Basketball

The Bobcats put up a whopping 92 points in the first half, which tied a MSHSAA record, on the way to a 132-61 home win over the Tigers.

KENNETT, Mo. — The Kennett Indians varsity boys basketball team proved it can play with the big boys yet again Tuesday night. Kennett, a Class 3 program, outlasted the visiting Poplar Bluff Mules 66-59 for its fifth victory against a Class 4 or Class 5 team this season. Kennett had previously beaten Class 4 Farmington, Class 4 Notre Dame, Class 5 Jackson, and Class 4 Sikeston...

CAMPBELL, Mo. - The Malden Green Wave varsity girls basketball team locked up the No. 2 seed in next week’s Bootheel Conference Tournament with its sixth straight conference victory Monday night. Malden made 22 of 32 free-throw attempts as it beat the Campbell Camels 47-42...

STEELE, Mo. - The Holcomb Hornets varsity girls basketball team secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Bootheel Conference Tournament with a 62-33 road victory against South Pemiscot Monday night. Holcomb built an 18-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and led the rest of the way...

The Advance Hornets outscored the Meadow Heights Panthers 33-13 in the second half en route to a 49-37 come-from-behind home victory.

Staff Reports PIEDMONT — The Ellington girls basketball team defended its Black River League Tournament title with a come-from-behind win Saturday. The Whippets gave up just one basket in the third quarter to erase a nine-point halftime deficit, then held off South Iron 53-51 at Clearwater High School...

O’FALLON, Mo. – The Sikeston Bulldogs put together one of their most complete games of the season as they rolled to a 76-46 win over Parkway North in the first round of the 58th Annual Fort Zumwalt North Tournament on Monday. The second-seeded Bulldogs advance to the semifinal round, where they play third-seeded Wentzville Holt on Friday at 6:30 p.m...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Since the 2012-2013 season, the Sikeston girls basketball team has had an extreme amount of success against Perryville. Riding a 12-game winning streak against the Lady Pirates, the Lady Bulldogs continued that trend on Monday night at Perryville High School...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — After holding on to a 28-26 lead at halftime, the start of the second half was not how the Charleston girls basketball team had envisioned. Scoring the first points of the third quarter on a basket from senior Ashanti Jones, Charleston, at the time, held a 30-26 lead over No. 7-seed Chaffee in the first round of the Scott-Mississippi County Conference Tournament at Charleston High School on Saturday...

Charleston won the 37th annual City of Metropolis Superman Classic boy's basketball tournament Saturday by beating Massac County 63-49.

HOLCOMB, Mo. - It came down to the wire but the Holcomb Hornets varsity boys basketball team found a way to secure its third conference win of the week Friday night. Holcomb’s Nate Rhew penetrated to the basket and hit a 2-point jumper to put Holcomb on top 68-67 with seven seconds left in overtime. Risco pushed the ball to the other end after Rhew’s clutch shot but was unable to score before time expired, allowing Holcomb to escape with a 68-67 overtime victory...

BENTON, Mo – Homecoming games don’t get much more exciting than Kelly’s Friday night nail-biter against state-ranked Delta. Sadly for Hawk fans, it was visiting Delta’s bench rushing the court to celebrate after senior Jon Bond’s buzzer-beating put-back allowed the Bobcats to escape with an 81-79 win...

SIKESTON – The Class 3 state-ranked Kennett Indians have posted some notable wins this season, but perhaps none were more gratifying thus far than Friday night’s victory against Sikeston. Sikeston had defeated Kennett 18 straight times dating back to 2004 and was celebrating homecoming night at the Field House, but the Indians marched into town and left with an 82-79 victory to snap the long losing streak and stunning the large Sikeston crowd...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Down three points and time winding down, the Portageville boys basketball team had a pair of chances to tie the game up, against Malden, on Friday. Sophomore Alex Winsor drove into the lane, drew the defense in, and kicked it out to junior Kelan Bills for a three-pointer in the right corner. ...

PIEDMONT — Ellington's 21-point lead was whittled down to a single point over the course of six minutes Friday night. East Carter, however, was never able to complete the comeback. The Whippets withstood the rally in the third quarter then finished the game as they started it — with a double-digit run — for a 61-48 win to earn a spot in the Black River League Tournament championship game...

PIEDMONT — After overcoming a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit, Dalton Rudd and the East Carter boys basketball team took advantage of their second chance Friday night. Rudd forced overtime at the foul line with 4 seconds left and put the Redbirds ahead for good when he knocked down a pull-up jumper in the paint with 11 seconds left in the extra session...

