High School Sports

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...

JACKSON, Mo. — Gatlin Taylor and Justin Mitchell reached the championship match and five of their Poplar Bluff teammates earned wrestled for third place Saturday night at the SEMO Conference Tournament. With half the team earning all-conference honors, the Mules placed third in the standings, their best finish since 2009...

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...

The Doniphan girls basketball team outscored the Dexter Bearcats 18-3 from the free throw line, including going 6 for 6 in the fourth quarter to win 48-44 Monday night at Doniphan. “The girls gave great effort tonight,” Dexter coach Eric Sitze said. “Doniphan won it on the free throw line but I’m very proud of how our girls competed for four quarters against a very good team...

DEXTER — The Dexter Bearcats have struggled at the start of their previous three games and were in need of a fast start Monday night. Junior Jackson Allen and his teammates didn’t disappoint. Allen broke a school record for most 3-pointers in a game (12), and the Bearcats made 27 3s in all and routed seventh-seeded Woodland 107-26 in the first round of the SCAA boys basketball tournament at the Bearcat Event Center...

The Kennett wrestling team is preparing for its stretch run after facing stiff competition at the SEMO Conference Wrestling Tournament Friday and Saturday at Jackson High School Kennett (175) placed 14th out of 16 teams at the SEMO Conference Tournament that concluded Saturday night. Jackson (692) finished first for a fourth straight season. Farmington (564.5) and Poplar Bluff (550.5) took second and third respectively...

The pre-meet seeding led everyone to believe that Jackson would prevail in the SEMO Conference Wrestling Tournament and history indicated that, as well.

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...

Travis Waldner won his third straight conference title, and the Dexter Bearcats placed fifth in the SEMO Conference Wrestling Tournament Saturday at Jackson. The Bearcats accumulated 428 points. Jackson won the team championship with 692. Farmington was second with 564.5, Poplar Bluff was third with 550.5 and Hillsboro was fourth with 547.5...

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

Jackson diver Hadley Wyatt dominated the competition this weekend at the 21-team City of Roses Invitational at the Central Municipal Pool and earned the lone first-place finish among area athletes.

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...

It was a family affair for Jackson wrestlers named Wiseman and Horman in the first round of the 18-team SEMO Conference wrestling tournament Friday. In the 113-pound weight class, Riley Wiseman won both of his opening matches by fall - (0:52) over Shayne Vandegriff of Potosi, by (3:39) over Austin Hassell of Park Hills Central and (4:58) over Joe Hirst of Windsor...

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...

DEXTER — The Dexter Bearcats nearly pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind win Friday night against New Madrid County Central. The Bearcats boys basketball team cut an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to one in the closing seconds before falling short 47-46...

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...

ESSEX — The Leopold boys basketball team arrived about 15 minutes before game time. However, after limited warm-up time and a slow start, the Wildcats recovered quickly and cruised to a 65-37 victory over the Richland Rebels on Thursday night at Richland High School...

NEELYVILLE — There is now a three-way tie at the top of the Ozark Foothills Conference standings. Two weeks after losing to Naylor, which ended a 28-game conference winning streak, the Neelyville girls basketball team handed Doniphan its first OFC loss, winning 61-52 Thursday...

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...

Wearing a Cape Central wrestling sweatshirt, Davion Steele stands out during practice with his Poplar Bluff teammates. “He wears it sometimes,” senior Quinten Bell said. “We’ve got to remind him he’s at PB now.” Steele said he doesn’t mind the attention his Tigers attire might attract...

SEMO CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT Seeds for the upcoming SEMO Conference wrestling tournament at Jackson High School with a wrestlers record, grade and school. Not all wrestlers are seeded and total number of wrestlers varies for each weight class. Pool matches start Friday with a double-elimination tournament continuing Saturday:...

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...

Here’s the schedule for the SCAA junior varsity boys basketball tournament that starts Monday, Jan. 27, at the Bearcat Event Center. Monday, Jan. 27 No. 3 Woodland vs. No. 6 Puxico, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28 No. 2 Advance vs. No. 7 Bell City, 6 p.m. No. 4 Dexter vs. No. 5 Bloomfield, 7:30 p.m...

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...

The Mules won six of the 11 events to score 157 points and pick up a tri-meet victory over the Indians and the Zizzers. Jackson edged out West Plains for second place by a single point 75-74.

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...

PUXICO — Junior Andrew Ellinghouse gave the Dexter boys basketball team a much needed lift in the third quarter. Ellinghouse scored 15 of his game- and season-high 30 points in the third, leading the Bearcats to a 76-40 victory over the Puxico Indians on Tuesday night at Puxico High School...

The Dexter Bearcats and Bernie Mules could meet for a third time this season in the championship game of the upcoming SCAA boys basketball tournament that starts Monday at the Bearcat Event Center. The rivals split their two meetings this season. The Bearcats beat Bernie 58-56 in the semifinals of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament, and Bernie won the rematch 60-55 Friday night at the Bearcat Event Center...

In her final home meet, Poplar Bluff senior Paige Bradley won the shortest and longest races Tuesday afternoon, while helping a pair of relays win. Seniors accounted for seven top-three finishes in individual events as the Mules swept the relays and beat Jackson by 82 points...

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...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Poplar Bluff didn’t have an individual champion but placed six wrestlers in the top three of their weight class as the Mules claimed the team title at the St. Charles Invitational on Saturday. Grace Kearby won an individual title with a pin and Katlyn Pickard reached the final as Poplar Bluff finished third as a team on the girls side...

The Miller Career Academy girls basketball team took advantage of strong even-numbered quarters Saturday to beat the Dexter Bearcats 60-43 at the Jackson Showcase. Sydney Asberry scored seven points and Dulcie Pullen had six in the first quarter where the Bearcats took a 15-13 lead.

Two Dexter wrestlers won their weight divisions Saturday at the Owensville Invitational. Bryston Pemberton (19-5) won the 120-pound class, and Travis Waldner (29-0) won his 170-pound division. The tournament uses a different format with some divisions using a scramble format and others using a round robin format. The round robin format features A and B divisions...