Basketball

It’s been four years since Scott City and Kelly matched up in their opening boy’s basketball games of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

MSU-West Plains had a chance at a buzzer-beating 3 to force overtime. It didn't go so well. The Grizzlies' top two 3-point shooters worked together at the top of the key with 10 seconds left. Taevon Horton inbounded to the Grizzlies' leading scorer, Sardaar Calhoun, who is making 44% of his 3-pointers and is signed with Florida State...

Three Rivers had a similar start, but a different finish. The Raiders suffered a poor first quarter for the second night in a row. In a loss to Moberly Area on Friday, they never retook the lead after giving up a 17-1 run. On Saturday, they allowed a 16-2 run in the final 6 minutes of the first quarter to Jefferson but rallied to win 75-63 in the Region XVI Showdown in the Libla Family Sports Complex...

The St. Vincent boys basketball team rode a balanced attack to a 69-50 victory over Scott City to successfully defend their title Friday night at the Rolla “Duke” Herbert Tournament in Crystal City, Missouri.

GIDEON, Mo. - The Kennett Indians varsity boys basketball team is headed to the SEMO Conference Tournament on a high note after winning the Gideon Bulldog Classic for the first time. No. 1 seeded Kennett beat the No. 2 seeded Caruthersville Tigers 77-64 in the title game of the tournament late Thursday night...

STEELE, Mo. — Christen Phillips led the way for the New Madrid County Central boys basketball team on Friday against South Pemiscot. Phillips had a game-high 25 points, as the Eagles routed past the Bulldogs 77-50. Ke’von Williams pitched in with 19 points of his own, and Donnie Ray Brown added 13...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Sikeston Bulldogs were hit hard with graduation from last year’s 25-1 team, so there were a lot of question marks heading into Friday night’s season-opening game at Confluence Prep Academy. However, the Bulldogs may have answered some of those questions after a wild, yet exciting, 95-92 win over the state-ranked Titans in St. Louis...

ORAN, Mo. — Nothing was keeping Oran junior Ty Johnson from helping his team win a third-consecutive Oran Invitational Tournament on Friday night. Johnson erupted for 32 points, on 11 of 21 shooting and 6 of 11 from three, as the Eagles defeated Kelly 79-49 in front of a packed house at Oran High School...

Senath-Hornersville 60, Gideon The Senath-Hornersville Lions trailed by single digits much of the first three quarters but managed to rally late and walk away with the consolation championship at the Gideon Bulldog Classic Thursday. No. 6 seeded Senath-Hornersville outscored No. 5 seeded Gideon 24-8 in the fourth quarter to secure 60-51 victory...

A promising start to the Region XVI Showdown turned sour for the host Raiders. Three Rivers opened with a 5-0 run over the first 3 minutes of the game, but the offense went cold for much of the rest of the first half. Three Rivers fell to 1-2 in the Region XVI Showdown following a 71-63 loss to Moberly Area on Friday at the Libla Family Sports Complex...

The Notre Dame girl’s basketball squad isn’t going to overwhelm any opponent with its size. However, when it comes to athleticism and using it to cover space defensively, the Bulldogs are more than capable of utilizing that to their advantage.

Following an early start to its season, the Poplar Bluff boys basketball team got a 16-day break to prepare for the SEMO Conference, which starts Monday in Sikeston. “Honestly, it’s been nice, much-needed break,” Mules coach William Durden said. “The first game came a little earlier than expected and this break gave us time to work on stuff...

The Leopold boys basketball team overcame a five-point deficit with a big fourth quarter to defeat Meadow Heights 54-44 in the third-place game at the Woodland Invitational Tournament on Thursday in Marble Hill, Missouri. Meadow Heights took a 36-31 lead into the fourth quarter, but Leopold (2-1) stormed off to a 10-point victory by outscoring the Panthers 23-8 in the period...

GIDEON, Mo. - The Gideon Bulldogs Classic varsity boys basketball tournament concluded with four games Thursday night. The No. 1 seeded Kennett Indians outscored the No. 2 seeded Caruthersville Tigers in each of the first three quarters on its way to a 77-64 win in the championship...

The Bootheel Conference middle school boys basketball tournament begins Saturday at Malden. Quarterfinals are Saturday, semifinals are Monday, and championship games are Thursday. See the schedule below: QUARTERFINALS ON DEC. 7 GAME 1: 3-Caruthersville vs. 6-Portageville, 10:30 a.m...

