,...Checkout the story by Derek James...C =)~Sikeston boys basketball holds off late Mule rally to stay unbeaten
Saturday, February 2, 2019
By Derek James ~ Standard Democrat
Sikeston’s Trey Jenkins defends Poplar Bluff’s Nick Rowland in a high school basketball game Friday night in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Sikeston won the game 103-96 to move to 18-0 on the season. (Brian Rosener/Daily American Republic)
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – All season long the Sikeston Bulldogs have buried teams with a relentless offensive attack for 32 minutes.
On Friday night at Poplar Bluff, the Bulldogs appeared to be on the verge of putting the Mules away as they built an 89-74 lead with 3:45 left in the game.
The Mules staged a furious rally in the final three minutes of the game, getting as close as one point, but the Bulldogs came up with a crucial defensive stop and sealed the game from the free throw line for a thrilling 103-96 win in front of a standing-room-only homecoming crowd at Poplar Bluff High School.
The victory is the Bulldogs’ 13th straight over the Mules and their 18th out of the last 19 meetings, but more importantly it kept the Bulldogs in a first-place tie atop the SEMO Conference standings with Cape Central, whom Sikeston will host next Friday in what will be a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in Class 4.
Friday’s game against the Mules (14-4, 3-2 SEMO Conference) exposed some of the Bulldogs’ weaker areas but also showed that the team could overcome adversity.
“We knew it was going to be very difficult,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “It’s a tough place to play. They were fired up for homecoming. I thought they played very hard. It took 103 points to beat them. It was just a crazy game. I thought we played pretty decent until about 4 minutes to go in the game. We got in serious foul trouble, and that made it super interesting, but we held on to the win.”
Indeed, it was one of the highest scoring games between two teams in Sikeston’s history as both teams combined for 199 points. Sikeston also hit the century mark two years ago in a visit to Poplar Bluff in a 102-66 win in 2017.
“Not a whole lot of defense,” Poplar Bluff coach Will Durden said. “And I felt like we were trying our hardest to guard. But when you’re playing up and down like this, for the fans it’s a great game to watch, but from the coaches’ standpoint, both of us are like we have to stop somebody.”
The pace of the game was to Sikeston’s liking, but it also led to foul trouble for the Bulldogs as starters Trey Jenkins and Kevin Jones fouled out along with backups Tra Ranson and Nick Harrison. It became a problem for Sikeston, who is already without do-everything junior Clark Steward to a knee injury, forcing Holifield to dig deep into his bench during crunch time.
“We had four guys on the bench, and we just had to try to do the very best we could,” Holifield said. “You have to give Bluff credit. I thought they were outstanding and they never quit. We were fortunate to hang on.”
The Mules’ comeback started by attacking the Bulldogs where they were their weakest – in the paint. Poplar Bluff scored four times and drew the foul in the final three minutes. However, while they did not connect on the free throws to complete the 3-point play, the Mules were able to pick up offensive rebounds on three of those tries.
The game reached its pivotal moment when Mule standout Dominique Hardimon scored inside to trim Sikeston’s lead to 97-96 with 20 seconds left.
It was a shocking turn of events just moments before when it appeared Sikeston was going to run away with the game.
Following a Poplar Bluff timeout, Sikeston inbounded the ball to Parker Long who they immediately fouled. Long sank both free throws to extend the lead to 99-96.
Poplar Bluff could not get a clean look to tie the game as Tyler Cline attempted a well-defended corner three that was off the mark. Sikeston’s Payton Howard secured the rebound and got fouled with eight seconds to go.
Howard hit both free throws to seal the game.
“I have all the confidence in Payton,” Sikeston senior Owen Long said. “I knew he would make those free throws.”
Howard came up huge in the fourth quarter, hitting two 3-pointers to build the Bulldog lead to 15 twice. He finished with 11 points in the final quarter and had 19 points and five rebounds for the game.
“I really didn’t think about it,” Howard said. “I just shot it. Before the game, in warm-ups, I tried to work on being smooth and calm with my shot. Luckily I made some big shots.”
Parker Long also had a big fourth quarter, notching 11 of his 19 points. He also had six rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
Owen Long was red-hot in the first half, scoring 22 of his team-high 26 points. He hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range and had six rebounds, six steals, and four assists.
“I worked a lot on my off-the-dribble shot this summer, you know creating space and making shots,” Owen Long said. “When I get in the zone, you just flick it, and you think it’s going in.”
Sikeston (18-0, 5-0 SEMO Conference) began the game well, holding a 15-8 lead in the first quarter.