BROSELEY - Homecoming was good to the Royals. Twin Rivers, bolstered by homecoming festivities that included a National Anthem rendition by a preschool class and Natalie Baxter being crowned Homecoming Queen, led from its first basket until its last and beat Neelyville 60-39 on Friday...

Scott County (11-2) got a victory at Scott City (7-7) on Thursday.

The Webster Groves Statesman did not have a double-digit scorer, but eked out a 41-34 home victory over the Jackson Indians.

HOLCOMB, Mo. - Holcomb varsity boys basketball coach Michael Snider issued a strong message to his starting five after the visiting Southland Rebels cut a 32-18 second-quarter deficit to 39-33 by halftime Thursday night. “We weren’t playing hard the first half,” Snider said. ...

SIKESTON — Scoring is one of Poplar Bluff senior Kiley Bess’ strong suits, and she put her full arsenal on display Thursday night when the Mules visited the Sikeston Field House. The Lady Bulldogs had no answer for the St. Louis University commit, as Bess scored 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting...

Six Semoball boys basketball teams and two Semoball girls basketball teams are ranked in the latest state rankings provided by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Delta (14-3), which is unbeaten in the month of January, is ranked No. 8 in the Class 1 boys poll...

Good Sports is a weekly feature appearing in the Southeast Missourian and online at Semoball.com. It profiles the life of a person connected to sports and allows readers the opportunity to know the people who are impacting athletics throughout Southeast Missouri in a deeper way. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity...

Mistavia Murry almost handled Meridian by herself Wednesday in girl’s basketball action. The Charleston player scored 30 points in helping the Bluejays (9-5) win 68-32. Murray got help from Ashanti Jones, who added 26 in the win. The Bluejays are competing in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament this week...

The Bobcats held the Hornets to one point in the first quarter and never looked back as they picked up a 63-33 home victory.

POPLAR BLUFF — The Poplar Bluff boys basketball team turned defense into offense Tuesday night to pull away from rival Jackson. The Mules forced four straight turnovers to score eight consecutive points late in the third quarter, turning a tight game into a double-digit lead...

HOLCOMB, Mo. - Winning close games is becoming the Modus Operandi of the Kennett Indians varsity girls basketball team this season. “We keep finding ways to win close games,” Kennett coach Aaron New said. “It’s kind of our M.O. Our girls don’t always play their best but continue to find a way to win the close ones.”...

SIKESTON – The Sikeston Bulldogs bounced back from a disappointing loss last week at Park Hills Central with a dominating performance against Farmington on Tuesday. Sikeston struggled in the early going, trailing by one after the first quarter, but responded with some of its most prolific offense of the season to roll to an 82-49 win at the Sikeston Field House...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. — There was no defense that the East Prairie boys basketball team could do to stop Scott City from scoring on Tuesday night. Likewise, there was also no defense that the Rams put in front of the Eagles, that allowed them to score, in their 64-30 loss at Scott City High School...

BERNIE, Mo. — Tyson Goodale led Oran in points and rebounds on Monday night against Bernie. However, the senior’s biggest play came on the defensive end, as the Eagles outlasted the Mules in overtime, 47-45. Senior Skyler Schwent had the ball in his hands, and as time was winding down, he tried to pass the ball to the right corner...

Poplar Bluff didn’t allow a field goal until for the first 12 1/2 minutes. A pair of free throws in the first quarter was Naylor’s only points until Ebby Moman got a putback with 3 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. The Mules meanwhile jumped out to a 23-2 lead and went on to win 63-30 Monday night at the Senior High Gym...

The Blue Jays used a 20-9 third quarter to pull away from the Hornets and pick up the home victory.

SEDALIA, Mo. — Kendrick Brown, Joseph Hardimon and the Poplar Bluff boys basketball team got off to a good start Saturday morning. Hardimon scored seven first-quarter points as the Mules jumped out to a double-digit lead and rolled past Foundations College Prep of Chicago 74-28 to place seventh at the McDonald's Classic at Smith-Cotton High School...

KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett Indians varsity boys basketball team cut a 12-point halftime deficit as close as four points in the final minute but was unable to erase all of the first-half success the visiting Notre Dame Bulldogs enjoyed. Notre Dame opened the first quarter on a 13-3 run and closed out the second quarter on a 9-2 run to build a 35-23 lead by halftime and hung on to beat Kennett 59-55 Friday night...

SEDALIA, Mo. — Down just five at the end of the first quarter Friday, the Poplar Bluff boys basketball team turned the ball over on their first three possessions to start the second and found themselves quickly behind by double digits. “I think we had more turnovers than shots in the first half,” Mules coach William Duren said...

