Sikeston wins seventh straight in 100-42 win over Meridian

CHARLESTON, Mo. – Despite another lengthy layoff in the schedule, this time from the winter storm that wiped out two games, the Sikeston Bulldogs showed no signs of rust on Saturday night at the Charleston Sixth Man Shootout.

Seven days ago the Bulldogs defeated Class 5, No. 3 ranked St. Francis Borgia at the Union Tournament in a thrilling three-point victory. Games against Dexter and Poplar Bluff were postponed due to the weather, leaving the Bulldogs itching for a game to play and hoping to pick up from where they left off last week.

Sikeston did just that on Saturday with a 100-42 victory over Meridian, Ill.

Sikeston's Dontrez Williams goes up for a shot against Meridian, Illinois, in the Charleston 6th Man Shootout Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (David Jenkins photo)

The Bulldogs have won seven straight and improve to 15-4 on the season. Sikeston also cracked the top 10 in the Class 5 state rankings, coming in at No. 8, to mark the first time the Bulldogs have broke into the state media poll since 2019.

Saturday’s game was all Sikeston from the start as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 16-3 lead, much of it coming off transition points from turnovers.

A Creighton Sarakas 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer extended Sikeston’s lead to 26-8. The Bulldogs forced nine turnovers in the opening quarter.

Sikeston's Ben James drives to the basket against Meridian, Illinois, in the Charleston 6th Man Shootout Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (David Jenkins photo)

“This was a game we needed after being off for so long,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “You never know how you will respond after so much time off and coming off a big win last week, but I was really pleased with how we played. Our ball pressure was good and that allowed us to make things difficult for Meridian.”

Sikeston continued the onslaught in the second quarter, out-scoring the Bobcats 29-6 in the period to open up a 55-14 halftime lead.

The big lead for the Bulldogs allowed Holifield to go deep into his bench throughout the game – twelve of the 13 players dressed reached the scoring column.

Sikeston out-scored Meridian 26-14 in the third quarter to open up an 81-28 lead.

“I thought our bench really came in and gave us a big lift,” Holifield said. “That’s the kind of production we want from all of our players and I was glad to see that today.”

The mercy clock ran the remainder of the game with freshman Ben James bringing the Bulldog faithful to their feet with four straight 3-pointers, including the one to reach the century mark. It’s the most points Sikeston has scored in a game since scoring 103 points at Poplar Bluff and 104 points against Parkway North, both in 2019.

Bulldog junior Dontrez Williams led all scorers with 19 points to go with his four rebounds and three blocked shots.

Freshman Kobe Thomas scored a varsity career-high with 16 points. James finished with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Tristan Wiggins finished with 10 points and four assists. Sophomore Lekereon McCray had a team-high five assists and three steals to go with his six rebounds.

Senior Morgan McCauley led the team with seven rebounds.

Meridian (16-11) was led by Roderic Gatewood Jr. with 13 points. The high-scoring guard came into the game averaging 26 points per game.

It was Sikeston's first game against Meridian since 1995, a game that, coincidentally, also saw the Bulldogs top 100 points.

“We were able to spend a lot of practice time preparing for Meridian once we learned the Bluff game was postponed,” Holifield said. “So we were well aware of [Gatewood] and our guys knew where he was at all times.”

The Bulldogs continued their hot shooting as they hit 11 of 21 (52 percent) from 3-point range.

“We really put in a lot of time with our shooting so it’s good to see that carrying over into the games,” Holifield said.

Sikeston will play its rescheduled game with Dexter on Monday with the junior varsity tipping off at 6 p.m. at the Sikeston Field House. It will be the Bulldogs’ first home game since Dec. 19.

Meridian 8 6 14 14 -- 42

Sikeston 26 29 26 19 -- 100

MERIDIAN (42) – Roderic Gatewood Jr. 13, D’Mari Jackson 8, Cole Kaufman 8, Javionne Ranson 6, Raheem Glover 5, Dionte Reed 2. FG 14, FT 10-15, F 15. (3-pointers: Gatewood Jr. 2, Kaufman 1, Glover 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (100) – Dontrez Williams 19, Kobe Thomas 16, Ben James 12, Tristan Wiggins 10, Creighton Sarakas 9, Chris Artis 7, Lakereon McCray 7, Quemariae Gray 7, Harrison Arndt 5, Morgan McCauley 4, Isaiah Jimerson-Patterson 2, Malachi Davis 2. FG 40, FT 9-18, F 13. (3-pointers: James 4, Sarakas 3, Williams 2, Thomas 1, Arndt 1. Fouled out: none).