Top-ranked Sikeston dunks Caruthersville, 94-49

SIKESTON – Right off the opening tip the Sikeston Bulldogs showed the Caruthersville Tigers that there would be no hangover from Tuesday night’s thrilling victory over New Madrid County Central.

The Bulldogs opened the game with a Dontrez Williams slam dunk just three seconds into the contest, and that was followed by a Trace Sadler jam on the ensuing trip.

It set the tone for the rest of the game as Sikeston rolled through the Tigers 94-49 on Senior Night at the Field House on Thursday.

Sikeston (23-0) and ranked No. 1 in Class 5, topped the 90-point mark for the eighth time this season as Williams led the way with 22 points – 19 of those coming in the first half. He also had 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Williams is one of three seniors on the Bulldogs’ roster, and while Sikeston still has one more home game next week against Doniphan, Senior Night festivities still carry some weight with Williams and his senior classmates.

“It’s going by fast – it’s been a journey,” Williams said. “In that last game at the Field House next week I’m probably going to get a little emotional…”

Williams then cracked a smile, “but not too much.”

Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield praised his seniors after the game.

“I love these seniors,” he said. “They’re all great guys to be around. They’re as good a group of guys that I could ask for. They come in with great attitudes every day and they work hard. I couldn’t be any prouder of what they’ve accomplished in our program. I know they have more goals they want to accomplish this season, but this was a great win for our team tonight.”

Williams led the Bulldogs in a whirlwind first quarter that saw Caruthersville ready to play after the initial shock to open the game.

The Tigers rallied to take a 7-6 lead on an Abeyon Motton 3-pointer, but Williams scored inside followed by a Lekereon McCray layup, a P.J. Farmer drive and another Sadler slam to lead 14-7.

Sikeston eventually held a 23-14 lead after one quarter, and continued to pull away in the second quarter with more transition baskets and high-flying slams as they put up 32 points.

The Bulldogs put on an air show for the hometown fans, recording 10 slam dunks – nine of those coming in the first half.

“It was Senior Night and everybody had to show out,” Williams said.

Williams displayed his vast skills in the second quarter as he scored 10 points including a filthy reverse slam dunk that sent the Bleacher Bums into a frenzy.

Williams gave the fans a scare, however, when he soared in for a two-handed slam and lost his balance, taking a hard fall and hitting his head on the ground late in the second quarter.

He laid on the ground for a few moments before getting up on his own power and ran back to the locker room to be checked out by the athletic trainer.

He returned to the bench a couple minutes later as the Sikeston faithful breathed a sigh of relief with a rousing ovation.

Williams said he was fine and the trainer cleared him to play.

“It was worth it. I dunked on them,” he said with a laugh.

Sikeston opened up a 55-30 lead by halftime.

The third quarter was much of the same as Sikeston out-scored the Tigers 24-13 with Tristan Wiggins recording seven points in the period. He also had five rebounds.

Holifield took out his starters for good with 2:16 left in the third quarter.

Sikeston led 79-43 entering the fourth quarter where the mercy clock rolled the rest of the way.

The Bulldogs recorded 28 assists in the game led by Farmer’s seven and McCray’s six dishes.

“I was really pleased with how we shared the basketball tonight,” Holifield said. “One thing I love about this team is how unselfish they are.”

McCray finished with 17 points.

Five of Sadler’s six field goals were slam dunks, mostly on alley-oop lobs. The 7-footer finished with 12 points and six blocked shots.

Caruthersville (13-11) was led by Sammy Bryant with 14 points.

Sikeston’s final home game will be Tuesday when they host Doniphan.

Senior J’kwon Applwhite agreed with Williams’ sentiments that his basketball career has flown by.

“It’s close to the last game I’m ever going to play in the Field House in my basketball career,” Applewhite said. “It kind of went by very fast. It seems like not that long ago I was just an eighth grader and now I’m a senior – it went by too fast. I wish I could relive it again.”

Fellow senior Isaiah Jimerson-Patterson said he has loved playing in front of the passionate Bulldog fans throughout his career.

“It’s just been an awesome, amazing experience,” he said. “The crowd can’t be any better. It’s just a great team and great guys.”

The Bulldogs will play at Jackson on Friday in a winner-take-all game for the SEMO Conference regular season championship.

“It’s been a heck of a season so far,” Williams said. “I hope we can keep this good season going.”

Friday’s game will be a triple-header with Sikeston’s freshmen playing Jackson at 4:30, followed by junior varsity at 6 p.m.

Caruthersville 14 16 13 6 -- 49

Sikeston 23 32 24 15 -- 94

CARUTHERSVILLE (49) – Sammy Bryant 14, Abeyon Motton 12, Q. McVay 9, Jermonte Alexander 7, Gavin Motton 4, Tristen Hill 3. FG 18, FT 6-17, F 13. (3-pointers: Bryant 3, A. Motton 2, Hill 1, McVay 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (94) – Dontrez Williams 22, Lekereon McCray 17, Trace Sadler 12, P.J. Farmer 8, Chris Artis 8, Tristan Wiggins 7, Kobe Thomas 7, Jaharus Goodwin 5, Will Lape 3, Isaiah Jimerson-Patterson 3, J’kwon Applewhite 2. FG 39, FT 8-8, F 13. (3-pointers: Williams 2, McCray 2, Wiggins 1, Thomas 1, Lape 1, Jimerson-Patterson 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 12-2 on the season with a 76-49 win over Caruthersville.

Fourteen players reached the scoring column for the Bulldogs led by Dontavious Wright with 11 points. Malachi Davis had a team-high eight rebounds. Ben James led by five assists while Jaharus Goodwin had five blocked shots.

Caruthersville 9 6 21 13 -- 49

Sikeston 20 17 22 17 -- 76

CARUTHERSVILLE (49) – Jordyn Motton 13, Rolland Harris 10, Jaxon Hunter 8, Demarion Rodgers 8, Amari Benson 6, Davarion Creighton 4. FG 18, FT 10-18, F 13. (3-pointers: Benson 2, J. Motton 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (76) – Dontavious Wright 11, Ben James 9, Kobe Thomas 9, Will Lape 8, Drake Williams 7, John Hughes 7, Jaharus Goodwin 6, Christian Gibson 4, Malachi Davis 4, Tyren Jackson 3, Pierce Baker 2, Keane Atkins 2, Kaveon Tyus 2, Marcus Sanders 2. FG 28, FT 12-15, F 16. (3-pointers: Thomas 2, Lape 2, Wright 2, Hughes 1, Jackson 1. Fouled out: none).