ORAN, Mo. — Free throws can make or break a team down-the-stretch of a game. An unguarded shot can cause teams trouble, but for Kelly senior Devin Heuring, that was not the case, in the Hawks 87-84 overtime win over Advance in the semifinals of the Oran Invitational Tournament on Thursday night...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The Tigers outscored Sikeston 18-8 in the fourth quarter to rally for victory in the consolation championship of the SEMO Conference Tournament on Thursday. Ella Vogel scored six of her 11 points in the final period, and Taylor Horton tallied five of her team-high 12 points...

VAN BUREN - Ellington opened its season by doing something it hasn't done in 18 years. The Whippets, with just one player on the roster who isn't a freshman or sophomore, held on after opening with a 12-point run to win 70-55 in the Lady Dawg Classic Championship for the first time since 2001...

The St. Vincent and Scott City boys basketball teams advanced to the championship game of the Rolla "Duke" Herbert Tournament following their semifinal victories on Wednesday at Crystal City...

A pair of area basketball players earned the top spots in this week's Semoball.com Athlete of the Week poll voting.

SIKESTON — Brock Clippard led all scorers for Notre Dame, as Sikeston fell to their Cape Girardeau rivals 41-25. Creighton Sarakas led Sikeston with nine points. Brendon Hamilton and Mike Coaker added five, while Morgan McCauley had three, Trayvon Dukes two, and Justis Taylor 1...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Sikeston advanced to the consolation championship game of the Girls SEMO Conference Tournament after a 50-26 win over Kennett on Tuesday. Taydrianna Barnett let the Lady Bulldogs with 24 points. Karris Allen added 12, and Amyari Blissett finished with 10...

The Notre Dame girl’s basketball season has unfolded – so far – in a fairly comfortable fashion. The Bulldogs (3-0) have utilized their depth and athleticism and dominated the opposition by an average of nearly 21 points per game.

The Jackson girl’s basketball squad had two issues to deal with in its SEMO Conference Tournament semifinal against Poplar Bluff Tuesday at Cape Girardeau Central.

The Scott City boys basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Rolla "Duke" Herbert Tournament in dramatic fashion, defeating the Herculaneum Blackcats 64-62 in overtime on a buzzer-beater by Cayden Beussink. Beussink ended as the Rams second leading scorer with nine point but none were bigger than his final two. ...

GIDEON, Mo. - One quarterfinal came down to the wire but all of the favorites advanced to the semifinals of the Gideon Invitational varsity boys basketball tournament Monday night. The No. 3 seeded Hayti Indians outlasted the No. 6 seeded Senath-Hornersville Lions 52-47 in the only quarterfinal decided by single digits Monday...

There should be no complaining about the level of entertainment that the Jackson boy’s basketball squad provides the Indian fan base this winter.

Notre Dame 46, Kennett 25 Leah Jansen scored seven of her game-high 12 points in the opening quarter as the No. 1 seeded Notre Dame Bulldogs beat No. 8 seeded Kennett 46-25 in a quarterfinal of the SEMO Conference varsity girls basketball tournament Monday at Cape Central High School...

High school girl's basketball teams throughout Southeast Missouri recently opened their 2019-20 seasons. Here is a look at the area teams covered by the Southeast Missourian.

High school boy's basketball teams throughout Southeast Missouri recently opened their 2019-20 seasons. Here is a look at the area teams covered by the Southeast Missourian. CAPE CENTRAL Class 4 District 1 Conference: SEMO Head coach: Drew Church (14th year)...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The Poplar Bluff girls basketball team built a double-digit lead in the opening quarter Monday night to beat Cape Central in the opening round of the SEMO Conference Tournament. The third-seeded Mules advanced with a 60-35 win over host Cape Central and will face second-seeded Jackson in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Getting out to a slow start was not how the Sikeston girls’ basketball team wanted to start their season. The Lady Bulldogs scored five points in the first quarter and only made seven field goals in the first half, in their 52-40 loss in the first round of the Girls SEMO Conference Tournament at Cape Central High School, in Cape Girardeau, Mo...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - The Risco Tigers boys basketball team recovered quickly after falling behind Roosevelt 15-11 after one quarter of play at the Riverbend Classic in New Madrid Saturday. Risco outscored Roosevelt 26-5 in the second quarter to move ahead 37-21 by halftime. The success continued for Risco in the second half as it won the third quarter 19-5 and the fourth quarter 8-6 on its way to a convincing 64-31 victory...