Poplar Bluff rallied to lead 21-15, but Owen Long scored seven straight points in a matter of seconds in which he drained a 3-pointer and got fouled. He hit the free throw to complete the four-point play and then hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 22-21 lead.
Long had 14 points in the first quarter.
“We were supposed to have a guy try to deny the ball from him, and he just kept getting open the first half, and he lit us up,” Durden said of Long. “He made some tough shots, made all of his open shots. During that stretch when they made that run, he was big for them.”
Sikeston established control in the second quarter, leading by as much as 12 points before settling for a 49-40 halftime lead.
Poplar Bluff’s Hardimon went on the attack in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his game-high 34 points in the period, but the Mules still trailed 73-66 entering the fourth.
Sikeston’s offensive prowess was just enough to hold off the Mules down the stretch, even despite having four players foul out.
“We were just playing good basketball for most of the game,” Howard said. “Moving the ball. Owen was lights out from the 3-point line, and we were playing a little better defense. It’s a very big win. Beating them on their homecoming night. They’re a big team and a big rival. I was happy to get the ‘W.’”
Jenkins finished with 16 points with five rebounds and two blocks in limited minutes. Jones had 15 points, four rebounds and six assists in his limited time.
The Bulldogs got big minutes off the bench from Ranson, who had four points and five rebounds, as well as Harrison, who had four points and two rebounds
“We knew what we were going to get when we play them,” Durden said.”We just wanted to shorten their runs, and we didn’t tonight. They played well. They’re a good team. They’re a very good offensive team. They’ve got four to five skill guys out there on the floor at all times. We struggled against that. Usually, we’re not playing against four guards that can shoot and put it on the floor. They’re tough to guard.”
The Mules out-rebounded the Bulldogs 38 to 33 in the game, including 17 offensive rebounds.
Senior Nick Rowland led the Mules with 11 rebounds to go with his 11 points. Hardimon grabbed nine rebounds.
Josiah Kilgore came off the bench to score 18 points for the Mules.
The Bulldogs forced the Mules into 20 turnovers while turning the ball over 13 times themselves.
Sikeston made 11 of 23 (48 percent) from 3-point range.
“I thought we played very well for three and a half quarters,” Holifield said. “We built a 15-point lead. We missed some critical free throws at that point in time. The game got very physical, and we didn’t handle it like we needed to.”
Sikeston will host Saxony Lutheran on Tuesday.
Sikeston 22 27 24 30 -- 103
Poplar Bluff 21 19 26 30 -- 96
SIKESTON (103) – Owen Long 26, Parker Long 19, Payton Howard 19, Trey Jenkins 16, Kevin Jones 15, Nick Harrison 4, Tra Ranson 4. FG 35, FT 22-29, F 29. (3-pointers: Owen Long 5, Jones 3, Howard 2, P. Long 1. Fouled out: Ranson, Jenkins, Jones, Harrison).
POPLAR BLUFF (96) – Dominique Hardimon 34, Josiah Kilgore 18, Kendrick Brown 12, Nik Rowland 11, Tyler Cline 8, Carlton McDonald 7, Jaylen Lathon 2, Xander Martin 2, Jamarre Sellers 2. FG 36, FT 18-35, 28. (3-pointers: Hardimon 3, McDonald 1, Brown 1, Cline 1. Fouled out: Hardimon, Kilgore).
Junior varsity
Sikeston’s JV team lost to the Mules 83-74 to fall to 13-2 on the season.
Lontas McClinton led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Leroy Atkins had 14 while Kenyon Smith and Nick Harrison each had 13.
Colby Henson added 12.
Sikeston 21 15 12 26 -- 74
Poplar Bluff 15 20 18 30 -- 83
SIKESTON (74) – Lontas McClinton 15, Leroy Atkins 14, Kenyon Smith 13, Nick Harrison 13, Colby Henson 11, Cordaius Webb 4, Cleo Taylor 2, Daniel Lawrence 2. FG 28, FT 10-23, F 25. (3-pointers: Atkins 4, Henson 3, McClinton 1. Fouled out: none).
POPLAR BLUFF (83) – Chance Campbell 28, Kendrick Brown 14, Gage Rivers 13, Luke Becker 11, Kylan Lee 7, Darion Combs 2, Alex Ketcherside 2, Jamarre Sellers 2, Brent Worley 2, Jadarius Pigg 2. FG 31, FT 20-27, F 24. (3-pointers: Campbell 1. Fouled out: Campbell, Brown).
