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Hot shooting Sikeston rolls into Class 4 quarterfinals over Ste. Genevieve
JACKSON, Mo. -- When the Sikeston Bulldogs are shooting the ball well, they look like an unstoppable machine.
Ste. Genevieve found that out on Tuesday night as Sikeston steamrolled the Dragons 76-43 in a Class 4 sectional game at Jackson High School.
Sikeston (27-1) advances to the quarterfinal round where they will play Parkway West (23-5) on Saturday night at 7:45 at the Farmington Civic Center. Parkway West defeated Lutheran South 56-44 in its sectional matchup.
The Bulldogs shot over 70 percent from the field in the first half, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range, which helped the team stake a 53-27 lead by halftime.
By the time Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield had cleared his bench midway through the third quarter, the lead swelled to 69-29 following Jason Moore's 3-pointer.
It was a complete performance by the Bulldogs.
"It feels good to advance to the quarterfinals," Sikeston senior Deterio Newman said. "We haven't been there in three years. We're hoping to get back to state and win another state title for Sikeston."
Sikeston was looking like a playoff-hardened team against the Dragons, which was making its first ever appearance in a sectional game.
The Bulldogs forced 20 turnovers, hit 11 of 16 (69 percent) from 3-point range and shot 27 of 44 (61 percent) overall from the field.
It was a far cry from the 2 of 21 shooting from 3-point range in the Bulldogs' district championship win over Cape Central last Friday.
"We knew they were capable," Ste. Genevieve coach Rob Coleman said. "We were kind of hoping we would get what they did in the Cape game the last time where they hit only two. Not only do they have a great attack off their defense and off the dribble when they drive it, but if they're hitting their outside shots I don't know if anybody can beat them when they get on a roll like that."
Sikeston got to rolling early.
The Bulldogs never trailed as they led 5-4 and then broke the game open with its perimeter shooting and points off turnovers.
Sikeston hit 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the first quarter, the last coming from Newman as the Bulldogs took a 26-13 lead.
The onslaught continued in the second quarter.
Bulldog sophomore Fred Thatch opened the period with a 3-pointer. Moore had a conventional 3-point play following a steal and layup. Marquan Nelson drained a 3-pointer and then Thatch finished off a fast-break with a one-handed jam to lead 39-19, forcing Coleman to burn a timeout.
The Dragons settled down briefly, cutting the lead to 41-25, but the Bulldogs responded with a 12-0 run -- Dominique Dyes hit a 3-pointer followed by a two-handed dunk in traffic by Juwon Kimble, two Kimble free throws, another Dyes 3-pointer and then an offensive putback by Kimble.
Ste. Genevieve (17-12) got two free throws from Nathan McKlin to stop the run, but Thatch punctuated the half with another thunderous slam dunk, erupting the huge contingent of Bulldog fans, and sending his team into halftime with a 55-27 lead.
The Bulldogs connected on all four of its 3-point attempts in the second quarter.
"When we shoot it like that everything else just starts clicking," Thatch said. "We were going inside-outside. Juwon was posting really strong and when they doubled down on him he'd kick it out and it left us a lot of open shots."
Thatch started the third quarter with a 3-pointer. Nelson scored a layup off a feed from Dyes and then Thatch recorded his third dunk of the night on a fast-break to open the quarter with a 7-0 run.
Thatch played just three minutes in the third quarter before being given the rest of the night off. He finished with a game-high 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.
Sikeston led 71-31 following a Cox basket inside to match the Bulldogs' biggest lead of the game. Sikeston carried a 73-36 lead into the fourth quarter where the mercy clock ran the rest of the way.
"We wanted to be controlled," Coleman said. "I don't know if we wanted to slow it down because I feel like when you slow it down you get on your heels and you're always looking to back out of it rather than attack, and Sikeston's not going to let you do that. When you try to back out of it, that's when they really come at you harder."
Ste. Genevieve shot just 15 of 41 (37 percent) from the field and made just 3 of 15 (20 percent) from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Dragons 24 to 13.
"They're a great program and coach Holifield does a great job," Coleman said. "They do what they do and they do it great. They've only lost one game and they've been here before. We knew what we were up against but we still believed that we could come out and give it a good try."
Dyes finished with 16 points, six assists and three steals. Kimble had 10 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. Nelson added 10 points and four assists.
Sikeston's bench contributed 18 points led by Moore's six points and Sam Cox's five points.
Dyes said the team's shooting gets contagious.
"If one hits, we all catch on fire," he said. "We were set for our shots. We caught every pass in rhythm and we took great shots. It's hard to guard us when we're shooting it like that. If we get it inside and start beating you inside, and then we're hitting outside, it's hard to play defense against that. We've got a great inside-out game."
With its 27th win, the Bulldogs tied the 2013 squad for the second most victories in a season in school history.
Now Sikeston will sets its sights on the quarterfinal game against Parkway West. This is the seventh quarterfinal appearance for the Bulldogs in the last 11 seasons, but it's the first for the team since 2013.
"It's exciting for our players," Holifield said. "They've worked very hard to get here and I'm very happy for them. We know it's going to be a difficult game. I've had an opportunity to scout Parkway West and I think they're an excellent team. We're looking forward to the challenge."
| Sikeston | 26 | 29 | 18 | 3 | -- | 76 |
| Ste. Genevieve | 13 | 14 | 9 | 7 | -- | 43 |
SIKESTON (76) -- Fred Thatch 20, Dominique Dyes 16, Marquan Nelson 10, Juwon Kimble 10, Jason Moore 6, Sam Cox 5, Deterio Newman 3, Don Larry 2, Trey Jenkins 2, Kevin Jones 2. FG 27, FT 11-15, F 16. (3-pointers: Dyes 4, Thatch 2, Nelson 2, Newman 1, Cox 1, Moore 1. Fouled out: none).
STE. GENEVIEVE (43) -- Zach Rhodes 9, Nathan McKlin 9, Morgan Schenck 8, Trevor Drury 6, Gabe Greminger 5, Dalton Giesler 2, Drew Toombs 2, Anthony Roe 2. FG 15, FT 10-11, F 12. (3-pointers: Drury 2, McKlin 1. Fouled out: none).