Sikeston advances to title game

Friday, December 10, 2004
Sikestn's Julian Beard drives in for a layup.

SIKESTON - By posting a 2-0 record in their pool, the Sikeston Bulldogs advanced to the championship game of their own Sikeston Invitational Tournament for the first time since 1998, head coach Gregg Holifield's first year at the helm.

The Bulldogs, who defeated Osceola (Ark.) 66-52 while Blytheville (Ark.), defeated Charleston 47-44 in the other game Thursday night. Sikeston and Blytheville will meet for the championship at 8:30 p.m.

Blytheville hasn't won the Sikeston tournament since beating Sikeston in 1998.

Charleston will play New Madrid County Central at 7 p.m. in the third place game while Osceola will take on the Sikeston junior varsity in the fifth place game at 5:30.

Sikeston (2-2) never trailed against the Seminoles (2-3) as they quickly built a substantial lead with a 24-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs extended the lead to 36-23 at halftime and were never seriously threatened in the second half.

"We had some moments tonight where we played really well," said Holifield. "We got a big enough lead to where we got everybody an opportunity to play. The players are working hard. As you can see we've got many things to work on, but the effort's good and they're really trying. If they continue that then good things will happen."

Sikeston led by as much as 22 points in the third quarter when both coaches emptied their benches for the rest of the way.

The Bulldogs led 57-37 at the end of the third and maintained a sizable lead through the fourth. Osceola never got closer than the final margin.

"I thought the Sikeston bunch came out hungry and ready to win the ballgame," said Osceola head coach Frankie Gathen. "They played excellent and real smart and did the things they had to do. They hit some big shots in the first half and that kind of got us in a bind. We didn't come to play. We won a big conference ballgame Tuesday night and I guess they were content with that. I guess they showed up just enough to say that we were in the tournament."

The Bulldogs controlled the boards on the night despite a distinct size disadvantage, grabbing 33 total rebounds, including 10 from 5-11 forward Drew Cole.

"He's very aggressive," said Holifield of Cole. "We bring him off the bench because he's so valuable. He gives us such a spark and you can't ask for any more than that. He comes off the bench and gives us instant energy. Good things always happen when he comes into the game. He's not going to back down and he's going to play extremely hard.

"Our positioning is good and at times we seem relentless. The key to rebounding is positioning and work and right now we're working hard on the boards. Hopefully we'll keep improving in that area."

Sikeston also made a season-high seven 3-pointers, led by Kash Bratcher's four from beyond the arc. His 12 points were second only to Rod Moore's 13 points, 10 of which came in the third quarter.

"Rod picked it up in the third quarter and helped us build our lead," said Holifield. "Kash did a good job of moving the basketball and penetrating. It was an overall team effort. Everybody contributed."

Bratcher also had six assists. Josh Alvarado had nine points and eight rebounds.

Osceola was led by 6-foot-6 junior Lonnie Dabney with 11 points. The Seminoles had 13 players reach the scoring column but no other player reached double figures.

So now the Bulldogs will play the Blytheville Chickasaws, a team that defeated them 59-37 in Sikeston's season-opener and owns five straight victories dating back to 2001-2002.

Sikeston hasn't won the Sikeston Invitational since 1994.

"We played Blytheville '98 and it was a really tight game and they pulled away from us at the end," said Holifield. "We get a chance to go up against them again and we know what they've got. We just have to come out with a lot of energy and effort."

Blytheville (5-0) only trailed at 1-0 as they took the lead from there and withstood a late Charleston rally in the fourth quarter to advance to the championship game.

The Bluejays, the defending tournament champions, overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and got as close as one point in the fourth quarter but never could take the lead.

"It's always a great game with us and Charleston," said Blytheville head coach David Hixson. "We always look forward to playing them. We did the things we had to do to win, but we didn't play as well as we could at certain times, but that's a tribute to them."

Blytheville led 10-5 after one quarter and extended the lead to 23-10 in the second quarter, but the lead slowly started slipping away when star forward John Fowler went to the bench with his third foul.

The Bluejays responded with a 6-0 run in the final minute of the half to cut the lead to 23-16.

Not even a minute into the third quarter, Fowler picked up his fourth foul, which put him back on the bench until five minutes remained in the game.

"John didn't play hardly any in the third quarter and that was the first time we've had to go that long without him in the game and I thought we handled it okay," said Hixson. "We have a lot of inexperienced kids out there and we made some silly mistakes."

Charleston (2-4) took full advantage of his absence as they trimmed the lead to 33-29 on a Shawn Sherrell 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.

Another Sherrell 3-pointer to start the fourth cut the lead to 33-32 but the Bluejays wouldn't get any closer.

Blytheville built the lead back up to seven points before Charleston made one final push.

Ashton Farmer had a pair of inside buckets in the final 30 seconds, one of which cut the lead to 46-44.

Fowler made 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds remaining but a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Sherrell was an air-ball as time expired.

Fowler finished with a team-high 18 points. Six-foot-four junior Chris Echols followed up with 10 points.

Sherrell finished with 15 points for the Bluejays.

Blytheville was just 7-of-16 from the free throw line but Charleston was even worse, making 10-of-26. Farmer finished with 18 points but was just 6-of-15 from the line.

"All through the game they were playing him very, very aggressive, and I guess that's the best way to play him," said Farmer. "You have to take your hat off to Blytheville.

They have a very good team and they're very quick with a lot of quick jumpers. I was pleased with the outcome to be honest. We played a three point game and were just 10-of-26 from the free throw line against a very good team. To us, in a way, that's a victory."

Hixson said his post players had no answer for the 6-foot-7 Farmer.

"He's a player -- he's physical and he understands the game," said Hixson. "If you're not playing in great position on him then he's going to take advantage of it. I had a kid that's very inexperienced down there on him and he was able to do that and he was smart enough to draw fouls."

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