FALLING LATE: Sikeston runs out of gas at the end, in loss to Cape Central

Cape Central's Tyrus Reddin finishes off a layup, while Sikeston's Kenyon Smith defends, at Cape Girardeau Central High School, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – When Tyrus Reddin and Doreante Tucker are in the zone, the Cape Central Tigers are a tough team to handle.

The Sikeston Bulldogs found that out on Friday night, as Tucker and Reddin led the state-ranked Tigers to a 72-60 win in front of a raucous crowd at Cape Central High School.

The two seniors combined for 43 points in a game that likely determined the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the upcoming Class 4, District 1 Tournament. The tournament will be at Notre Dame High School in three weeks.

“I think they’re really good,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said of Cape Central. “They’ve got two exceptional players in Reddin and Tucker. I thought they played well, and they just beat us.”

It’s the Tigers’ second win over Sikeston this season, also beating the Bulldogs back in December in the championship game of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

“To be honest, this game doesn’t mean a whole lot – there’s a chance we’ll turn around and play each other in a couple of weeks,” Cape Central coach Drew Church said. “I was proud of our guys. It’s a great atmosphere when we play Sikeston. Coach Holifield always puts a great product on the floor. They play extremely hard, and they’re hard to play against. I don’t want to say it doesn’t mean a whole lot – I mean it’s Cape-Sikeston, and we’re happy with tonight, but we’ll probably see each other in a little bit.”

The Tigers (18-5, 4-2 SEMO Conference) led for nearly the entire game, jumping out to a 26-21 lead in a frenetic first quarter.

Sikeston (12-8, 3-3 SEMO) took the lead early in the second quarter 29-27 on a Lontas McClinton 3-pointer and then again at 31-29 on a Clark Steward drive, but those were the only leads of the game for the Bulldogs.

Cape Central was able to manage a 42-39 lead heading into halftime.

“The first half was a little bit too much offense for both teams for my pleasure,” Church said. “Sikeston shot it well, and we got some transition buckets.”

Sikeston kept pace in the third quarter and closed the gap to 46-45 on a one-handed slam by sophomore Cleo Taylor that brought the large contingent of Bulldog fans to their feet.

However, the Tigers responded as Tucker drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the night to zap Sikeston’s momentum.

Cape Central was able to extend the advantage to 51-45, but pair of Colby Henson 3-pointers helped the Bulldogs close the gap to 53-51 with 1:07 left in the third.

However, Tucker came up with another clutch play, tipping in a missed shot just before the third-quarter buzzer to extend the Tigers’ lead to 55-51.

The Tigers put the game away in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to double-digits early in the period.

Sikeston went to the foul game with five minutes left, but the Tigers had built a big enough cushion and hit just enough from the free-throw line – 9 of 17 in the fourth quarter – to seal the victory.

“I thought Cape went to another level, and we just couldn’t match it,” Holifield said. “We have to figure out how we can compete better in that situation, but all the credit goes to them. They played very well down the stretch and did a great job. There’s a great chance we could play again, and we know how good they are in tournament situations, and we know it’s going to be difficult.”

Tucker finished with a game-high 24 points. It was a welcome sight for Church and the Tigers, who were without Tucker’s services last week due to illness.

“We just got him back this week – you know he’s been out for a while with sickness – and he comes back and gives us another dimension,” Church said. “He’s playing well. He’s one of our best shooters, but he’s also a senior that has the leadership to him. Tyrus was just steady, and we got good production from our bigs tonight.”

Reddin finished with 19 points while 6-foot-6 freshman Cameron Williams added 10 points.

Senior guard Payton Howard and McClinton led Sikeston with 18 points apiece. Clark Steward had eight points and six assists. Kenyon Smith finished with eight points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

The Bulldogs played without second-leading scorer Leroy Atkins, who is considered day-to-day with a hip flexor injury.

Sikeston will host New Madrid County Central on Tuesday. Junior varsity is at 6 p.m. Cape Central will travel to Charleston on Tuesday with JV scheduled at 6 p.m.

SIKESTON (60) – Payton Howard 18, Lontas McClinton 18, Kenyon Smith 8, Clark Steward 8, Colby Henson 6, Cleo Taylor 2. FG 21, FT 12-20, F 22. (3-pointers: Howard 2, McClinton 2, Henson 2. Fouled out: none).

CAPE CENTRAL (72) – Doreante Tucker 24, Tyrus Reddin 19, Cameron Williams 10, Darion Triplett 8, Anthony Mackins 6, Dorian Triplett 5. FG 26, FT 15-26, F 15. (3-pointers: Tucker 4, Reddin 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior varsity

The Sikeston JV team improved to 11-4 on the season with a 61-50 win over Cape Central’s junior varsity.

Cleo Taylor led Sikeston with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks, and three steals. Adrian Smith followed up with 14 points.

Brendan Hamilton had eight points, six rebounds, and four steals. Johnny Adams had seven points, four assists, and five steals.

SIKESTON (61) – Cleo Taylor 20, Adrian Smith 14, Brendan Hamilton 8, Johnny Adams 7, Tyler Owens 5, Creighton Sarakas 5, Tyron Owens 2. FG 24, FT 10-18, F 12. (3-pointers: Smith 2, Sarakas 1. Fouled out: none).

CAPE CENTRAL (50) – James Hamilton 11, Rodlandis Robinson 11, Cameron Harris 10, Elijah Wigfall 5, Henry Brown 4, Jacob Gary 3, Rashard Townsend 2, Fentress Williams 2, Clayton McClard 2. FG 23, FT 2-9, F 15. (3-pointers: Gary 1, Hamilton 1. Fouled out: none).