state in Class 3, responded to the 30-point deficit with a 16-0 run to climb back into the game.

The Tigers cut the deficit to 13 two different times in the third quarter as the Senior Night home crowd roared louder and louder with each basket, but could get no closer as Sikeston was able to withstand the run and pull away in the fourth.

“I thought we played very well other than the first three minutes of the third quarter,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “We did a terrific job in the first half of building a lead. We knew they would make a run and we didn’t have the same intensity in the third quarter that we did in the first half. But our guys did a good job of sustaining. They came after us. They’re a good team and our guys were able to withstand the blow and finish the game strong.”

Sikeston had many contributors on this night, but 6-foot-4 junior Dontrez Williams had a monster night, recording 23 points with a career-high 19 rebounds to go with five assists and a pair of steals.

“He really played well,” Holifield said of WIlliams. “He got on the boards and he had some clutch baskets for us. He did a good job of attacking the rim and not settling for 3-pointers. He’s such a good player when he’s attacking and playing under control.”

The Bulldogs put together a complete first half, bursting out of the gates with a 26-15 lead after one quarter boosted by a pair of Creighton Sarakas 3-pointers. The lead grew from there as Sikeston out-scored the Tigers 23-6 in the second quarter, led by Williams’ 12 points, to open up a 49-21 lead at the half.

“We came out and really played well,” Holifield said. “We created a lot of turnovers. We were attacking the rim and that allowed us to build our lead.”

Sikeston (17-6), ranked sixth in Class 5, built the lead with defense as they forced the Tigers into 15 turnovers in the first half.

“Pressure,” Caruthersville coach Lamont Bell said. “We haven’t seen it that strong this year and we tried to rush things and play too fast. They caused a lot of turnovers and we just got out of sync.”

However, the third quarter was a different story.

Sikeston opened the period with a basket by Quemariae Gray to lead 51-21, and the rout appeared to be on.

The Tigers dashed any notion of a blowout with a 16-0 run led by Abeyon Motton, who pumped in 16 of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter as Caruthersville continually chipped into the lead.

“He was kind of down at halftime and I told him ‘shooters shoot the ball,’” Bell said of Motton. “And he picked it up. He carried us in the third quarter.”

A 3-pointer by the Bulldogs’ Tristan Wiggins stopped the run momentarily to extend Sikeston’s lead to 54-37 with five minutes left in the third.

Motton then scored on consecutive trips to cut the lead to 54-41, but Wiggins scored on an offensive putback for the Bulldogs to stop the run once again.

Motton then sank a pair of free throws to bring the Tigers to within 13 once again, but Sikeston’s Lekereon McCray hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to swing the momentum back in the Bulldogs’ direction.

Motton scored inside on an offensive putback with seconds remaining, but Williams quickly rushed the ball down the floor and drew a foul with two-tenths of a second on the clock.

He calmly sank both free throws to increase the lead to 61-45.

The Tigers wouldn’t get any closer than 16 the rest of the way.

“I just told the guys at halftime that we’re playing a good team and I wanted to see how we handled adversity,” Bell said. “We haven’t been down like that this year. We came out and had a great third quarter and made a game of it for a while, but Sikeston was hot. Sikeston made a lot of shots tonight and there’s nothing you can do about it. They have good shooters and great athletes. We competed pretty well and it’s a great game for us to get ready for districts next week.”

Caruthersville also got 13 points from Isaiah Rodgers and 11 from Jamontae Alexander. The Tigers had 23 turnovers in the game, with 22 of those coming in the first three quarters.

The Tigers, who lost to top-seeded district foe New Madrid County Central 76-74 on Feb. 7, received the two seed in Class 3, District 1 which starts next week at NMCC High School.

After Williams’ big night, Wiggins finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds. McCray finished with 16 points, four assists and three steals.

Sarakas and Gray each had nine points.

The Bulldogs were 6 of 17 (35 percent) from 3-point range. Sikeston also had 19 turnovers themselves.

Sikeston will have no time to rest as they will host SEMO Conference rival Jackson on Friday night at the Field House with junior varsity tipping off at 6 p.m.

Sikeston 26 23 12 21 -- 82

Caruthersville 15 6 24 15 -- 60

SIKESTON (82) – Dontrez Williams 23, Lekereon McCray 16, Tristan Wiggins 15, Creighton Sarakas 9, Quemariae Gray 9, Chris Artis 5, Harrison Arndt 3, Morgan McCauley 2. FG 31, FT 14-19, F 15. (3-pointers: Sarakas 3, Wiggins 2, McCray 1. Fouled out: Gray).

CARUTHERSVILLE (60) – Abeyon Motton 27, Isaiah Rodgers 13, Jamontae Alexander 11, Laurence Epkins 4, Ty’lan Golliday 3, Jackson Hunter 2. FG 22, FT 10-15, F 21. (3-pointers: Motton 4, Rodgers 1, Golliday 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 13-0 on the season with a 61-37 win over Caruthersville.

Sikeston was led by freshman Will Lape’s 25 points, hitting 7 of 10 from 3-point range. Freshman Jaharus Goodwin had five rebounds and five blocks.

Freshman Kobe Thomas had four assists and four steals while freshman Ben James had four rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Marcus Sanders also had five rebounds.

Sikeston 18 16 19 8 -- 61

Caruthersville 11 12 10 4 -- 37

SIKESTON (61) – Will Lape 25, Isaiah Jimerson-Patterson 6, Ben James 5, Kobe Thomas 5, Marcus Sanders 5, Dontayvious Wright 5, Malachi Davis 4, Jaharus Goodwin 4, Keane Atkins 2. FG 24, FT 3-7, F 11. (3-pointers: Lape 7, James 1, Sanders 1, Wright 1. Fouled out: none).

CARUTHERSVILLE (37) – Sammy Bryant 16, Emarion Truss 8, D. Hamilton 6, Q. McVay 4, Colbie Sargent 2, R. Guest 1. FG 13, FT 9-13, F 11. (3-pointers: Hamilton 2. Fouled out: none).