The Cape Girardeau Central wrestling team debuted this season with a 2-1 finish to place second in a four-team dual on Saturday across the river in Marion, Illinois. The Tigers downed East St. Louis (Ill.) 49-23 and defeated Highland (Ill.) 53-28 but fell to the host Wildcats in a 41-40 heartbreaker. Senior Dawson Bevens won all three of his duals to help lead Central. Marion prevailed in all three of its matches to claim victory...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Hands clenched and jumping in the air was how Campbell’s Blake Fowler reacted after knocking down the game-winning jumper against New Madrid County Central on Saturday afternoon at the Riverbend Shootout. The junior finished with 29 points for the Camels, and, to him, he didn’t think he would get that great of a look at the basket in the end, in Campbell’s 67-65 win...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Johnny Adams scored 18 points to lead the Sikeston junior varsity boys’ basketball team to a 48-46 win over Notre Dame on Saturday, in the championship game of the Notre Dame Junior Varsity Tournament. Cleo Taylor finished with 10 points, to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Adrian Smith had seven points, Jaden Blackmon six, Carson Beaird four, and Creighton Sarakas three. Beaird added seven rebounds and six blocked shots to his total as well...

High school basketball teams throughout the Missouri Bootheel begin play in opening-season basketball tournaments Monday.

The Kennett Indians varsity boys basketball program is blessed with experience entering the 2019-20 season.

NEW MADRID, Mo – It didn’t take long for Charleston to get its first gut-check of the year. In their season-opener against Memphis Day Academy, the Bluejays surrendered a double-digit second-half lead before a late stand helped Charleston emerge victors 76-71 Friday at the Riverbend Shootout...

For the first time since relaunching its girls basketball program in 2017 the Holcomb Hornets have the luxury of having as many upperclassmen as underclassmen on its roster. The 2019-20 Holcomb girls basketball roster includes two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — In the semifinals of the Notre Dame Junior Varsity Tournament, Sikeston downed St. Dominic 56-45, on Friday. The win sent the Bulldogs to the championship game of the tournament, which got played on Saturday at 3 p.m. For the second-straight game, Cleo Taylor was atop the scoring list for Sikeston (2-0). He finished with 11 points, tied with Adrian Smith for the most on the team...

Paced by junior Madison Lambert's 21 points, Jackson prevailed on its home court Tuesday, defeating New Madrid County Central, 67-34. The game was the season opener for both girls basketball squads, each coming off 2018-2019 district championships: Jackson in Class 5, District 1, NMCC in Class 3, District 1...

SIKESTON — Needing 13 points to reach 1,000 points for her career, Oran senior Kaylee Payne reached that mark in the Lady Eagles 69-52 win over Scott County Central at Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium. Payne had 17 points total, on 7 of 24 shooting, along with three rebounds and seven assists...

Katie Webb recorded another double-double with a game-high 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Oran girls basketball team to its second win of the season in the 69-52 conference victory over Scott County Central on Tuesday...

BENTON, Mo. — With seconds remaining and Kelly trailing by three, head coach Darrin Pruitt had a play in-mind that ensured his best player touched the ball. Alaney Moore wound up getting the final shot off but missed a chance to send the game into overtime, as Kennett (1-0) grabbed the miss and secured a 40-37 win...

SIKESTON — Mike Coaker and Creighton Sarakas led the Sikeston freshmen team to a 46-37 win on Monday night, against Kennett. Coaker led the team with 14, while Sarakas had 10. Brendon Hamilton added nine points, while Harrison Arndt finished with six and Morgan McCauley had five. Rounding out the scoring for the Bulldogs was Justis Taylor, who finished with two...

Head Coach: Fred Johnson, first season (N/A) Last Season: 9-16 Postseason: Lost to New Madrid County Central in the Class 3, District 1 quarterfinals 75-43 Notes: Consistency is the one word that Johnson is bound to preach this season. As the former Oran Eagle standout enters his first season with Kelly, Johnson said that consistency is the one thing he’s looking forward to teaching the most for a team that finished the season losing seven of its last 10 games...

Head Coach: Joe Shoemaker, 11th season (211-82) Last Season: 30-2 Postseason: Defeated Oak Ridge in the Class 2, District 2 championship game 89-72; lost to Greenwood in the Class 2 championship game 55-54 Notes: Dealing with defeat can be troublesome at times...

Head Coach: Tim Carlisle, first season (N/A) Last Season: 15-13 Postseason: Lost to Risco in the Class 1, District 1 championship game 62-60 Notes: As Tim Carlisle prepares for his first season as head coach of Scott County Central, he knows that this season having his team learn the system that he wants to run along with developing his players are going to be the two main points of emphasis...

Head Coach: Casey Knight, 10th season (100-121) Last Season: 15-11 Postseason: Lost to Kennett in the Class 3, District 1 quarterfinals 74-63 Notes: Heading into the 2019-2020 season, East Prairie will not return a double-digit scorer to the team. The Eagles lose nearly 60 points this season, which leaves Knight with a younger team to work with, but one that he saw coming...