SIKESTON'S HOT HANDS BRAND TIGERS WITH 'L'

Half-court bank shots, 17-foot turnaround fade-away bank shots, 3-pointers -- everything was going in for Sikeston Friday night.

Sikeston shot 49 percent from the field and made some unbelievable shots in the third quarter to pull away as the Bulldogs handed Cape Central a 63-49 loss at the Tiger Field House.

"Sikeston caught on fire," said Central coach Brett Reutzel. "A couple of times we had a hand in their face and they made it. You can't ask for more than that."

The Bulldogs shot a respectable 40 percent in the first half, but the hot shooting began at the halftime buzzer.

From the far left sideline at half court, Sikeston's Tony Jones let one fly and banged it off the backboard and in to put his team up 24-20 heading into the locker room.

Jones then started the third quarter with another three to put Sikeston up 27-22

Later in the third, Cape Central (8-14, 1-4 SEMO Conference) cut the lead down to 31-26, but Johnny Adams hit a three. Andre Morgan, on the next possession, made an unbelievable fade-away off the glass from about 17 feet out to put Sikeston up 36-25.

Two possessions later, Jones hit a shot with a hand in his face to put the Bulldogs ahead 38-25.

Before the Tigers knew it, they were the victims of a 21-9 run in the third quarter and found themselves down 45-31 heading into the final period.

"Tony Jones really stepped up," said Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield. "He's good off the dribble and he was aggressive. He made some tough baskets."

While Jones made some of the toughest baskets, Sikeston's Bryan Ellitt made the most. The versatile 6-foot-5 forward scored a game-high 20 points. Ellitt was also a menace on the boards, collecting 17 rebounds.

Ellitt was one of four Sikeston players in double figures as Jones finished with 14, Adams scored 12 and Morgan scored 11.

For Cape Central, 6-5 center Ross Conner led the way with 18 points and was the only player in double figures for the Tigers. Eric Wessel hit three 3-pointers and finished with nine.

While Sikeston was hitting from everywhere, particularly in the second half, Central went cold.

The Tigers shot 35 percent overall, but hit just three of their 15 3-point attempts. The Tigers hit only one of eight threes in the fourth quarter.

Sikeston hit six of its 13 3-point shots for the game.

Cape Central got off to a slow start and trailed 12-6 after the first quarter. The Tigers hit five of their 10 shots in the second half and cut their deficit to 21-20 on a pair of free throws by T.J. Erlacker with :40.7 left. That was as close as Cape Central got to taking a lead after going up 2-0 early.

The loss was a bit costly for Cape Central. A win would've almost guaranteed the third seed in the upcoming district tournament. The district seeding meeting will be held this morning.

"I think we should be No. 3," said Reutzel. "Everybody might disagree, but we beat Jackson and Farmington head-to-head."

Poplar Bluff will likely get the top seed, followed by Sikeston.

Jackson has beaten the Mules, but lost to Cape Central and split games with Farmington this year.

The four and five seeds will have to play an extra district game.