Cape Girardeau Central’s Tigers (12-3), behind a stifling defense, defeated Fort Zumwalt South Saturday at St. Louis University High School. Down by four entering the final eight minutes of action, Coach Drew Church’s team scored 18 in the fourth quarter to eke out a three-point win...

Hayti 61, Campbell 56 HAYTI, Mo. - The Hayti Indians varsity boys basketball team snapped the Campbell Camels’ eight-game winning streak with a 61-56 home win Friday night. Campbell led 18-10 after one quarter, Hayti led 25-24 at halftime, and things were tied at 43-all at the end of the third quarter before Hayti won the fourth quarter 18-13...

The Notre Dame girl’s basketball team hasn’t lost a game in over a month and the Bulldogs showed Cor Jesu Academy why Friday – eventually – as it prevailed comfortably 61-42.

NEW MADRID, Mo – For the second time in four days, New Madrid County Central hosted a state-ranked SEMO Conference rival. A rough start in both games left the Eagles in a big hole at halftime, but against Cape Central Friday night, a resurgent NMCC squad battled back within a possession entering the fourth quarter...

MALDEN, Mo. - The success continued for the Malden Green Wave varsity girls basketball team in Bootheel Conference play Thursday night. Malden improved to 4-1 in regular-season conference play as it beat the visiting South Pemiscot Bulldogs 58-26. “Every game our defense should set the tone for our offense,” Malden coach Josh Herring said. ...

CAMPBELL, Mo. - The Holcomb Hornets varsity girls basketball team improved to 4-0 in Bootheel Conference play as it beat the Campbell Camels 45-35 Thursday. Holcomb built a 24-11 lead by halftime and led throughout the second half. Bailey Cupples paced Holcomb with 15 points...

BENTON, Mo. — Kelly outscored Chaffee by 20 points, 26-6, in the third quarter to push its lead even further on Friday night at Thomas W. Kelly High School. Joel McClain led the charge, scoring nine of his 17 points in the frame. He tied Gavin Jansen for most points on the team as well...

ELLSINORE — Naomi Crowly scored all nine of her points in the second quarter as East Carter surged ahead Thursday night in a 50-36 win over Van Buren. The Redbirds used a 21-7 second quarter to go from down 9-6 to up 11 heading into halftime. Makenna Moore sank a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers while Brooklyn Kearby scored nine of her team-high 16 points in the second half for East Carter (9-6)...

Saxony Lutheran (9-4) got a home victory in girls basketball winning 65-38 against Woodland (5-9) on Thursday.

SEDALIA, Mo. — Another slow start put the Poplar Bluff boys basketball team behind double digits early Thursday night in the opening round of the McDonald's Classic at Smith-Cotton High School. Rock Bridge scored 10 consecutive points midway through the opening quarter as the Mules stumbled out of the gate in an 82-59 loss to the defending MSHSAA Class 5 champions...

ORAN, Mo. — Oran defeated Kelly 53-36 Thursday night in a Scott-Miss Conference girls basketball matchup but without the services of head coach Ethan Evans. Oran superintendent Adam Friga said Ethan’s absence was a personnel issue, and he could not comment any further...

One thing was clear even before the opening tipoff. The Bulldogs were going to win. Notre Dame’s Bulldogs crushed Sikeston’s Bulldogs, 63-32 at the Dawg Pound in Cape. Notre Dame (11-2, 1-0, Class 4 District 1) led from wire-to-wire in the lopsided victory...

ADVANCE, Mo. — Another strong night from Scott County Central senior Samantha Coffee lifted the Bravettes to a win over Advance on Thursday. Coffee had 17 points, on 6 of 13 shooting, and seven rebounds, as Scott County Central defeated Advance 46-35, at Advance High School...

ORAN, Mo. — Tied at five at the end of the first quarter, the Oran girls basketball team turned up the heat to end the first half on Thursday night. Oran (9-3, 4-0 Scott County-Mississippi County Conference) went on a 14-0 run to start the second quarter, led by the play of senior Kaylee Payne...

KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett Indians varsity girls basketball team played from behind until the final second of the third quarter but managed to put together the finish it needed to beat the Charleston Bluejays Thursday afternoon. Caroline Patton, who finished with a team-high 17 points, hit a 2-point basket at the end of the third quarter to give Kennett its first lead at 25-24. The Indians also won the fourth quarter by a bucket as it edged visiting Charleston 36-33...