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Thatch leads Sikeston to second win over Charleston
SIKESTON -- For three and a half quarters the Charleston Bluejays gave the Sikeston Bulldogs all they wanted.
But Sikeston's deeper bench finally wore down Charleston in an 81-62 SEMO Conference victory in front of a packed house at the Sikeston Field House on Friday.
Sikeston, which moved up to No. 1 in the latest Class 4 state poll, improved to 11-0 on the season and 3-0 in league play.
With numerous turnovers, it wasn't a picturesque performance by the Bulldogs, but Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield was still pleased with the victory.
"At the end of the day it was a rivalry game," Holifield said. "It's just going to be this type of game. It was high emotions. Both teams played hard. Sometimes in rivalry games you're going to get sloppy play. But it's always an exciting game. It was very intense."
Charleston (7-6, 1-2 SEMO) came into the game with intentions of a better showing after last month's 76-40 blowout loss to the Bulldogs in the SEMO Conference Tournament.
Despite the final margin, Charleston stayed within striking distance throughout most of the game, trailing by just 11 points with three minutes left.
"We wanted to improve on the last meeting with Sikeston," Charleston coach Danny Farmer said. "I thought we played hard and improved. We know the caliber team we are playing. We wanted to play a good game and I felt we played close to as well as we could play."
The Bluejays controlled the game in the opening moments, opening up a 9-4 lead after a Tenerrious Ewing basket, but the Bulldogs closed the quarter with a 12-2 run.
Sikeston's Fred Thatch sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 11-11. Moments later Bulldog senior Deterio Newman drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Sikeston the lead for good.
Then, with the final seconds of the quarter ticking away, Thatch controlled a defensive rebound and heaved a pass to a streaking Kevin Jones who beat the buzzer for a layup to lead 16-11 after the first quarter.
Sikeston continued its momentum through the second quarter, out-scoring the Bluejays 23-13 in the period to take a 39-24 lead into halftime.
Charleston began to establish itself in the third quarter as they began to control the paint and the boards.
"In the second half they hurt us on the boards," Holifield said. "In the first half we controlled the boards but we stopped rebounding in the second half and that allowed them to stay in the game. We were in a situation where we could have gotten up 20-plus, but to their credit they were attacking and did some good things and got on the boards. Charleston was on the attack and we became a little hesitant. We were reaching. We weren't down guarding like we are capable."
Charleston out-scored the Bulldogs 20-16 in the quarter. The Bluejays trimmed the lead to single digits at 53-44 on two Demarcus Sharp free throws with 1:21 left.
Sikeston's Dominique Dyes scored on a pull-up jumper to give his team a 55-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Sikeston extended its lead to 61-44 to start the fourth quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Marquan Nelson and Jones.
Charleston still managed to trim the lead to 71-60 on a pair of free throws by Dontarius Sharp with 3:14 remaining, but the Bulldogs closed the game with an 11-2 run.
"Fatigue set in," Farmer said. "They rotate a lot more guys and I'm dealing with a seven-man rotation. We got tired and weren't where we should be."
Thatch finished the game with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
"He's just a monster," Farmer said of Thatch. "It's hard to stop him. You put him out there, my God, he just makes a difference."
Jones scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half. He also had five rebounds and four assists.
Dyes added 15 points and a career-high 11 assists to go with five rebounds.
Newman came off the bench to score a season-high nine points.
Sikeston made 6 of 19 (32 percent) from 3-point range and shot 35 of 72 (49 percent) overall from the field.
It wasn't a stellar shooting night by the Bulldogs, but enough to build its lead.
"They shoot it well -- I've watched them numerous games and they shoot like that all the time," Farmer said. "They have one of the best shooting teams around. You've got to check every shot and we don't have the manpower to check every shot. We just have to hope that they get tired and miss. And then if they do miss they have great rebounders. So it's hard to beat them."
Charleston shot 4 of 18 (22 percent) from beyond the arc and 22 of 62 (35 percent) overall from the field.
"We knew we just had to shoot lights out to have a chance to win -- that's what we were hoping," Farmer said. "They have great defense. It's hard to get a shot off against them. It's a zone but it's so similar to a man-to-man because they cover so much ground."
Sikeston out-rebounded the Bluejays 41 to 31, but the Bulldogs had 18 turnovers compared to Charleston's 14.
Charleston was led by Demarcus Sharp's 20 points and eight rebounds. Mardareyon Clark added 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
Dontarius Sharp scored 11 points with eight assists and five steals. Ewing scored 11 points.
Sikeston plays Carnahan, a St. Louis area school, in the Tiger Shootout today at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs will travel to Carbondale, Ill., on Tuesday.
Charleston will play at New Madrid County Central on Tuesday.
| Charleston | 11 | 13 | 20 | 18 | -- | 62 |
| Sikeston | 16 | 23 | 16 | 26 | -- | 81 |
CHARLESTON (62) -- Demarcus Sharp 20, Mardareyon Clark 12, Dontarius Sharp 11, Tenerrious Ewing 11, Jaquales Biles 4, Kelvondre Moore 2, Jeremy Tucker 2. FG 18, FT 14-20, F 13. (3-pointers: Do. Sharp 3, De. Sharp 1. Fouled out: none).
SIKESTON (81) -- Fred Thatch 22, Kevin Jones 16, Dominique Dyes 15, Deterio Newman 9, Marquan Nelson 7, Juwon Kimble 6, Earnest Fobbs 6. FG 29, FT 5-11, F 17. (3-pointers: Jones 2, Dyes 1, Newman 1, Nelson 1, Thatch 1. Fouled out: none).
Junior varsity
The Sikeston J.V. team fell to 6-2 on the season with a 68-57 loss to Charleston.
Sikeston was led by Trey Jenkins with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Titus Fields and Austin Branch each scored 12 points. Jason Moore added 11 points.
Charleston was led by Jaquavis Rodgers with 20 points. Latrell Porter scored 12.
| Charleston | 24 | 14 | 12 | 18 | -- | 68 |
| Sikeston | 12 | 14 | 11 | 20 | -- | 57 |
CHARLESTON (68) -- Jaquavis Rodgers 20, Latrell Porter 12, Jakeith Browning 10, Ke'Sean Griffin 10, Preston Moore 7, Clifford Johnson 6, Mykondray McCain 3. FG 18, FT 8-17, F 13. (3-pointers: Rodgers 3, Porter 3, Moore 1, McCain 1. Fouled out: none).
SIKESTON (57) -- Trey Jenkins 12, Titus Fields 12, Austin Branch 12, Jason Moore 11, Dylon Mills 6, Don Larry 2, Damani Jarrett 2. FG 15, FT 9-16, F 16. (3-pointers: Branch 3, Moore 3. Fouled out: none).